5 Shows, 1 Leg

Last night I saw Bon Jovi at the MCI Center. This was my 5th show of the Have A Nice Day tour in two months, so let's review.

1 - December 2, Philly
The Core Four met in Philly for back to back Bon Jovi. On this first night, Steph and I were asked to sit down. Sit down? At a concert? WTF? Luckily the row ahead of us had a couple of no shows, so we moved down and stood there, blocking our former seats. Seriously, some dude sat through most of it... lame. On stage, during the memorable guitar solo in Wanted Dead or Alive, "Richie got tangled in his guitar power cables and missed the start of his solo... so Jon stopped the song, in disbelief that one of the most famous guitar solos in history wasn't done the right way! So the band picked up and Richie did a blazing guitar solo - as it should be - and finished the song and the night."

2 - December 3, Philly
The best of the 5. Calling Philly their second home, Bon Jovi gave the extra usually reserved for NJ. There was more energy in the arena, no one asked us to sit, and we got in a couple of extra songs including the cover closer from the last tour, Shout, and Keep the Faith. Faith... God bless her. She kept my liver busy at the Hunsicker wedding in the Fall of 05. Good times, good times. But I digress.

3 - December 17, DC
Having experienced two shows, I knew pretty much what to expect. I thought so anyway. Drugged up on muscle relaxers for an injured back, Jon wasn't able to put on the caliber of show we had seen. I'm certainly not saying it was bad, but DC #1 does rank #5. One perk, being close to Christmas, the band performed Run Run Rudolph.

4 - January 20, Buffalo
Forget Cleveland, Buffalo ROCKS. It was my first time in the HSBC arena. I did an internship in the old concert venue, the Buffalo Auditorium, with the indoor soccer team, the Buffalo Blizzard. Oops, another tangent. And we're back! Bon Jovi performed I Want to be Loved for the first time on the tour. Was it from Jon to me... hmmm, one may wonder.

5 - February 2, DC
Before the show, the news broke. Heather filed for divorce. Richie didn't wear his ring and there were a couple of subtle references to the news including Jon saying to Richie, "Hang in there." as the approached the center mic to sing I'll Be There for You. In the stands, Steph and I were asked to sit again. OMG. I can't even believe it. I was lucky enough to have an option B. Grace had floor seats and one of her friends was too sick to go. I used that extra ticket to spend some time on the floor. Wow! And as a result, the best pictures yet...


"Hang in there."

Loved every second of these shows. Worth every penny, and every mile driven. The band will be back mid-summer and I will be going to more shows including the last one in NJ, where the tours always close.

Now, here's what I'm sick of hearing. "Isn't it the same show each time?" Actually, there are slight variations, but regardless, have you ever listened to a CD more than once? Seen a movie more than once? Zip it!