“I Love A Rainy Night” Eddie Rabbit sang. I never thought I’d agree with Eddie Rabbit. Actually, I never thought I’d mention Eddie Rabbit on this website. But that’s neither here nor there…Sunday night August 3, 2003 was one of the rainiest nights I’ve seen all year. As we meandered north from the Syracuse area, the water poured down from the sky so torrentially that visibility was almost nil. We crawled along, desperately searching through radio stations, with the volume at thunderous proportions to drown out the rain, trying to hear any information we could on the status of the show. Then we heard it – the emergency alert squawk. We heard enough to know it was a real alert – the only one I’d ever heard that was not “only a test.” And we only heard the end of it. Missed the emergency all together. We continued to crawl along wondering if we’d make our destination. We had left 3 hours early for a two-hour drive, just to beat traffic. Now we’d be lucky if we got there at all.
The rain let up, revealing massive flooding on the roadways. As we maneuvered around them, the puddles continued to grow into more massive ponds, and finally, lakes. A cop rerouted us into unknown territory. We had no idea where we were going and followed the other cars. When we finally made it back to the original road – albeit farther north – we were next to a farm more than half-flooded with rainwater that came half-way up the tires of the lone tractor that remained in the fields. This was not looking promising. Still we drove on.
Things seemed better as we continued north. Finally, we reached Saratoga and the sun was shining. But do we turn left or right to get to the arena? Brian couldn’t remember. We chose left. That was wrong. 15 minutes later we turned around and tried again. Why the hell doesn’t that town have any signs pointing to the Performing Arts Center? It makes no sense. When you finally see a sign, you can tell you’re at the venue anyway!
Had we not driven through Tropical Storm Tico on the way to the show, we’d have been an hour early and would have gotten a good parking space near the venue. But no, we had to park in the knee high grass pit across the street. Thanks to the rain this was very pleasant and mosquito filled. On we went, through the grass, through the gravel, and over the footbridge mounted perilously over the busy highway. Curses on my high-heeled boots! If this wasn’t a Jovi concert…
I did the usual and bought a tour book ($10 this time) and T-shirt ($35). It was humid as all hell and still misty. So much for having straightened my hair. My Irish curls were starting to make their appearance, much to my dismay. It was hotter than hell, so I threw my hair up in a loose bun and we looked for our balcony seats.
Our tickets were in Row A in the balcony. “Front row balcony!” I had screamed to myself when I found the tickets on the tenth try during the American XS presale. According to the virtually unreadable seating chart on Ticketbastard (not to mention the useless SPAC website) Row A in the balcony was behind a small section of “box seats.” I figured it would still be cool.
WRONG. This turned out to be more like 8th row balcony. After everything we went through I was pissed enough to scream. Fortunately for me it was way too hot to do anything requiring energy (or so I thought). I had to get over the seating disappointment. At least we were covered if it rained again. I could see without obstruction. At least we weren’t on the lawn.
The Goo Goo Dolls came out and gave it their best shot. This was my third Goo show. I’ve seen them be better. They weren’t bad by any means. I think the sound was not good for them, and they were obviously bothered by the soaring temperature and humidity. “It’s hot as F.CK!” Johnny Rzeznick exclaimed. “I know I’m stating the obvious…”
The heat was too much and we left to use the lav and get some eats halfway through the Goo set. People kept glancing at my “Sambora” T-shirt I had made in 1989 and wore that evening. They’d glance once or twice then either smile or chuckle to themselves. I love my Sambora shirt. We made it back halfway in time for “Iris.” On the way back in, a young male guard was not stopping me from coming in with a soda. I wasn’t sure about this, so I stopped and asked him if it was ok. He glanced at my shirt, smiled, and said, “just hide it.” Sometimes being a girl has its privileges. Or so I thought until I sat down and a mean old male security guard rather nastily told me I couldn’t “have that in here!” At that point I was only chewing on the straw, the drink was gone anyway. Haha. I showed him the empty cup and he walked away in a tiff. Bite me. Brian could have a water bottle, but I can’t have a small soda? It was a million degrees up there. Bite me, I said.
“What about Bon Jovi already?” I bet you’re asking!
After a short and humidity-filled delay during which SPAC filled to capacity (estimates were 11,000 people crowded in, and it looked like 10,000 of them were on the lawn!), the lights finally dimmed and Bon Jovi took the stage. Interestingly, the stage set was very different from the one they used in Albany in March. There were no “satellite dishes” this time. This time there was an elaborate steel beam background with a myriad of lights and lasers. It was gorgeous. For those interested in these sorts of things, Jon and Richie changed shirts several times during the show. Richie always wore a variation on the fan club “Sambora” shirt, with dark jeans that spelled out “Love” in red sequins on the crotch. He had the leopard hat on first and I can’t remember what hats after that. Both men wore long-sleeved shirts most of the night, amazingly. I believe Jon’s light blue leather shirt made an appearance, and he ended up in a black muscle shirt, always wearing tight blue jeans. Everyone was sweaty and disgusting midway into the first song. It was beautiful!
1. BOUNCE – The show kicked off with this title track to the current album. Jon didn’t seem into the show until after this song. Perhaps the heat shocked him, as it was very intense. We continued to boil in the balcony but it didn’t matter anymore – it was Jovi!
2. YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME – This song has been played live so much I don’t even need to describe it. The audience was nuts, the band was insane and it rocked!
3. EVERYDAY – The first single off “Bounce” kept the crowd on its feet and screaming.
4. I'D DIE FOR YOU – I nearly keeled over and fell off the balcony when they played this, one of my favorite songs off “Slippery When Wet.” Good thing row A wasn’t the front of the balcony after all! I acted like an idiot when this song was played. MMM…I just love watching and hearing them play my old 80s favorites. It’s also funny to watch the youngsters look bewildered!
5. LIVIN' ON A PRAYER – Again, played constantly, but always a crowd favorite.
6. CAPTAIN CRASH AND THE BEAUTY QUEEN FROM MARS – One of my favorite songs off “Crush,” I was surprised to hear this song, too. I just think this one is so unique and fun to sing along with!
7. KEEP THE FAITH – This one always comes off like a religious revival, and for many of us it is. Bon Jovi’s revival was a revival of our faith in music and a reminder of our fun youth. I sound pathetic, don’t I? :o) Great song.
8. WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE – Even I am sick of this song. It was nice to see it plugged in and done in the middle of the set, though, instead of as an encore. It's always a pleasure hearing Richie’s voice, too.
9. CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (Elvis Presley cover) – A shock and wonderful surprise when Jon launched into this one. It is one of my favorite Elvis tunes, and I didn’t even realize what it was at first, Brian had to tell me. That’s how shocked I was. I remember getting a kiss from Brian during this song. Very romantic.
10. BED OF ROSES – Continuing the love vibe, the band launched into this ballad off the “Keep The Faith” album. This is my “shower song” so I was more than happy to sing along with my heroes live! This is the song where Jon traditionally chooses a female from the audience to dance with during Richie’s solo. This time Jon chose a young child. When she ran onstage he whisked her into his arms, propped her on his hip, and twirled her around and around. She was so happy. Then, he whispered something to her and she kissed him on the cheek. He gave her a kiss on the cheek right back. With this, Jon said to the audience, “Eat you hearts out, ladies!”
11. IT'S MY LIFE – Another song done to death lately, but still fun.
12. SOMEDAY I'LL BE SATURDAY NIGHT – Very cool choice from the “Crossroads” CD. Another favorite of mine, this song is so uplifting and contains my favorite Jovi quote: “My life’s a bargain basement – all the good sh.t’s gone.”
13. RUNAWAY – Still a treat hearing this one live. Bon Jovi’s first single. Love that vibe!
14. JUST OLDER – “Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans” this song’s alright with me! Great tune. The crowd kept on singing along.
15. JOEY – This ballad in the Elton John-style off “Bounce’ is not my favorite, but went over better live than on CD. Brian decided it was time to hit the bathroom, though. This left me alone when Richie started singing…
16. I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU – I will never, ever get tired of hearing Richie Sambora sing lead. I was swooning when Brian returned, from Richie, the heat, and the altitude! (sigh)
17. THE DISTANCE – My favorite song off “Bounce” and I was hoping like crazy they would play it. More Jovi prayers answered!
18. BORN TO BE MY BABY – The boys dug this tune out off “New Jersey” much to the crowd’s approval. A huge sing-along ensued.
19. I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD – “‘Til I’m Six Feet under, baby I don’t need a bed Gonna live while I’m alive, I’ll sleep when I’m dead!’ Oh yeah! Brian came to me the next morning saying he still couldn’t get this song out of his head!
20. RAISE YOUR HANDS – I’m surprised the crowd didn’t spontaneously combust at this point. This song goes over HUGE live. The heat, the energy, it was all unstoppable. If I could bottle the energy during this song, I could electrify a small country!
Encore:
21. I GOT THE GIRL – This song off “Crush” is okay, but was never popular and never a single (to my knowledge) so I am still puzzled as to why they chose to play this song as the first encore. We decided to leave. As we filed out, this song ended and the next began.
22. BAD MEDICINE – It was very difficult not to run back in when I heard this song kick in. Resistance is futile for me when Bon Jovi plays anything from the beginning up through the New Jersey album. Good times. :o)
23. SHOUT – We missed this entirely, but learned they played it when I saw a set list later. I’m not surprised. I think they need to find a new schtick for the next tour, though. This is fine, but it’s getting old. Love it, though!
On the way home, we didn’t encounter nearly the problems we did on the way up. I was still on my Jovi high and talked about the show the whole way. I still maintain there is nothing more uplifting than a Bon Jovi concert. The positive spirit cannot be denied. This is why I love them so much!
Back To The Reviews Page!
Back To Metal And Madness!