Here, it is just another typical Honolulu day - 80 degrees, sun is shining and the waves are calling to me. Though I have absolutely loved my time here in paradise, I'm looking forward to going home. Y'all know me ... NYC is just in my veins and right now I need a jolt of that energy (though it could be because Fiction Mistress and I totally polished off a lot of wine last night and I'm feeling the aftermath of that. LOL)
I'd like to thank all of you who joined me during the Twitter play-by-play. I loved reading all the comments afterwards - though sorry my tweet saying "Get Ready" never got to you and it seems to have caused some confusion. Considering how much I was tweeting and trying to take pictures and deal with my signs and actually ENJOY the show, I think things progressed rather smoothly actually.And to those of you who are new to my blog, welcome. Enjoy yourself. Read some of the previous posts (there are links to some of the more popular reviews in the left sidebar.)
Okay, onto the show!
I was blessed to once again have a great seat due to the fan club allotment of tickets for this concert. And once again, I had a bunch of Aussies on my left - incredibly fun and friendly and sang along with every song.
Overall, I felt that Jon Bon Jovi really had to draw on his considerable ability as a showman to get this crowd going. I think about that quote in the WWWB book when his wife said that Jon makes things happen by sheer will. That's how I felt about the show last night. He just kept working and pushing to get a reaction out of them. Interestingly, FM said she felt last night's crowd was better than the first night. It always depends on who's around you and your view/perspective of the arena.
I have a feeling the setlist was altered perhaps due to the crowd (which to me was more of a "big hits" type of group) ... nonetheless, it was a great time. Highlights were definitely Only Lonely and Get Ready - both of which I hope y'all have a chance to hear during this tour. Richie was really groovin' on some of those older tunes ... and Tico, dang that boy does hit hard.
I felt there was more of a connection between the guys on the second night in comparison to the first. I always love watching the interaction between them - not just Jon and Richie - but between the rhythm section of Tico, David and Hugh. Maybe because I'm a musician, I tend to focus on those quirky moments - funky transitions, interesting underlying melodies and harmonies, etc. I will say, there were many of those during Brokenpromisedland. I loved having the chance to hear it right out of the gate, regardless of some of the first-time awkwardness. I think after they run it a few times, it will be awesome. The new stuff really does sound fantastic - like usual, Bon Jovi is great on tape, but absolutely excels live.
If you followed the pbp, you know that I brought two signs for this show - one for Jon and one for David. I thought it was very interesting the LACK of signs at these two shows - I'm used to dozens of signs in those first 10 rows. In any case, my first sign went up during "We Weren't Born to Follow" and had the Soul logo with the words The Power of We. I held up David's sign during "Love's the Only Rule" - I thought it was the PERFECT song as my sign said David - Love Will Stand. I absolutely love this song (full name is "Love Will Stand When All Else Falls") from Memphis and wanted him to know that a lot of us love and support that show. If you haven't purchased the cast album, PLEASE do so. And if you are coming into NYC for the Giants concerts (yes, I still can't call it the Meadowlands Stadium) you should try to get tickets for the show.
Okay, I think I'm going to run for now. Its my last day and I have gifts to buy and Mai Tais to drink (what IS the plural of Mai Tai?! Is it Tai or Tais? Hmmm ... inquiring minds want to know. LOL) I'm sure I'll be back later with more.
Until then ... Aloha!
P.S. Oops ... forgot to put the setlist ...
* Lost Highway
* We Weren't Born to Follow
* Bad Name
* Born to be My baby
* Get Ready
* Only Lonely
* Thorn in My Side
* When We Were Beautiful
* Whole Lot of Leavin'
* Superman Tonight
* We Got it Goin' On
* It's My Life
* Bad Medicine
* Hallelujah
* I'll Be There For You
* Brokenpromiseland
* Someday I'll be Saturday Night
* Who Says You Can't Go Home
* Loves the Only Rule
* Wanted Dead or Alive
* Livin' on a Prayer
