A review by Nick Ara / nara@awesomenet.net

Although I haven't seen Bon Jovi in concert in almost 8 years, I still had that nervous feeling just before they came on. I didn't know how the show was going to go. The stage was in the middle of the stadium right around the 50 yard line. It rotated around during the show. Even though nobody was allowed onto the field, there was an electrifying feeling in the air. The 68,000+ fans packed into Reliant Stadium in Houston were already standing before the band jumped into their first song. Right before the band hit the stage, Lee Greenwood sang "God Bless the USA" among fireworks and explosions. I think it was more of a distraction than anything. Bon Jovi immediately hit the opening sustained chord of "You Give Love A Bad Name". All my fears of the band "losing" their edge over the years, was quickly diminished. After "Bad Name", they played "Livin on a Prayer", followed immediately by a "Wanted" sing a long. During "Wanted", Jon asked all the cowboys in attendance to sing along. The band played the music and the crowd sang the first verse and the chorus. If Jon was looking for cowboys, he came to the right place. After all, this was the end of the Houston rodeo for that night. Even though, they only played for about an hour, it was a high powered show. It seemed like a greatest hits kind of show. They must have played around 10 or 12 songs. The only slow song they played was "The Distance". Jon told the crowd that he wanted to dedicate the song to the brave men and women defending the country. They played a slightly different version from the album, which frankly I liked better. That song is one of my favorites from "Bounce", and I still preferred their live version of it. There were some surprises during the show. I wasn't expecting to hear "Raise Your Hands" and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". And I certainly wasn't expecting "Twist and Shout" for the last song. All in all it was a great show. I'm looking forward to seeing them at the "Tiger Jam" show in Vegas next month. Hopefully, it will last a little longer than an hour.

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