North American Tour Reviews!!!
Here then, without further ado, Is my fist tour review. A thanks to
Amanda. Visit her BonJovi web site!
http://www.geocities.com/abb_vetkid
Just got back from the
show in Dallas on Wednesday and thought I'd share
my
experience. (Forgive me, I may ramble...)
My mom and I drove from northeastern Oklahoma Wednesday morning, about 5
hours or so, to get to Dallas. We managed to avoid the rain almost the
whole way. We arrived at the American Airlines Center at about 5:15pm, and
there were already quite a few people in line. The wind was horrible, and
it threatened to rain on us. It sprinkled a little bit, but security
eventually decided to open the doors and let us in a little after 6:00pm.
I actually have to hand it to the arena people. Security people have a
notorious reputation for being idiots, but I thought these guys did a
great job. We had to go through metal detectors, which was a joke to begin
with. The detector was the walk-through kind, and the guy who was checking
us didn't seem to care what we had on us.
Apparently the camera thing wasn't a big deal, because ours was right in
plain sight when they checked our gear. I think I ended up taking about
1.5 rolls of film. We were right down next to the floor, about halfway
back in the arena, so I don't know if they'll turn out or not. We'll see.
I wish I could've gone down to get fan club seats, but that would require
leaving school, work, etc. Oh well.
The merchandise stand was right inside the entrance, and it was
pandemonium. People everywhere. We managed to squeeze in, and I picked up
one of the signed lithographs. It cost $100, but it was worth it. However,
it was much smaller than the other two I have (Crossroad, Crush). Also
picked up a program, which has some great pics in it. Highly recommended.
The Goo Goo Dolls came on at 7:30pm, and I was suitably impressed. Much of
the crowd had not arrived yet, but the ones who were there were pretty
supportive. Clearly they were there to see Bon Jovi, but it was cool. The
Goos played their big hits. Good job overall.
But, of course, we all just wanted them to leave so BJ could take the
stage. (Poor opening acts!) The band came on at about 8:45. It was
electric from the very first note. For anyone who hasn't seen the stage
yet, it is fabulous. I had seen a picture of the big "satellite" video
screens, but it didn't do them justice. They're huge. (If anyone is in the
dark, they have 3 big fake satellites like the ones on the Bounce cover as
the video screens. One faces the front, the other two face the sides, and
they move & rotate.)
The band opened with "Bounce," and the crowd was absolutely insane. I love
this song anyway, but it was born to be a live song. Then into "Bad Name,"
with Jon letting the crowd do his job for him. (Lazy Jon? Just kidding!)
Next was "Wild in the Streets," which is another great live fist-pumper. I
was impressed that almost everyone knew the song. Next was "Everyday,"
which seemed a little heavier than usual.
"Undivided" was up next, and I was very impressed with it. The song was
very heavy, and I thought Tico was the reason for that. He did a great job
crescendo-ing up, and was earning the Hit Man title. Lots of emotion. Next
was an electric "Runaway" and "Just Older," which was high-energy. Then on
to "Wanted," where the crowd again took Jon's job.
Next up was "The Distance." This was probably the highlight of the show
for me. Before the song started, Jon dedicated it to a couple of people in
the audience who were holding up banners that said they had family members
serving overseas in the military. The performance was amazing and very
emotional. The backdrop added to it, because it was lit up with a bunch of
little blue dots made to look like the "blue skies" in the song. I thought
it was very poignant, and I was imagining those soldiers looking up at the
same blue skies... Cheesy, I know, but it was pretty cool to me. They
ended the song as a slow-tempo with just Jon's acoustic guitar & Dave's
keyboards. Tear-jerker.
"It's My Life" was possibly the crowd favorite. I'm not sure if "The
Distance" just pumped everyone up or what, but the atmosphere was
electric. "Misunderstood" was next, and then Dave started "Right Side of
Wrong" with a fabulous extended keyboard intro. This song isn't my
favorite on the album, but I was very impressed with the live version.
Especially nice to see Dave highlighted.
Next was the *awesome* Richie doing "I'll Be There For You." This was my
first time to see Richie doing lead vocals, so it was a big thrill. The
crowd was very supportive, and I was proud that they appreciated his
talent. Jon re-emerged and the band broke into "Blaze of Glory," which I
was again very impressed with. I truly believe that this song is a
different beast when done by the band instead of just Jon. Then came what
seemed like a 20-minute version of "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night,"
although this fan would have been fine with another 20!
"Raise Your Hands" was a pleasant surprise. Although I had heard this one
live before, the Dallas crowd kicked some major booty while raising their
hands. Everyone was right on point, and it was great. I was sweating big
time already, and then the band proceeds to break out "I'll Sleep When I'm
Dead." At the beginning of the show, Jon promised that we would all get
the best aerobic workout we'd had all year, and he was so right.
Before I knew it, the main part of the concert was over. The encore was a
little short (one of my only complaints on the night), but it included
"Born To Be My Baby" and "Bad Medicine/Shout."
All in all, a great and amazing show. I had a blast. The only down side,
in my opinion, was the lack of surprise in the set list. I know they've
been playing some rarities like "In These Arms" and some covers like "Eve
of Destruction." Also would have liked to hear "Hook Me Up," which I'm
sure would be awesome live. However, I hate to bother complaining,
because the boys' performance was incredible.
My overall reviews (rating 1-10):
Performance: 9.5
Set list: 7.5
Crowd: 10
Arena: 9
Set list:
Bounce
You Give Love a Bad Name
Wild in the Streets
Livin' on a Prayer
Everyday
Undivided
Runaway
Just Older
Wanted Dead or Alive
The Distance
It's My Life
Misunderstood
Right Side of Wrong
I'll Be There For You (Richie on lead vocal)
Blaze of Glory
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Raise Your Hands
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Encore:
Born To Be My Baby
Bad Medicine/Shout
For those of you who might be interested in what the guys were wearing,
don't quote me on this because I was jumping up and down too much to
notice! But here's what I caught: Jon came out first in a black leather
shirts and black denim jeans. He changed his shirt during the time he was
backstage for "I'll Be There For You." The new shirt was beige with some
kind of embroidery on it. Richie was, well, interesting, as usual. He
came out in a long red trench coat (Sgt. Pepper-ish). He also had on over
his pants a belt of ankle-length fringe. He changed into a red
long-sleeved shirt with "SAMBORA" on the front before the encore. He also
changed hats a couple times. Don't really remember what Dave & Tico were
wearing (maybe someone else could help?). I did note that Huey was
especially colorful, since he's usually in all black. He had some kind of
rainbow pattern on his bass also.
Suzy Halliday .Copyright © 2002 [Astrological Profiles]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 07/24/03
This site was last updated
07/24/03
