Yes, as many of you know, I decided at the last minute to take a trip up to Montreal for Bon Jovi night 2. So, there I was on the midnight bus from Port Authority ... very much like that scene out of Harry Potter. Luckily, I arrived in one piece as the sun came up in freezing cold, snowy Canada ... hey! they don't call it The Great White North for nothing. LOLI got a killer rate on a hotel one BLOCK from the venue so I spent the day just relaxing, catching up with friends and watching a bit of tv. By the way, you know you’re in Canada when:
1. Curling is one of the streaming scores on TSN (the Canadian ESPN)
2. You turn on the TV and a classic BON JOVI video is playing ... in this case, “These Days” ... wow, what a treat! They continued featuring the band all day, including the NMS dvd right as I was getting ready to go to the arena. Canada always has great media coverage of Jovi.
Anyhoo, after meeting up with my friend L and her husband for a relaxing pre-concert drink, we headed over to the Bell Centre. With no opening act, we expected 'the boys' to go on around 8ish. Adding to my excitement of the show (for the tales of the Montreal crowds are legendary) was that I was going to meet my friend Juliedreamon in person. She and I have known eachother online for YEARS but always seemed to miss eachother at shows. Not this time!
Well, I thought I was prepared for the cheer from the crowd ... but I wasn't. Holy moly! Those Québécois definitely LOVE their Jovi and that was apparent from the minute the screen started and the roar engulfed the venue. Wow!
Because it was so last-minute, I was happy to get whatever seat I could ... which ended up being a few rows off the circle on Richie's side. Not bad ... but I was grateful for the 26x zoom on the new camera. LOL
Speaking of which, here are a few shots ... (I posted some of these on Twitter that night as well)
...Jon was pumped by the crowd...
...and Richie Sambora was ON FIRE (including a super-bluesy fun LYHOM)...
...probably my favorite shot of the night...
...Living in Sin/Chapel of Love was a great treat...
...I liked this shot as well...
...and it's always a rare thing to get some good shots of Tico Torres...
...there was this great moment with Richie and Hugh rockin' out...
...and I almost missed being close enough to make David do the hand motions during Who Says ...
...Jon DID sing his heart out...
...but the star of the night was the crowd in Montreal which brought Jon Bon Jovi to his knees ...
I have been to a lot of shows. I have experienced some great crowds ... but this one definitely ranked up there in the top 2 or 3 all-time. Absolutely amazing.
After the show, I was back at the hotel in like 10 minutes. LOL I'm DEFINITELY staying there again ... I was uploading pictures while the venue was still clearing out! (Thanks to all who stayed up and joined the post-concert Twitter picture party.)
The next morning, after making the mandatory stop at Tim Horton's for coffee and some donuts for the bus, I headed back to New York. No major drama this time in terms of travel ... though, it was an interesting moment when we stopped at the border and the security dog went BONKERS over the joint that some college kid forgot he had in his pocket. Luckily, the pooch didn't get the munchies too badly ... he would have had to fight me for those donuts! Haha.
So, what's up next? The absolute CHAOS that is the next two weeks ... wanna see the calendar?
Tuesday - Lorenza Ponce at The Living Room
Wednesday - two of my crazy Germans arrive for ...
Thursday - Bon Jovi at MSG
Friday - Bon Jovi at MSG
Saturday - Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes in Montclair, NJ
Sunday - Bon Jovi at Verizon Center
Wednesday - NYC Hit Squad (with Jeff Kazee, Jukes horns, Christine Ohlman) at Iridium (I am missing the Philly Jovishow for the first time in like SIX tours!)
Friday - Lorenza Ponce and Bon Jovi at Mohegan
Saturday - Bon Jovi at MSG
Sunday/Monday - BAJG sleeps for two days straight ROFL
...and the wheels keep on turning... :-)
