As I sit down to write this review, I am overcome with emotion. I literally do not know where to begin. For anyone who has seen my page dedicated to Richie Sambora (see it here), it is no secret how much this band means to me. A fan for sixteen years now, I hadn’t seen them perform live since the New Jersey tour no less than twelve years ago. Twelve years ago, the performance was less than stellar with Jon’s vocal problems being the disappointment. I was also fifteen years old at that show. As one of the new Bon Jovi songs says, “I’m not old…just older” now. Less innocent, more jaded. Having experienced a huge let down regarding the behavior of the band Poison this summer (one of my old favorite bands), I was not sure if I was strong enough to face even the possibility that my most favorite band in the world could let me down or disappoint me in any way. But, as my boys say, we must “Keep The Faith” in order to live through the rain, and that I did. I had faith that Bon Jovi were a million times more professional than Poison could ever be. I had faith that after sixteen years of devotion, I’d be able to experience the Bon Jovi concert that I deserved to see. Poison and their disgusting show of immaturity put my love of hard rock music to the test. Bon Jovi came through for me once again in my life. I knew they’d never let me down. I kept the faith. AND MY LOVE WAS GIVEN BACK – ONE HUNDRED FOLD!!!!!!!
Since this was a Tuesday night roughly two hours from home, needless to say we were a little late. When Brian and I arrived, opening band Less Than Jake was already playing their set. In no hurry, I wanted to check out the merchandise. The adult t-shirts were all $30 each, but I wanted one anyway. I hardly ever buy merchandise at concerts, but this had to be done. I also eyed the tour book, but at $20, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go THAT crazy! We then proceeded to our seats. We had Row P, which, due to the fact that there were no rows with vowel letters, turned out to be the 14th row. Not bad. Right in front of Richie. Good enough for me! Less Than Jake was still onstage. How were they? Well, less than fitting. I think they are good at what they do, but it is not suitable for opening a rock concert! They did do an interesting cover of the Partridge Family’s “I Think I Love You,” however!
As we waited for Bon Jovi to take the stage, it was becoming widely known that Ticketmaster had worked their wonders once again. Apparently, duplicate tickets had been printed, leaving more than one person per seat! This did not happen to us, fortunately, but did happen to the girls right next to us. A security person informed us that it had been happening all night, with some poor souls searching for seats that didn’t even exist! Ah…Ticketmaster…
The lights went down, the intro to “One Wild Night” (off the new album CRUSH) blared through the P.A. System, and Bon Jovi appeared, on the giant screens behind the stage. They were in some sort of elevator-type contraption looking straight into the camera’s black and white film. It was obvious this was live footage. This was met with a thundering roar from the audience. As the screaming and hollering reached a crescendo, a huge door onstage was opened and there stood the band. They quickly took their places and kicked full throttle into “One Wild Night.”
I will skip the song-by-song review and just give the highlights. I have to admit that the one thing that did disappoint me was the lack of any material pre-SLIPPERY WHEN WET. I understand if Jon can’t sing it anymore, I had just hoped maybe to hear “In and Out of Love” or something old! The concert was amazing anyway. They played seven songs off the new album, and to my surprise the audience seemed to know these tunes just as well as old favorites like “Livin On a Prayer.” And the crowd was a good mix of fans of all ages – teens to adults.
One of my favorite new songs is called “Thank You for Loving Me” and is slated to be the next single in the States. This song is already very special to me for personal reasons. I checked the websites for set lists prior to the concert and I was very disappointed to see they hadn’t been playing “Thank You” live yet. Imagine my surprise, then, when right in the middle of the show they actually played it. All around us, people were actually crying, including myself! It is a beautiful song, they are a beautiful and soulful band, and the crowd was definitely feeling it! It was a moment in time I will never forget. Afterward, Jon asked us how we liked the song and the audience went nuts. He then said that had been the first time they had played “Thank You for Loving Me” live in the United States! He also said they were not sure whether to play it or not, because they were unsure how it would go over! I would say he never should have worried about that!
After “Thank You” came what I’d call the “cowboy” segment. They played “Ride Cowboy Ride” (off NEW JERSEY) and kicked straight into “Blaze of Glory” (Jon’s solo album/ Young Guns II soundtrack). “Blaze” was accompanied by footage from the video and from the movie Young Guns II. It was very cool and nostalgic to remember back to the time that song came out. And it was awesome of Jon to grace us with the footage of him with such amazing hair!
As the concert raged on, Jon and the boys seemed to be very happy and having a fantastic time. It seemed they didn’t want to stop at all! Jon even commented at one point, “The band is REALLY ON tonight!” and even seemed amazed himself at how unreal the concert was going. “Sleep When I’m Dead” segued into cover tune “American Band” followed by “Bad Medicine” segueing into cover tune “Shout” with the crowd going absolutely nuts. It seemed the Jersey boys were having a big party and we were lucky enough to be there to share it!
The concert ended with no less than 4 encores. I didn’t want to leave at all! But, we had a long drive and wanted to beat the traffic, so we left toward the end of the last song, “Wanted Dead or Alive.” This about killed me since one of my favorite things in this world is hearing Richie Sambora sing. But, alas, I tore myself away.
This concert was a week ago already, and it’s still affecting me like it was yesterday. But, unlike the Poison fiasco, this time it’s in a good way! Bon Jovi will keep rock alive far into the new millennium. I thank THEM for loving US enough to keep giving us their beautiful music. It comes from their hearts and their souls, and people can relate to that. That is why it is still popular to this very day. If Bon Jovi comes to your area, I urge you to go see them. You will not be sorry. About three songs into the show I decided to buy the tourbook and had Brian pick it up for me on a trip to the bathroom. That’s right folks, I spent $50 on merchandise. Those of you who know me know this speaks volumes about how good the concert must have been! Bon Jovi is a band of seasoned professionals. So go buy a ticket already!
You Give Love (A Bad Name)
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
Keep the Faith
Livin On A Prayer
Born To Be My Baby
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
It's My Life
Thank You For Loving Me
Ride Cowboy Ride
Blaze of Glory
Two Story Town
Lay Your Hands On Me
Sleep When I'm Dead / American Band
Bad Medecine / Shout
ENCORES
Next 100 Years
I'll Be There For You
Just Older
Wanted Dead or Alive
WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE???
Check out my pictures from this concert!