Post by LJ on Jun 29, 2009 6:08:38 GMT -6
When he asked them to raise their hands, thousands of arms reached for the heavens. And when he demanded they beg for more, the crowd roared.
The man whose 25-year-old band is named after him apologized early in the set for not having been to Moncton in 16 years, and he wasn't lying when he said the band had a lot of catching up to do.
The band tore through 23 songs Saturday night, the bulk of them pulled from the band's quarter-century of non-stop hits, touching upon every era of its lengthy career.
When they stormed the stage, the crowd lit up and roared with excitement.
Jon Bon Jovi is known for creating a night's setlist only moments before the band hit the stage.
When the four-piece of Jon, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan (along with a few backing musicians) launched into a cover of The Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over to open the show, the crowd roared, jumped and sang along.
The band then quickly put their own stamp on the evening by jumping right into one of their signature hits from 1986's Slippery When Wet, You Give Love A Bad Name.
"Give it up, Moncton!" Jon said when the crowd sang along to the number, clearly impressing the New Jersey rocker.
The band's setlist spanned every era of their career, from their early years in the mid-1980s to their more mature early '90s sound and even into their country album from 2007.
Jon asked the crowd to go on a time travel mission with him, and he counted back the years as the band jammed away.
"Uh oh, here comes those dastardly '80s again," he exclaimed as the band went back to its very first hit, 1982's Runaway, its signature keyboard lick kicking off the rockin' number.
Hands hit the sky later when the band played fan favourite rocker Raise Your Hands.
During the band's own I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Jon asked the band for a tune from the "jukebox," ripping into Bachman-Turner Overdrive's Takin' Care Of Business, the very song Bachman-Cummings closed with only moments earlier.
Jon then thanked Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings for joining them on the show and complimented the group for their many years of hits.
Jon, Richie, Tico and David dipped into their country album for a beautiful version of their recent hit (You Want To) Make A Memory, causing a stir among the many women among the 33,000-strong.
Richie Sambora took over on lead vocals late in the show, doing a stirring, soulful rendition of the band's 1988 smash hit I'll Be There For You, his bluesy vocals giving the song a new feel.
The crowd chanted along the "It's alright!" part of Who Says You Can't Go Home and they danced to the Isley Brothers' hit Shout.
When the band left the stage after Shout, you could almost sense the dismay in the crowd. By that point, the band hadn't yet played either Wanted Dead or Alive or Livin' On A Prayer, two of its biggest hits.
Of course, those were the very two tunes they played in the encore, along with a stunning version of Canadian Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
Jon started Livin' On A Prayer by singing the chorus acapella, but he started to cough and let the audience take over while he caught his breath. They didn't let him down -- the crowd sang out the chorus to Bon Jovi's signature tune as if it was their own.
By the end of the show, Jennifer Lundrigan and her friend Cara Burton of Sydney, N.S. both appeared faint.
Lundrigan was trying to compose herself after the band left the stage.
"I feel exhilarated, happy. I want to cry," she said, sporting a smile of disbelief on her face.
"It was so good," said John LeBlanc of Yarmouth, N.S. "Dead or Alive (was the highlight). I was scared they weren't going to play it."
"Oh my God, I'm so excited to be here," Marianne Weatherbie of Cornwall, P.E.I. said. It was Weatherbie's 42nd birthday on Saturday, and she celebrated the event with her favourite band.
"It was the best 42nd birthday I could ever ask for," she says.
People in the front row at the concert were caught on camera for 33,000 people to see, and the excitement was palpable.
There were tears, smiles and mouths moving along to every word.
By the end of the night, it was clear -- no one writes an anthem like the boys in Bon Jovi
The man whose 25-year-old band is named after him apologized early in the set for not having been to Moncton in 16 years, and he wasn't lying when he said the band had a lot of catching up to do.
The band tore through 23 songs Saturday night, the bulk of them pulled from the band's quarter-century of non-stop hits, touching upon every era of its lengthy career.
When they stormed the stage, the crowd lit up and roared with excitement.
Jon Bon Jovi is known for creating a night's setlist only moments before the band hit the stage.
When the four-piece of Jon, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres and David Bryan (along with a few backing musicians) launched into a cover of The Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over to open the show, the crowd roared, jumped and sang along.
The band then quickly put their own stamp on the evening by jumping right into one of their signature hits from 1986's Slippery When Wet, You Give Love A Bad Name.
"Give it up, Moncton!" Jon said when the crowd sang along to the number, clearly impressing the New Jersey rocker.
The band's setlist spanned every era of their career, from their early years in the mid-1980s to their more mature early '90s sound and even into their country album from 2007.
Jon asked the crowd to go on a time travel mission with him, and he counted back the years as the band jammed away.
"Uh oh, here comes those dastardly '80s again," he exclaimed as the band went back to its very first hit, 1982's Runaway, its signature keyboard lick kicking off the rockin' number.
Hands hit the sky later when the band played fan favourite rocker Raise Your Hands.
During the band's own I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Jon asked the band for a tune from the "jukebox," ripping into Bachman-Turner Overdrive's Takin' Care Of Business, the very song Bachman-Cummings closed with only moments earlier.
Jon then thanked Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings for joining them on the show and complimented the group for their many years of hits.
Jon, Richie, Tico and David dipped into their country album for a beautiful version of their recent hit (You Want To) Make A Memory, causing a stir among the many women among the 33,000-strong.
Richie Sambora took over on lead vocals late in the show, doing a stirring, soulful rendition of the band's 1988 smash hit I'll Be There For You, his bluesy vocals giving the song a new feel.
The crowd chanted along the "It's alright!" part of Who Says You Can't Go Home and they danced to the Isley Brothers' hit Shout.
When the band left the stage after Shout, you could almost sense the dismay in the crowd. By that point, the band hadn't yet played either Wanted Dead or Alive or Livin' On A Prayer, two of its biggest hits.
Of course, those were the very two tunes they played in the encore, along with a stunning version of Canadian Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.
Jon started Livin' On A Prayer by singing the chorus acapella, but he started to cough and let the audience take over while he caught his breath. They didn't let him down -- the crowd sang out the chorus to Bon Jovi's signature tune as if it was their own.
By the end of the show, Jennifer Lundrigan and her friend Cara Burton of Sydney, N.S. both appeared faint.
Lundrigan was trying to compose herself after the band left the stage.
"I feel exhilarated, happy. I want to cry," she said, sporting a smile of disbelief on her face.
"It was so good," said John LeBlanc of Yarmouth, N.S. "Dead or Alive (was the highlight). I was scared they weren't going to play it."
"Oh my God, I'm so excited to be here," Marianne Weatherbie of Cornwall, P.E.I. said. It was Weatherbie's 42nd birthday on Saturday, and she celebrated the event with her favourite band.
"It was the best 42nd birthday I could ever ask for," she says.
People in the front row at the concert were caught on camera for 33,000 people to see, and the excitement was palpable.
There were tears, smiles and mouths moving along to every word.
By the end of the night, it was clear -- no one writes an anthem like the boys in Bon Jovi
