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Bon Jovi > My show reviews > JULY 24, 2010 - Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA

My show reviews

JULY 24, 2010 - Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA

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"The you in me is still alive"

Venue: Gillette Stadium
Ticket: Field Section A2, Row 12, Seat 9
Pictures: Available
Videos: Available

That's it! I officially saw Bon Jovi during 3 decades of my life: I was 13 years old when I went to my first concert, I saw them often when I was in my twenties and since a few weeks, I am now 30 years old! One thing is for sure, Jon is still very alive in my heart and if I had a lot of money to spend, my wildest dream would be to go on tour to follow the band wherever they go. I budgeted that I would have to have a little more than 200 000$ to realize my project comfortably for a tour composed of about 130 shows (to get good tickets, to pay for transport and hotel fees)... Are there people out there ready to fund me?! I'm kidding, but let's say that I wouldn't mind hearing Jon repeat himself more than 4 times in the same tour! Moreover, I must admit that I really like travelling to go see Bon Jovi; arriving just before or with the effervescence around the show is really pleasant. It gives me a good reason to travel! It's very different than waiting for the storm to hit the city like it does when I see the band in Montreal.

My fourth show of the The Circle tour was in Foxborough in Massachusetts where the band was playing at the Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots. One week before the show, I didn't feel confident I would be able to go to that show after being struck by food poisoning that nailed me down to the bed for several days just before we left for the United States. I was given the green light by the doctor to go on the trip less than 48 hours before we left! Phew! I was worried I wouldn't be in shape for the show, but I tried to spare myself as much as possible so I wouldn't be disappointed at myself during the show!

The day before the show, Martin and I went to the Gillette Stadium to see how it was. I have only one word to say about it: WOW! The stadium is very beautiful and the facilities around the stadium are very well thought of (there are restaurants outside the stadium gates, there are also restrooms outside and the Patriots official store is very well located to attract tourists like us). The roadies had already started to set up the stage for the show when we went there in the morning and the stadium main entrance already showed a big Bon Jovi banner.

There was still a lot of work to do before the show, without mentioning the colossal task of the person that was already placing the chairs one by one on the field! One thing is for sure, seeing the stadium pumped a little amount of adrenaline in my veins; it looked promising for the next day. I must admit that I had mixed feeling towards this show. Of course, I was about to see another show, but I also knew that it was probably my last show of the year and I didn't really want the day of the show to come!

The day of the show, we took our time at the hotel to get ready since the stadium parking lot didn't open before the end of the afternoon based on the information found on the internet and I could go pick up my fan club tickets only starting at 2h pm anyway. Based on the experience at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey two months before, we knew that we didn't have to be there at 2h pm for the fan club tickets! I had prepared once again a list of things to do and to bring, so the preparations went smoothly. The forecast was calling for bad weather at the end of the afternoon with isolated thunderstorms and a higher risk of showers starting at 10h pm. However it was sunny when we left the hotel, so there was still hope of not being too affected by the weather once on site. I had decided to wear shorts and my pink bikini top that I had hidden by putting on top the same tank top I had worn the first time that I touched Jon in March 2010. I told myself that I would take off the tank top if I ever saw several women wearing a bikini top... And I had decided to put on makeup, even if there was a risk of rain; I still looked sick without makeup, mostly because I had my contact lenses on and I had big bags under my eyes!

We had lunch at Chili's, the same restaurant we had gone to before the show in New Jersey two months ago. Why change a winning formula, mostly when there was a Chili's located at about 10 minutes from the stadium? I ate the same thing as in New Jersey, that is their famous grilled chicken sandwich which is divine by the way! We left the restaurant around 3h30 pm to go to the stadium. The sky was threatening when we left the restaurant; a big dark grey cloud was heading towards us and I knew quite well that this cloud was far from being innocent...

A few minutes after we left the restaurant, it started raining increasingly. At some point, it looked like a snowstorm! There were rain squalls so strong that we couldn't see anything on the road. We got stuck in a huge traffic jam to get to the stadium; more than 2 miles to be bumper to bumper... We had a hard time believing that it was the traffic jam that led to the stadium parking lot so soon! But yes, it seems like people couldn't wait to do their tailgates! There was already a lot of water on the road. At some places, I was a little afraid to go through waterholes that looked more like lakes than waterholes on the road! When we got to Patriot Place where the stadium is located, we saw that a lot of people were already there. The parking lots were filling up quickly and it was barely 4h30 pm. Electronic signs indicated the available parking lots with the restrictions (parking lots for people with disabilities, for limousines, etc.) and we saw that there seemed to be only one parking lot for the general public, that is P10. We weren't in the right lane to reach P10 and we had to ask a person that was doing the security/traffic control to know how to reach P10! People were understanding and we were able to get to the parking lot for the general public without too many difficulties. It was raining so much at that time that Martin had his left side soaking wet after pulling down the window a few moments to ask for directions!

The parking lot fees were 40$US (ouch!) and we still had to cross the road to get to the stadium! A few motels and local businesses offered cheaper parking lots further down the road, but we made the easy choice of paying 40$US rather than paying 20$US and having to walk for 20 additional minutes, especially that it was still pouring rain at that time! We parked the car in the spot indicated by the person who was placing the people in the parking lot, that is near the railing in front of Patriot Place. It was out of the question to get out of the car to go get our bags that were in the trunk! The rain was really not stopping, so Martin decided to at least get the bag in which our books were by pulling down the backseat and by contorting himself to reach it.

Some people were already putting on their ponchos for the rain and were heading towards the stadium. We were really wondering what the rush was to get to a soaking wet site and to be soaking wet for the rest of the day... It's true that it was almost 5h pm and some people had probably not had dinner yet... Most people were still staying in their cars, or should I say, in their trucks and mini-vans, because the majority of people were very well equipped to party beside their vehicles and it took a lot of space in a trunk! The rain continued to come down despite what seemed to be a lighter cloud that was heading towards us. I told myself at that moment that I couldn't believe it would still rain like that for hours! Let's say that I was in no rush to go get my fan club tickets!

I don't remember what time it was when the rain stopped, but it was such a relief to see blue holes in the clouds appear here and there. A few moments later, the sun came back and it didn't disappear on us until it went down during the evening. However the damage was already done; it was very humid outside and as the time went by, my hair was becoming curlier and curlier! Grrr I don't like this kind of humidity in the air! The temperature was still pleasant with 24 degrees Celsius, but with the humidity, I imagine that we felt like it was still at least 30 degrees!

I went to get a bag in the trunk of the car that contained chips that we had brought to nibble a little before going to the stadium. I was also able to finish preparing my personal belongings to bring to the stadium: fan club laminates, digital camera, small purse containing the things I didn't want to lose or to have stolen, ponchos for the rain in the large purse, etc. The tailgating had then started once again and some people were really well equipped with they full BBQ! Also, people seemed in a more festive mood with this beautiful sun that was now heating up the stadium parking lot, despite the fact that we had to walk in mud in some places in the parking lot! More and more people were heading to the underground tunnel that led further towards the road that we had to cross to reach Patriot Place. Around 5h30 pm, we decided to go to the stadium because the doors were opening at 6h pm and I had to go get my fan club tickets. I changed my sandals so I would be more comfortable during the show and we left the car. We took the chance to bring bottles of water because the stadium website didn't specify if we were allowed to bring them in the stadium or not. The policemen that were doing traffic control on the road that we had to cross were very busy with people who didn't follow the rules. Let's say that the policemen were not very patient either!

When we got to Patriot Place, we saw that there were a lot of stores around the stadium and several people had taken the opportunity to do a little bit of shopping. We hadn't reached the stores on the previous day; we were quite impressed by such a complex!

We headed to the location indicated by the fan club to go get my tickets, but the tent was empty. The tent for VIP packages was next beside it and a few people were heading there when we arrived. I then came closer to this second tent with the intent of asking someone to find out where the people who distributed the fan club tickets were. I didn't have to talk since the person in front of me had the same question! The woman in the tent for VIP packages told her that the fan club staff had decided to settle down in the hallway inside the Patriots store. When I went in the store, I immediately saw that there were people at a table who distributed tickets in the hallway. It was a little crowded, but at least, the people kept themselves dry! When I came closer to the table, I handed out an ID card and my confirmation email about the ticket purchase. The man who took care of me found my tickets immediately and he handed them to me in a few seconds. Several people were waiting beside the table to get picked up for their backstage tour, probably with Matt Bongiovi, Jon's brother. When I came out of the Patriots store, I saw myself in a window; my hair was then as curly as when it is freshly washed... Ouch, I had spent 20 minutes to straighten my hair that morning!!

We hung around the gates at the stadium main entrance until about 6h pm. We could see that there were a few people from Québec in the crowd because we heard people speak French once or twice. Some people were distributing stuff on Bon Jovi and everyone seemed to be in good shape to go to a show. The restaurants around the stadium were also packed up by people who were eating dinner. At some point, a person with an orange shirt on which "Event staff" was written came to tell us that the gates of the entrance where we were would not open at 6h pm, but that other gates located in front of the parking lot beside the stadium were already open. We then walked a little to reach these gates where there were impressive lines of people who were waiting to get in the stadium. We had to go through a search of bags for men and women who had one (let's say that the line for the men was very short...) and a very brief body search. Some people who were waiting in line had umbrellas in their hands and a woman from the event staff said at some point that we had to get rid of all umbrellas before going through the search since they would be confiscated. A woman with an umbrella in hand was flabbergasted to learn that and she said to people around her that they should specify on the ticket that umbrellas are forbidden... Let's say that the woman must not have been accustomed to stadiums, because no umbrellas are allowed either at football games or shows! Ponchos only, otherwise, everyone would not see anything because of the umbrella in front of them!

The search of my large purse went smoothly, it only contained ponchos for the rain and my eye drops! The man who looked at my large purse told me that no bottles of water were allowed when he saw me with my bottle in hand. I asked him if I could bring it after taking off the cap and he added: "No sorry. I don't make the rules, it's Bon Jovi policy." Well, I told myself: "Go and tell that to someone else!" and I told him: "Well, I've seen Bon Jovi in New Jersey two months ago and we were allowed bottles without caps!" The man looked like a fool, especially that the woman behind me understood everything and she looked at him a little amused! He should have said that it was a stadium policy and not a Bon Jovi policy! Anyway, I obeyed like a well-educated girl and I threw my bottle in the garbage.

The woman who "searched" me simply put her index fingers around my waist and my hips and she smiled like if she wanted to tell me: "Well, you cannot hide anything!" When she finished, she simply told me: "Oh my, you're up to your neck! Enjoy the show!" She was referring to the fact that I had the strap of my small purse across my chest from my left shoulder, my fan club laminates around my neck, my digital camera around my neck as well and my large purse on my right shoulder. I wanted to tell her that I'm starting to know what I need to not lack for anything; this show was still my fifteenth Bon Jovi show in 17 years! Speaking of fan club laminates, I'm happy to wear them to each concert I go to, because I must admit that I like turning a few heads, since one of them says "Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi Member"... At least a few people are impressed every time, but nobody asked me what these laminates were this time.

Martin was already waiting for me on the other side of the gates because his search was performed in less time. I found it strange that nobody asked me to open my small purse to verify its contents. Martin also thought that the search had been very brief! We headed towards the field based on the instructions given by the ushers and we got through another gate where people were asking us for our tickets and were putting yellow bracelets around our wrist to identify everyone who had field tickets. Therefore, we could go around everywhere in the stadium to go get food or go to the restroom without having to show our ticket each time we would go back to the field. One of my worries was to not be able to go to the restroom once in the stadium... I even asked the woman who put the bracelet on my wrist if there were restrooms accessible for us! Martin could attest that I almost obsessed about it! Finally, I was worried for really nothing!

When we got to the field, I immediately saw that the tiles that were covering the football field were still very wet and they were a little hollow towards the center, so I told myself that the water would take a lot of time to drain itself out! We headed towards our seats at first to see where we were located. I must admit that I was expecting worse tickets but I was hoping for better ones. We were in the 12th row on the field outside the circle on the right when facing the stage. See picture below, our seats are circled in red.

Bon Jovi show at the Gillette Stadium, MA, USA (July 24, 2010)

We were in the middle of the row, that is what I disliked the most, but we could still see the stage pretty well. We also had a great view of the giant screen on the right of the stage (we were directly in front of it). For the price that I had paid for my tickets (160$US each ticket), it was reasonable, although I would not have hated being in the circle in front of the stage once again! I immediately saw that the chairs were tied together by white tie-wraps as in New Jersey and they each had a sticker on their backs to identify them with the section, row and seat numbers. What a painstaking task for the person that had set the chairs!

We continued to hang around by taking stairs that led to little restaurants (among them were a few McDonalds!) in the stadium. Martin ate an hamburger and I ate a few very greasy fries. The bottles of water were sold at a reasonable price (3.75$US for 500 mL) and the additional caps that I was able to sneak in the stadium partially fit on the bottles which caps were now removed. We went around the stadium while taking a few pictures of the view that we had up there. After going to the restroom, an experience that wasn't too bad despite the amount of women who were in the stadium (I had anticipated the worst...), we went back to our seats when the first act had already played a few songs. I'm sorry, I don't know who the first act was...

When we got back to our seats, Martin wiped his seat before sitting down because there was still water on it, but mine was dry. I immediately put on ear plugs because we were in front of the speakers and let's say that the music was very loud! I wanted to spare my ears for Bon Jovi at least! There weren't many people in our section yet, but the most part seemed extremely satisfied of being that close to the stage. Several people around us were wearing VIP laminates around their neck (they had the privilege of having a backstage tour prior to the show). In the row in front of us, a woman was alone and she instinctively walked towards two women who were trying to take a picture of themselves to offer her service to take a picture of them. I found it was very generous of her, since she offered to do it even before the other two ones asked her!

A few rows behind us, a woman told a man from the event staff who was standing between the catwalk of the circle and the barricade on my left that she wouldn't be able to sit down at her seat that was in the middle of the row. She told him that she absolutely needed to be standing up since she was too hot and suffocating when she was sitting down... Anything to have a "good reason" to go to the barricade. The worst part is that the man let her do it! Two other women were also wandering around on the field and they seemed to try to find a way to go to the barricade. We found out why fast. One of them had a sign that said "Will work for backstage passes". Well, not subtle on their part, the sign could as well have had a much more explicit and direct message! And moreover, if they wanted to go backstage that bad, they could as well have purchased VIP packages at 1000$ each ticket that included a backstage tour! They would have worked to be able to buy these tickets! There are bimbos out there who think that it's easy to get close to the band members with a sign like that!

Two women who had the aisle seats in the row in front of us each held a rose in their hands. I told myself: "Hum... Good luck in giving them to Jon, you are awfully far away!" I didn't see these women with their roses in hand during the show, either they gave up or they succeeded in passing through somewhere to reach the stage or give the roses to somebody.

When we saw the huge gap between the barricade and the catwalk forming the circle in front of the stage, Martin and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth for anybody to try everything to be at the barricade to have the chance to touch Jon. As I explained it to Martin at that time, to touch Jon there, he first needed to want to touch someone, he needed to lean extremely forward and the person located on the other side of the barricade needed to stretch as well. In my opinion, even with all these conditions met, Jon and the person would be able to touch each other's fingertips only. I gesticulated while explaining this to Martin and the woman behind us saw my signs or she understood my French, because later in the evening, she explained to the same women who had the "subtle" sign that she had heard that it was almost impossible to touch Jon because of the gap between the barricade and the catwalk. The same woman came to the wise conclusion that it was as difficult if not impossible to touch Jon from the first row in the circle! When I saw the fuss around this barricade, I decided to have my picture taken at the barricade before the people on our left arrived. Here is the result (we see the catwalk and the circle directly behind me and the stage where the first act was playing on the right in the picture):

Marie-Hélène Cyr - Bon Jovi show at the Gillette Stadium, MA, USA (July 24, 2010)

And no, I wasn't bold enough to take off my tank top, because I didn't see anybody wearing a bikini top (except at the end when we left the stadium, I saw a beautiful blonde wearing a yellow bikini top that had the same style as mine). It would have been hot enough to wear only the bikini top to the point that I was wondering what the people who brought sweatshirts had thought!

A woman in the row behind us had a green fluorescent sign that read: "Jon, I know you're not a doctor, but I sure deserve a look" or something along that line. From the way she had made it and the distance that separated us from the stage, I doubted that Jon would be able to see the message on the sign; the letters were very small and they were not thick... In short, an amateur! ;)

The first act finished their set and as Martin made me realize, it shouldn't be much pleasant for the members of a band to have to gather their instruments themselves because they don't have enough money to pay roadies to do it... Kid Rock (the second first act) started his show around 7h40 pm. I don't like having to endure two first acts for the same show... Especially that Kid Rock is not really my kind of music. I must admit however that he knew how to fire up the crowd, he went very often to the catwalk and he went around the circle often. There were a lot of Kid Rock fans around us and there were an awful lot of people at the barricade at some point. 8 seats were between me and the barricade and at some point, I counted at least 11 people on my left before the barricade. For instance, three girls came in our row and there were only two free seats left. They then sat down the three of them on one butt cheek on both seats... I found it strange that the security had let them pass through without verifying their tickets, because it was clear that one of them didn't belong there! I didn't like it at all to have as many people around me. We were so packed up one against another, I was telling myself that for sure someone would step on my feet at some point! And let's say that my two left neighbors were very large! For Kid Rock's fans, here is one of the pictures I took when he was on my left on the catwalk:

Kid Rock - Bon Jovi show at the Gillette Stadium, MA, USA (July 24, 2010)

Around 8h30 pm, Kid Rock was still playing and I was starting to be very tired of listening to him! The lyrics of his songs were often very explicit and I felt bad hearing them! Let's say that they weren't very kid friendly... And the cherry on the sundae came when he took his shirt off and he was shirtless on stage. I almost wanted to stop looking at him! Also, I was starting to be hot and to feel stuck with so many people around us. I wondered at this moment how I would enjoy the show, since I had not gotten my strength back since I had been sick. Fortunately, I had my ear plugs in my ears, so I didn't have a headache, but I could no longer sit down because of all these people who were now in the row; I would probably have been hit by an elbow on the forehead if I had sat down.

Speaking of being hit by something in the face, someone had had the "brilliant" idea of bringing a beach-ball and it was going around in the crowd near us. It's fun for the first 30 seconds, but the ball went around for a long time and most people (including me) didn't care about throwing it back in the crowd when it fell down at our feet! I was taking a few pictures at some point when the ball hit me right on the forehead. I received water on my forehead (because the ball was wet), I was afraid that water would have hit the camera lens. Let's say that I was starting to be less patient... I told Martin at that moment that if the ball would hit me again, I would deflate it and put it under my chair! Fortunately, the ball didn't hit me a second time. Another, even bigger, beach-ball landed at the left of a man one or two rows in front of us and he simply looked at it without throwing it back and I didn't see it afterwards going around in the crowd, so I think it finished its trip there!

Kid Rock played until about 8h45 pm, I was more than jaded at that moment. Towards the end, fireworks went off on stage and fire torches threw flames on stage (Kid Rock was singing a song in which he often said: "You're so hot"). The heat reached us with each throw of the torches; it must have been hot on stage! When Kid Rock left the stage, several people left our row, allowing me to finally rest before Bon Jovi. I imagine that several people had come up front for Kid Rock and they had decided to go back to their seats in the stadium. I pulled out my ear plugs quite quickly, because they were starting to put a pressure in my ears that was about to worsen into a headache. Not long after Kid Rock left the stage, a woman from the event staff cleaned up the barricade by telling everyone who was there to go back to their seats. The man on the other side of the barricade had probably let too many people come at the barricade. The woman didn't seem to be very pleased to see that amount of people! It was really nice to see her have a little bit of authority!

It was very humid in the stadium and Martin asked me as a joke if the day had come when we would see Jon wearing shorts on stage. The image that came to my mind made me burst into laughter! I don't remember seeing a picture of Jon wearing shorts on stage and I think that it would be quite hilarious if he were to wear some! He has been shirtless or with his shirt completely unbuttoned already, but I rarely saw him be bare-legged while singing! It wouldn't be a very "rock star" look!

At some point, I was looking at the people in the bleachers and I imagined what the players of the New England Patriots feel like when they are on the football field and 70 000 people are cheering them up. They must be really impressed... Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, I had a hard time imagining what it would be like without being very emotional!

I took the time to look in the circle carefully during the intermission between Kid Rock and Bon Jovi to see if I would recognize people. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize anyone! I saw people in the circle talk to people in the rest of the stadium... It was a little funny to see them; they looked like prisoners in the circle, because the catwalk was high enough to reach their shoulders and we could only see their heads! I also looked around me and I saw that several women had perfect teeth... I patted myself in the back once again for having straightened my teeth to be normal among the crowd of women! ;)

I also set my large purse beneath my seat by hanging it by the strap to the seat like I usually do so the purse is hanging towards the floor from the chair without touching the ground. That way, it is difficult for someone to open it without me knowing it and steal something from it. I verified carefully on which side the zipper was so I would be able to open it quickly in case of rain. The sky was still clear with a few unthreatening little white clouds, but during Kid Rock, some grey clouds had passed near the stadium and it had me worried a little!

Since Bon Jovi usually starts playing around 8h45 pm, I was wondering when I would see them come on stage! I had in mind to make a video of the stage during This Is Our House (the last song before the lights go off), because I find it really good! Around 9h15 pm, the song still hadn't started and I thought I recognized the song that usually plays before This Is Our House, so I got my camera ready. All of the sudden, the lights went off unexpectedly, spreading a gust of surprise among the people who were not back to their seats. With a surprised look, I told myself: "Ah sh**, I won't even hear it!!" People were almost running to go back to their seats while the introduction video with the circle composed of words appeared on the main giant screen at the back of the stage. I told myself at this moment: "That's it! My last show of the year! Ahhh... I'm already nostalgic, but very relieved to be there!" We must not forget that one week prior, I was drinking water and eating chicken broth exclusively because of my food poisoning! Moreover, Jon torn one of his calves 15 days prior during a show, so me being at the concert was twice as good! Martin then held me by the hips and told me: "Now, don't get too excited, you understand?" Anyway, I was already starting to be tired, I knew quite well that I didn't have the energy and mostly the space to start jumping around everywhere! And I was a little too far away to feel the indescribable buzz and energy of the first rows.

The band members appeared on stage in the shadow at the same time as their faces were shown one by one on the giant screen at the back of the stage. The crowd reacted more when Richie was shown on the giant screen, but not as much as when Jon was shown for the first time! The crowd had already gone wild in the stadium even before he appeared on stage, so I don't need to tell you what the reaction was when Jon came on stage and a spotlight showed him, a hand in the air and his guitar on a shoulder! The crowd was very noisy at that time! The first notes of Blood On Blood were already being heard since a few seconds, I was already very happy to be there, even if I would not have hated to hear another song to begin the show. Martin didn't recognize the song right away, but I was already on automatic pilot to start singing!

The set list that the band played was:

Encores:

The band played from about 9h15 pm until 11h40 pm based on the time on my pictures. My only regret is to not have heard Superman Tonight again, because I find this song very touching live with the images displayed on the giant screen... I took 2300 pictures of Bon Jovi (some are not good at all), about a hundred pictures of Kid Rock and a few more of the stadium. I took about 20 videos in all. During Keep The Faith, Martin saw that I had taken a lot of pictures already and he told me in my ear: "You know, the more you take, the more time it will take you to sort them!" Yes, that's true, but it's a beautiful problem nonetheless to have thousands of pictures of Bon Jovi to sort! We were so lucky with the weather as well! The forecast had called for showers starting at 10h pm... I looked at my watch at 10h pm, I look at Martin afterwards at the same time I pointed at the sky with a finger; we could still see a few stars! The sky got cloudy afterwards, but not a single drop of rain fell down! I told myself towards the end of the show that there was definitely a supernatural power that had watched over us!

At the beginning of the show, my two neighbors on my left were not back to their seats yet, so I had a lot of room to move. However, it got a little tighter when they came back... We were on the right of the stage enough to turn ourselves on the side to see the stage, so we were always looking to the left. The fact that we were standing up on the side helped us to have more room around us, because there was enough room between the rows to stand up comfortably. However, when people wanted to come in or leave the rows, it was more complicated, because we didn't see them when they came to our right (they were kind of behind us since we were standing up with the right hip against the chair of the row in front of us).

I made a long video of We Weren't Born To Follow to catch on tape images of Barack Obama and of Oprah on the giant screen that had made such a reaction in the crowd in New Jersey. Once again, when the American President was shown on the giant screen, people started to scream. I always dig the lyrics of this song and this show was no exception! In fact, I was looking forward to stopping the recording to sing at the top of my lungs!

At the end of We Weren't Born To Follow, Jon welcomed us at the Gillette Stadium on a Saturday night. He then said: "This ain't television baby! Get up outta your seats!" by raising both his arms in the air several times to invite people to get up before the following song. I was already seeing people in the upper bleachers (who appeared to be very small to us from where we were because of the height) get up and get ready to participate as well. When Jon raised and brought down his arm while saying: "Shot through the heart and you're to blame", the "you give love a bad name" that followed seemed to be more powerful than the one in New Jersey. Let's say that I was under the impression that people were screaming a lot more than in New Jersey as well throughout the show; it was as deafening as if we were in an arena. We were about 50 000 people (from the information found on the internet and the fact that the show was sold out) in a little smaller stadium, so that's why it seemed to be screaming louder. There was also the fact that being among the crowd instead of in the circle probably helped to seize the crowd a little better. The catwalk surrounding the circle had seemed to create a sound barrier that had attenuated the crowd's screams in New Jersey. One thing is for sure, I sang a lot during You Give Love A Bad Name (in fact, I think I shouted the lyrics during parts of the song)!

When Born To Be My Baby began, I heard a few men and a lot of women vividly react. I will start to believe that this song is way more popular in the United States than in Montreal, because I seem to think that the crowd reacted a lot more than usual! On my part, it's not a song that makes history whenever I hear it live...

There was a lot of coming and going in our row and as the show went on, the space between the rows was getting smaller, because people from the row in front of us were pushing the seats a little further back and the ones from the row behind us were pushing the seats a little forward... As much that at some point, I had no choice but to push away my seat and the seat in front of me, because I thought I had marks or bruises on the side of my thighs... It was getting hard to let people pass without sitting down on our seats for a few seconds.

I was also really wondering what kind of bladder one of the women a few seats on my left had to get out of the row so often until I spoke with Martin and he told me that it wasn't always the same woman who would get back in the row... We came to the conclusion that the three women who had sat down on two seats while Kid Rock was playing only had two tickets in our row and that the third person had a ticket further back. They then switched seats in our row and further back from time to time. When I realized that, the next time one of the women passed by AGAIN to go to a seat on my left, I sat down and I hit her good once or twice with my knee to make her realize that I was really tired of their little game! My patience has a limit after all and I don't have any congratulations to give to the security that didn't have any control over this kind of behavior! I was missing having seats in the circle where there aren't any imbeciles of the kind that buy tickets near the stage and further back and switch seats several time during the show... Sorry, but it's not something I respect at all!

The neighbor on my left didn't seem like a big fan... We were both standing on the side, so I was kind of behind her. I saw her sing only the big hits and she kept on sending text messages with her BlackBerry to someone else on what was going on during the show. At some point, I saw that the person who she sent the text messages to had asked her how she had gotten these great seats. I saw her respond that she had gotten them from a friend. It gives an idea of how she was short and how we were packed in if I were able to see that!

Several people around us were taking pictures with their BlackBerry and their iPhone... People must have envied me a little with my great camera if they were seeing the preview of the pictures on my LCD screen! It may explain why these people often took pictures of the giant screen that was on the right of the stage instead of taking pictures of the band members directly on stage. I had a pretty powerful zoom to take beautiful pictures directly on stage and the pictures on the giant screen weren't that great, because it looked like it was a picture taken of the giant screen...

Lost Highway didn't make history in my mind either, but still, I seem to have enjoyed it more than usual. I remember asking Martin to take a few pictures of me during this song, because I told myself: "Why break a tradition?" However, we were so close to one another that the pictures aren't that great, because my face takes the main part of the room in the pictures and we can hardly see the stage on them!

Marie-Hélène Cyr - Bon Jovi show at the Gillette Stadium, MA, USA (July 24, 2010)

As soon as I heard the first notes of In These Arms, I think that my heart skipped a beat! Martin looked at me very quickly (the speed at which he recognized it impressed me!) and he said: "There you go! You wanted to hear it!" During the two days prior to the show, I had gone on and on about my wish to hear In These Arms for the last show of my tour. I don't know why, but I'm crazy about the live version of this song! Each time I hear it, I remember more excellent show memories than the other songs... I also made a video of part of the song to be able to have the perpetual memory of this blissful state that takes over me when I have the chance to hear it live! I spent the rest of the song singing at the top of my lungs.

It was often difficult for me to take quality shots with my camera, because a man in the row in front of me a little on my left was not very tall, but he was directly in front of me when I was looking at the stage. He was getting bald on the top of his head and to make matter worse, it seemed like he had placed his hair in a way that the little hair he had left on the top of the head went up right above his head. My camera couldn't stop on changing its focus to the man's hair instead of staying on what was going on on stage! I had my finger on the autofocus button constantly to try to bring the focus back on the stage. I have a lot of pictures on which we see a blur at the bottom, it's the man's forelock! Moreover, a guy at least 6 feet tall was two rows in front of me on my left and he was blocking the view on stage completely, I didn't have a lot of flexibility when I wanted to take pictures without raising my arms in the air completely and block the view of people behind me! This is when the camera post that would slide along the catwalk wasn't stopping during entire songs in front of me to hide Jon on stage when he was in front of the main microphone! Let's say that I had to contort myself several times to see what was going on on stage and I sometimes contented myself by looking at what was displayed on the giant screen in front of me! It's not pleasant to have to do that being in the 12th row on the field!

I must admit that I seemed to black out a little during It's My Life. It's as if my brain had shut down, but I know that I kept on singing anyway. It's a weird feeling, it's like if I had spaced out and I was on automatic pilot! I just remember that Jon didn't refer to a roof blowing off right before beginning It's My Life!

Right before I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Jon put his microphone back on its stand and he said that the following day was a very important day; it was the beginning of the football season. I was really expecting something else from him like an announcement of a compilation album or something similar related to his professional career! He then put his hands together and he said: "Thank you Jesus!" while looking up. He said that he had all the inside scoops on the Patriots. He then started talking and walking away from the microphone to his left deliberately while he was still talking (I don't think he was saying anything coherent away from the microphone, he was teasing us). He came back to the microphone, he started to say: "And in terms of Brady..." and he started walking away from the microphone again to his right while keeping on talking, making the crowd go wild in the stadium. It was hilarious! I don't know how much time he spent coming up with this joke, but it was very well thought of and he seemed to enjoy himself like a kid on stage at this moment! When he came back to the microphone, he laughed and he told us that we hadn't paid big bucks to hear him make bad jokes and he said: "You paid me to sing and shake my ass... bring it on!" The band then played I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.

I really enjoyed myself during I'll Sleep When I'm Dead when Jon made us clap in our hands several times. I saw that even the people who were in the upper bleachers were participating, I found it was great. A few people around me also seemed amazed that these people up high were participating that much! It seemed like people in the circle enjoyed themselves like crazy and in general, people were enjoying themselves in our section as well. I think it's when Jon raised his hands for the first time during this song that he kept on saying in the microphone: "Put ‘em up! Put ‘em up!" to invite people to raise their hands in the air (or was it during We Weren't Born To Follow??). I took an awful lot of pictures during I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, because the lighting is almost always perfect to take excellent shots during this song. And Jon doesn't jump around much during this song because of his electric guitar, so I usually get clear pictures! ;)

After I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Jon said that he was getting warmed up and that it was time to take the show to the second gear. He said a few words to Tico before beginning We Got It Going On. I was expecting that one impatiently! I wished Jon would go around the circle on the catwalk so I would be able to make a video of him up close! But I had doubts about a future escapade on the catwalk because of his recent calf injury... At the beginning of the song, Jon stopped singing while the other band members sang in the background. He waved at someone behind him, he looked backstage for a few seconds and someone appeared unexpectedly on stage to come and change his monitor that is always hooked to his belt or his pants back pocket. It's the first time I was witnessing a technical problem being fixed by a roadie on stage like that! The only other time when I witnessed something similar is when Jon had ripped off his pants in Montreal and when he had gone backstage during Bad Medicine while continuing to sing!

I made a video of most part of We Got It Going On and I thought of something when Jon sang: "Is there anybody out there looking for a party?" at the beginning of the song. I told myself: "Me at least anyway!" Part of the stadium had the same thought, by the screams I heard at the same time as I thought about it! Just before the solo, Jon talked to us again by saying: "Now brothers and sisters... I've come here tonight for one reason and one reason only... I like it when I hear you SCREAM!" We obeyed by screaming! Jon stayed on the main stage during the solo. I told myself at that moment that my instinct had been right and that he would stay there for the rest of the song. His technical problem probably didn't help either to want to leave the main stage. The song is still as good without Jon jumping around on stage and it ended in the same way as during all the shows of the tour I've been to so far: with Jon saying: "Lights! Out!" and the lights went off on stage.

I don't remember when, but Jon said at some point during the show that they had been the first band to play at the Gillette Stadium when it got inaugurated. I told myself: "Well, have they and will they inaugurate every arena and stadium in the United States??" In a sense, I was proud to know that they were the first band to play in such a beautiful stadium and it proves that they have been very active on stage in the last years.

It wasn't the first time I noticed that, but I had a feeling that Jon's voice was very acute throughout the show. I was telling myself that it was nearly impossible that it was like that until I remembered that I always have this feeling when I see them live... By watching my videos on the day following the show, I noticed that his voice was normal in the end and that it was probably just an auditory illusion caused by the strength of the sound during the show that had caused the distortion in his voice tone.

I hadn't seen the woman who had told the man from the event staff at the barricade during the first act that she was too hot if she stayed at her seat again until I turned around during the show and saw her two rows behind me. She was stepping over the seat behind me in order to get behind us where nobody was at that moment. When she got to her new seat that was empty from people who had already left, she sighed of relief and she thanked the man beside her to her left to have helped her get there. She seemed so relieved to be there, as if she were then free from a lack of air!

Right before beginning Bad Medicine, Jon said his famous: "Is there a doctor in the house?", which made the crowd go wild in the stadium as usual. People around me vividly reacted and I decided to make a video of part of the song. The light post that would go around the catwalk was in front of me for most of the song, so I stopped filming at some point. Richie, the little jollier, decided to do his famous "you got a little but it's never enough" after I stopped making the video! I'm starting to believe that I will not be able to get that on video! To my great surprise, at the beginning of the medley, Jon turned to David instead of Bob to "choose" the song that would be added in the middle of Bad Medicine. I found it was really original to ask David! When David played the first notes of the medley, I told myself that I knew this song pretty well unlike usually. And they started playing Old Time Rock And Roll... In a fraction of a second, the party was ignited in the stadium mostly when Jon said: "Please welcome Kid Rock!" Kid Rock came on stage very quickly to start singing the song with Bon Jovi. The crowd went wild in the stadium, I rarely saw that! Everyone was dancing and singing. At some point, Kid Rock's backup singers and saxophone player were also on stage. Jon and Kid Rock were singing together and they made us sing a part of the chorus at some point. It's a moment that qualifies for the top 20 of the best moments that I experienced at a Bon Jovi show!

Kid Rock and his troop left the stage shortly after and Jon started to tease us with his long notes that usually come before Shout. Martin told me: "Hey, I'm sure that he will sing it!" I was sceptical, because usually, he teases us a little with his moves and his everlasting notes, but he doesn't start to sing it for real. All of the sudden, Jon started to sing: "You know you make me wanna shout!" and he sang the chorus! Everyone on the field started to jump and raise their arms in the air; the party had re-ignited! Everyone seemed happy to hear the song with the euphoria in the stadium! But Jon killed the party by stopping singing after the chorus. He said: "I'm getting too old for this!" before restarting to sing Bad Medicine. I don't know how much time Bad Medicine lasted with all these surprises, but it was amazing! I don't know if Jon improvised or planned to sing a little bit of Shout, but it seemed improvised to tell the truth...

Then, Jon left without introducing Richie that was about to sing at the main microphone. Richie then addressed the crowd by telling us that we knew this song and he invited us to join him to sing. The first notes of Lay Your Hands On Me were already playing when Richie began to talk. I love this song live, but I must admit that I always find it strange to see Richie at the main microphone singing a Bon Jovi song. He doesn't seem at ease to be there and let's say that he doesn't quite have the same presence on stage as Jon... I find him better when he sings a song from his solo albums.

"See" Richie was a big word in that case, because the camera post (always the same!) really blocked my view during the song. This post was getting on my nerves at some point; I couldn't see Richie at all! I then looked in the circle and I saw Matt who was next to the stairs at the back of the circle near the catwalk. He seemed alone at that moment, as if he had gone to inspect something... I saw that Matt then made his way to the main stage by walking on our side of the circle, inside it. I then told Martin that I had just seen Matt by pointing at him in the circle! During Lay Your Hands On Me, I also pointed at Richie when he sang: "If you want me to lay my hands on you". As soon as I pointed at him, I told myself: "Hum, come on, no, not really on Richie." Oh well, it's an old reflex that came out instinctively!

After Lay Your Hands On Me, the lights went off and the first piano notes of Bed Of Roses were heard while Jon was still not on the catwalk. I was closely looking in the circle to see him pass by, because he always passes by on the right side of the stage in the circle to go to the catwalk. Suddenly, in the shadow, I saw Matt walk by quickly, followed by another bodyguard who was almost running. I then saw Jon who was following; he was now wearing a pale shirt and another bodyguard was right behind him. The song had already begun and Jon had still not appeared on the catwalk. The moment lasted a few seconds at most, but I had imagined that Jon would get to the catwalk before hearing the first guitar notes! I was starting to wonder what was going on... Suddenly, a spotlight turned on at the catwalk and Jon was there, both hands on his microphone waiting to begin to sing.

Martin then told me: "Take out your banner and show it to him!" But I was really too far away; it wasn't worth it! Anyway, Jon didn't look in the crowd at the beginning of the song and he even seemed to have his eyes closed! Instinctively, I started to make a video of Bed Of Roses even if I usually savor each note. I told myself that since I was too far away to attempt anything, I was better off immortalizing the moment instead! I had trouble making a quality video because of a 6 feet tall woman who was two rows behind me on my left and who was blocking my view completely. She had a camera and she had lifted it up in the air at arm's length to take pictures or to make videos, I don't really know. I told myself: "Come on, she just has to hold the camera in front of her eyes, look at how tall she is, she is taller than everyone and she is near the barricade! No need to hold the camera 7 feet from the ground to catch Jon!" I got tired of filming between her hands and her head at some point. Martin seemed discouraged, because even if he were behind me, he clearly saw that she was blocking my view completely.

During the second verse of Bed Of Roses, Jon headed towards the left of the stage on the catwalk by walking away from us. I then told Martin: "I'm sure that it wasn't a coincidence that he headed towards me in New Jersey, he goes to the other side more often!" Even if it were just a coincidence that he headed towards the right of the stage where I was in New Jersey, I like to believe that it was because of my banner! Jon finished the second verse calmly while walking around on the catwalk and touching the hand of people in the circle as he had done in New Jersey. The solo began, he just continued to touch hands and walk around while heading towards his microphone stand at the center of the catwalk. I was relieved that he didn't pick someone to dance, but I was not very surprised that he didn't either. He seemed to still be affected by his left calf and he probably didn't feel like having an hysterical woman jump on him if he pulled one up to go on stage...

At the end of the solo, Jon sat down on the catwalk as he likes to do since the beginning of the tour to give an eyeful to the people in the first row on the field for a few moments. From where I was standing, I didn't see him at all when he sat down on the catwalk! The giant screen was showing him in close up, so I took pictures of the giant screen! I didn't like to do that, but in such circumstances, I didn't have a choice!

After the last notes of Bed Of Roses, Jon turned around to the main stage and said: "Hey Richie, wanna join me over here? Come here!" And Richie started to head towards the catwalk. He took the time to touch the hand of people who had packed up on the left in the circle where Richie was heading to. The crowd went wild when he stepped on the catwalk! Richie seemed as much at peace to go there as he had been when he had walked through the circle in Montreal and I had been able to touch such a legend... He seemed larger than life again at this moment!

Richie and Jon then began to play I'll Be There For You, triggering euphoria in the stadium. As always, people in the first rows of the field went crazy! I remember that I sang at the top of my lungs during this song, but still in a very serene way. I let myself close my eyes briefly a few times while singing to savor each moment and to really understand the lyrics. I had put my hands together near my neck as usual and as I did during a few songs of the show that night. I saw that Richie took off his coat to keep only his sleeveless shirt while Jon was making us sing the "oh oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oooooh oh" at the end of the song. Richie gave his coat to someone at the barricade. I found it special that he did that, because it was the first time that I saw him do it! Usually, he goes unnoticed when he changes clothes or when he takes off a piece of clothing!

I had seen on the band's official website that during previous shows, they seemed to play only two songs at the catwalk without seeing the whole band join Jon and Richie. I had seen, among others, that they had often played Runaway right after I'll Be There For You lately and I could hardly see how David could play Runaway without his keyboard on stage!

To my great surprise after I'll Be There For You, Jon said something along the lines: "Well, I like it up here! Dave, Tico, come here!" and in a fraction of a second, even before I realized what was going on, I saw David heading towards the catwalk in my direction while Tico was walking on the other side. I barely had the time to turn on my camera to take a picture of David who passed by in front of me before he was already beside Jon! Jon made his comment again about David making the accordion look sexy when he arrived on the catwalk beside him and he said once again that it was the first time Tico (the drummer) was at the front of the house with them.

The band played Someday I'll Be Saturday Night together at the catwalk, it fit well with the current day of the week! ;) It is not one of my favorite songs, but I didn't hate the fact that the band was closer for a little while! The 6 feet tall woman who was blocking my view since Jon had appeared at the catwalk decided to take pictures of the giant screen in front of her on the right of the stage. I told myself: "Come on, the band members are there, a few meters away from you and what you find best to do is to take a picture of them on the giant screen? Wow, continue like that and I will continue laughing at you a little!"

David literally ran in our direction on the catwalk to go back to the main stage right before Someday I'll Be Saturday Night ended... I found it strange that he was in such a hurry and I never understood why he had to run. It's not as if the other band members wouldn't wait for him before starting the next song, mostly with Jon and Richie not being back on stage. I thought that David was in a hurry to go play Runaway, but no, not even! Let's say that it was weird to see a man run like that with an accordion in his hands! Every other band member went back by passing to the left of the circle, except Jon who also walked on our side without interacting much with the crowd and even less with the people at the barricade on our side of the catwalk! A short while after, I saw a roadie bring back the microphones used at the catwalk to the main stage; he seemed to walk between the catwalk and the barricade on our side.

Jon started talking at the microphone when he got back to the main stage and he said that the next song was on the new album and that it had inspired and given its name to a movie. I wondered which movie he was talking about and when I realized he was talking about the documentary that comes with the album, I told myself: "A movie?! Ah yes! The documentary!! I'm a little stupid for not having realized it sooner!" I knew well that they would play When We Were Beautiful at that moment. I would have preferred hearing Superman Tonight, but I don't find it that bad live either. However, people around me had the tendency to sit down, because it is not a song that people know well and it doesn't have a beat at all. During When We Were Beautiful, I saw that a man located a few rows in front of me was singing the song at the top of his lungs, I was really impressed! I had only one sentence in mind that was often used on the official fan club message board when I was there often and I couldn't stop repeating it in my head for the man: "God bless him". I found it was great to see a man love the band so much to sing When We Were Beautiful at the top of his lungs like that! He had a finger pointing in the air and he was singing and singing. It was beautiful and touching to see! I was happy to know that there were other maniacs like me around! Martin told me that the man was really into it during the most part of the show, but I only saw him during When We Were Beautiful!

The band played Work For The Working Man next, triggering a strange feeling inside me. I am not a big fan of this song and I could easily do without. However, I was telling myself that it was my last concert for a little while and that I had to change my attitude towards this song. I then told Martin: "I will sing it with heart this time!" He laughed at me and didn't seem to believe me, but that's what I did. Hearing Work For The Working Man is still better than to not be able to go to a concert at all! And I sang it at the top of my lungs! I took a few pictures and I even made a video for a short while! At the end of the song, I screamed loudly towards the stage. Martin seemed flabbergasted by my euphoria for a song that I don't like! He told me: "Woah woah, it's just Work For The Working Man... No need to get that excited!" haha

I find Have A Nice Day really excellent live, it always puts me in a secondary state where I sing at the top of my lungs and I don't care about what people think. It's very liberating to scream the "When the world gets in my face, I say: HAVE A NICE DAY!" Jon seems to enjoy singing it as well, from the way he moves on stage. At the end of the song, Joe V, the smirk that became famous with the Have A Nice Day album cover, was pulling faces at the giant screen! I even saw at some point that Joe V was shown on the giant screen at the back of the stage grinning, showing white teeth!

During the show, I don't remember when exactly, I told myself that it's crazy how going to a Bon Jovi concert can make me forget about my little aches and life problems and how fast the time flew during the shows I had gone to! If at least the classes at university would have been over that fast! ;) I noted at the same time how my contact lenses were really comfortable compared to when I have them on in everyday life!

At some point during the concert, I felt a little drop fall on my arm. I quickly looked up in the sky, but it was so dark that I couldn't see if it was cloudy or not. I then looked at Martin, I put the palm of my right hand up to ask him if he had felt it too. He shrugged and he told me: "No!" I then must have received saliva from someone who had just spat or a drop from a drink that had just been kicked over and had splashed.

Who Says You Can't Go Home made the people in the stadium get up on their feet once again. People were participating a lot to sing the "It's all right" of the chorus, it was great! The song had not the same significance than when I saw them in New Jersey, but the song had a good beat nonetheless!

Throughout the show, Jon didn't come once at the right of the stage near the giant screen in front of me... I was a little disappointed, because I could have taken excellent pictures of him! He went at the left of the stage near the giant screen once during the whole show. Let's say that I have seen him more energetic than that, but I understand his situation with the fatigue of being on tour that had started 5 months ago and his recent calf injury!

I also looked at Jon's hair carefully at some point during the show. I'm still crazy about his beautiful thick, rippled and wet hair... I told myself at that moment: "Wow, I must almost have the same hair type as Jon currently with all this humidity!"

If there is a song that I don't particularly like to listen to like that at home or in the car whereas I love hearing it live, it's Keep The Faith! It has a special appeal live... I don't know if it is Jon's maracas or what, but I find it excellent! And I always have the personal challenge of taking a picture of Jon with his maracas during the song on which the maracas and Jon are not blurry from the rapid movement given to the maracas! The giant screen at the back of the stage was showing fireworks during the song, but as I had anticipated, we didn't have the chance to see real fireworks like in New Jersey. It's too bad, I'm sure that it would have created a beautiful effect in the stadium! When I saw that we wouldn't see fireworks, I told myself that I was happy of my choice to pay to see them in New Jersey, because I had experienced things over there that are not common elsewhere!

After Keep The Faith, the band left the stage, leaving us screaming at the top of our lungs to show our appreciation and our love for the band. I screamed and clapped my hands so hard when the lights went off, it was like I was still 13 years old at my first concert! My usual screams wouldn't come out anymore because of my fervor to sing at the top of my lungs since the beginning of the show, so I let out my powerful and really high-pitched scream of my youth! This scream is however hard on the vocal cords and easy to make me lose my voice, but I didn't care at that point; I could lose my voice, it didn't bother me! It was doing me good to scream that loud and that long at each scream I let out! People in front of me turned around at some point to figure out who was screaming like that!

When the band came back on stage for the encores, I heard the very distinctive notes on the drums of the beginning of Always. In a fraction of a second, I told myself: "Huh? What? Always again??" and I told Martin: "Well, it seems like I'm lucky to hear that song live!" The worst is that they don't really play it often usually, but I heard it during 3 out of the 4 concerts I've been to! Not a bad average after all! I again sang at the top of my lungs during the song, while putting my hands near my neck to savor each word of the song. It was great!

During Always, a man came to the right of Martin and he indicated that he wanted to go to our left. He was saying: "Just passing through..." I completely flipped out at that moment! I was telling myself: "Just passing through? It's neither a windmill nor a hallway here!" I asked him: "Is your seat over there?!" while pointing at the seats on my left. The man was very surprised by my question, he didn't seem aggressive at all, but I was just tired to see people pass by in front of me who were heading to my left and made me sit down each time. He just said: "No, I'm passing through... I saw that my mother-in-law is there and I would like to join her." I simply could not stand it anymore! I told him: "People have been passing through all night and I'M JUST TIRED OF IT!" The guy in the row in front of me had turned around since a few seconds and he seemed surprised I was flipping out. Let's say that the last time one of the women who were exchanging seats in our row had passed by, it was during Keep The Faith, that is the previous song... The guy who wanted to pass by simply told me very calmly: "Oh, I'm sorry... It's the last time you will ever see my face, I swear!" I then sat down to let him pass, but he didn't seem to pass right away. I then tried to get up again, I grabbed his left arm and I told him: "OK, that's it! Go back to your seat!" At the same time, the woman on my left finally let him pass and he joined the woman who had passed in front of me during Keep The Faith... Mother-in-law my ass, it was his girlfriend or him and his mother-in-law have a strange relationship! When he joined her, he raised his right arm in the air and he screamed in satisfaction. He seemed happy to be so close, but I was still raging to had let so many people pass by during the concert! If my memory is not at fault, I let at least ten people pass by (it was often the same people who were coming back). When you know that there were 23 songs during the show, I got disturbed every two songs! My patience quota is very smaller than that!

I should not have reacted that way with the man, since he was quite muscular, but he seemed harmless and my patience had reached its limit... I couldn't stop telling myself to let go of my rage and enjoy the last moments of the show, but I could just not take it anymore to let people pass throughout the evening and it took me a few minutes before I calmed down! I told Martin that it was too bad, but I would not let other people pass for the rest of the evening, no matter what the reason was! I would have been understanding with people who would have gotten injured and would have bled or with pregnant women in labor, but for the rest, I was telling myself that they would not force me to sit down to let them pass anymore! Fortunately, nobody dared to move once again until the end of the show!

When Wanted Dead Or Alive began, I felt that Jon wanted to let us sing. A few people, like me, started singing the first verse. Jon invited us to sing, because as he often says: "You know this one!" The crowd sang really loudly, I was impressed to hear that! I seemed to think that it had been a long time since I had sung this verse without Jon! ;)

I don't remember during which song of the encores, but I'm sure that I was shown on the giant screen at the back of the stage. I saw the man who had gone to his "mother-in-law" on the screen and we could see several people around him, but the image was shown so very briefly that I didn't have the time to raise my hand to figure out where I was on the screen! Oh well, too bad!

We had the chance to hear I Love This Town, I really love this song live! I felt called out when Jon sang: "No matter where you're from, tonight you're from right here". Oh yes, I was on foreign soil, but I felt like one of them at that moment! I felt a little weird at that moment, because I knew quite well that the show was almost over and I didn't want it to end at all!

Jon started singing Livin' On A Prayer a cappella and I told myself: "That's it, the moment I was dreading: the last song of my last show of this part of the tour..." I sang so loudly when Jon pointed the microphone at us (and during every encore as well...), I thought I would lose my voice! Jon seemed to appreciate the way we had sung, because he applauded sincerely to congratulate us for having sung that loudly. When I saw Jon clapping his hands together, I saw a little sweat cloud that splashed from his hands in the air. It's the first time I was witnessing someone sweating so much that the sweat splashed while applauding!

When we were singing part of the song, Jon tried to catch something that someone in the circle threw at him, but he failed to catch it. He just smiled at that particular person and he shrugged to apologize for not having caught the thing that this person wanted to throw at him.

Towards the end of the song, Jon and Richie put their hand on their heart to sincerely thank us. They seemed touched by the crowd's fervor. After the song, the band got together on stage, they bowed as usual and I saw that Jon didn't seem to want to leave. They rarely play other songs after Livin' On A Prayer, but I almost believed that we were going to be lucky enough to get a surprise... After having seen the band members go down the stairs at the back of the stage, Jon stayed on stage for a few seconds, he looked at us one more time. He no longer had his ear plugs in his ears, he would have kept them on if he had wanted to surprise us. He finally smiled at us for the last time, he turned around and in turn, went down the stairs. The lights turned on in the stadium a few seconds later.

We headed towards the stadium entrance to go back to the parking lot as quickly as possible. Since we were up front near the stage, let's say that there were a lot of people ahead of us before we could leave! While we were still in the stadium, I told Martin that I would do everything in my power to get tickets in the circle in the future to avoid having bad experiences like the ones that we had that night! Let's say that there is no guarantee of not having troublemakers in the circle, but there is still less chance since the security is pretty tight to let people in the circle! One thing that amazed me during the show is that no one had stepped on my toes! It's unbelievable! I was afraid that the woman on my left would step on my feet. She was wearing running shoes and my feet were just behind her during most part of the show, since we were standing up on the side to see the stage.

Several women had a hard time walking straight (some were walking right through chairs and were taking the time to sit down a little or pick up things that they had knocked over before continuing) because of the amount of alcohol that they had drunk... Someone will have to explain to me as well why people pay more than 100$US for a ticket and get so drunk that they have a hard time walking and knowing what to do when the show is over.

We walked a while before finally reaching the car. I saw at least two women walking barefoot with their sandals in their hands... One of them had completely ruined her flip flops that no longer had straps to hold her feet! I couldn't help but smile and wonder what she could have done to end up like that! One thing is for sure, I would have had a hard time convincing myself to walk barefoot in the street like that!

When we got to the car, I noticed that some people had taken out their food and BBQ once again and they were getting ready to have an after show tailgate! Wow, I would never have believed that the people were such tailgate maniacs, but it was a good idea to wait a little to avoid being stuck in traffic if these people were not tired or in a hurry.

Unlike what we had anticipated, it took us only 20 minutes to leave the parking lot. I had the time to remove my contact lenses during that time, because I had brought everything I needed. Since we had anticipated an incredible traffic jam to leave the parking lot, I had planned to pass the time a little! We were then hopeful that it would not take us too long to go back to the hotel with the speed at which we had left the parking lot.

Our hope didn't last long, because it took us an hour and a half to go back to the hotel that was 20 minutes away from the stadium! All road lanes were dedicated to the ones who were leaving the stadium except one lane that was going on the opposite side. The electronic signs along the road were telling people to use the shoulder as an official lane! However, when people got to the highway a little further, there was only one lane to take the highway, so the traffic was terrible right before taking the highway!! Four lanes that merge into one is not the most brilliant idea! The traffic was so bad that we wondered which town planner was behind such a way to make 50 000 people leave a sports complex of this scale! We got to the hotel half-dead from being tired, I had a hard time walking because my back and my legs were hurting and we were very dehydrated. We took the time to relax, drink water and take a shower. We finally went to bed at 2h30 am.

We are now two days after the show. Yesterday, my arms, my lower back and my feet hurt; my heals had made me suffer very much when we had left the stadium! Now, these aches are gone, but the upper part of my calves still hurts and my energy level is not optimal. Moreover, I don't know how I ended up like that, but the inside of my mouth is as sore as when I was wearing braces. It's as if I had bitten my cheeks from singing too much and that I scrubbed my entire mouth with sandpaper... But the good news is that I didn't lose my voice despite all my vocal efforts!

The adrenaline seems really vanished and it's too bad, because I would have liked so much to stay in that state when I knew I had other shows to look forward to! I don't know how to end this review apart from letting you with lyrics from the Bon Jovi song called When We Were Beautiful that explain really well how I feel right now: "Some dreams live and some will die. But the you in me is still alive." The good news is that Bon Jovi is an integral part of me for the rest of my life, and has been since 17 years now. I consider myself very lucky to have lived such emotions 15 times now.

Copyright © July 26, 2010 Marie-Hélène Cyr

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