RIFFS AND HOOKS FROM BRYAN ADAMS

Bryan Adams is a master of great trivial pop, and in arena concerts--a medium in which substance, should there be any, rarely carries much weight--he especially shines.

Adams’ appearance Saturday at the Forum featured a top-notch band (made up of players from his latest and best album) powerfully reeling off the long string of hits that he’s accumulated in a short time, all combining catchy riffs with insinuating hooks as compellingly as any Top 40 star today.

As for the show’s content , it was more remarkable for what it wasn’t--i.e., particularly offensive--than what it was. Gone were the sexist mid-song raps that Adams used to be rapped for. His more noxious oldies (the adulterous “Run to You,” the rabble-rousing “Kids Wanna Rock”) were still intact in the set, but his heart appeared to be in the newer material, which seems more influenced by the Who (his tour-ravaged voice sounded appropriately Daltrey-esque at times) and a bit less by the lowest-common-denominator populism he appeared ready to succumb to a couple of years ago.

The well-scrubbed Hooters opened with well-crafted radio rock, abetted by the use of mandolin and accordion but undercut by the usual insincere, rote rock ‘n’ roll show gestures and comments.