Source: Ottawa Citizen

For Bon Jovi, one of the biggest money-makers in the concert biz, the show must go on. Even though one of the key members of the band was missing from the stage, the bigbudget operation masterminded by feathered-hair rock singer Jon Bon Jovi didn't miss a beat during Tuesday's concert at Scotiabank Place. It was the second concert without guitarist Richie Sambora, 51, who reportedly checked himself into a rehab facility last week.

No one knows how long Sambora will be off the road, but it's probably going to be a while because a suitable replacement was quickly found, and no refunds were offered. Canadian-born guitarist Phil X, who played his first show as a member of Bon Jovi in New Orleans last weekend, once had his own band, but hard-rock fans may also remember him filling in for Rik Emmett in Triumph in the early '90s.

Jon Bon Jovi seemed to ease into the concert by throwing a few less familiar songs into the opening string, which wasn't a bad idea because there was no opening act and many fans were delayed by the traffic getting to the arena.

Looking fit and tanned, his shirt unbuttoned past his chest, the musician who's been declared one of the world's sexiest rockers kicked things off with Blood on Blood and We Weren't Born To Follow before satisfying the crowd's desire for hits with You Give Love a Bad Name and Born to Be My Baby. The sold-out crowd of 18,000 remained on their feet through the slower songs, including Lost Highway and Whole Lot of Leavin'. No matter what the pace, every thrust of Bon Jovi's hips elicited hormone-fuelled shrieks from the hundreds of 30-and 40-something female fans in the audience.

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