A review by CathyNYC / livergirl98@yahoo.com

What can I say? The band were amazing. They were tight, they were relaxed and they sounded great. The only hiccups, for me, were the beginning of "Blood On Blood" - something seem to go screwy with the guitar and keyboard and Richie's microphone being too low at times so his singing was lost in the screams.

In particular I thought "It's My Life" sounded brilliant as did "The Distance" and "Hook Me Up". It was great to hear songs from the archives, "Runaway" and "Raise Your Hands" and their version of "My Funny Valentine" was very cool.

Now I do not shock easily but I was stunned to hear them perform "In These Arms" at the beginning of the first encore. This is one of my absolute favourites. Aside from the recent acoustic set in Japan, the band rarely perform this song and I was briefly taken aback when I heard David play that first chord. I thought please do not tease me but they came through and it was brilliant.

And accuse me of being bias but Richie singing "I'll Be There For You" was excellent. I love his own inflections into the song and I am grateful he gets the chance to be the front man during a Jovi show. Richie enjoyed himself and for the most part, the audience appreciated him. I personally did, he has an incredible voice. The stage setting was simple but stunning. The satellite dishes worked perfectly as screens and the coloured laser lights were very effective. Jon moved around and played his audience well. Both band and audience enjoyed themselves.

PS: Goo Goo Dolls were a great way to start the proceedings. I would highly recommend getting to your show early to catch this very cool band.

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