A review by Jovirunaway / abb_vetkid@jovimail.com

My mom and I drove from northeastern Oklahoma Wednesday morning, about 5 hours or so, to get to Dallas. We managed to avoid the rain almost the whole way. We arrived at the American Airlines Center at about 5:15pm, and there were already quite a few people in line. The wind was horrible, and it threatened to rain on us. It sprinkled a little bit, but security eventually decided to open the doors and let us in a little after 6:00pm. I actually have to hand it to the arena people. Security people have a notorious reputation for being idiots, but I thought these guys did a great job. We had to go through metal detectors, which was a joke to begin with. The detector was the walk-through kind, and the guy who was checking us didn't seem to care what we had on us.

Apparently the camera thing wasn't a big deal, because ours was right in plain sight when they checked our gear. I think I ended up taking about 1.5 rolls of film. We were right down next to the floor, about halfway back in the arena, so I don't know if they'll turn out or not. We'll see. I wish I could've gone down to get fan club seats, but that would require leaving school, work, etc. Oh well.

The merchandise stand was right inside the entrance, and it was pandemonium. People everywhere. We managed to squeeze in, and I picked up one of the signed lithographs. It cost $100, but it was worth it. However, it was much smaller than the other two I have (Crossroad, Crush). Also picked up a program, which has some great pics in it. Highly recommended.

The Goo Goo Dolls came on at 7:30pm, and I was suitably impressed. Much of the crowd had not arrived yet, but the ones who were there were pretty supportive. Clearly they were there to see Bon Jovi, but it was cool. The Goos played their big hits. Good job overall.

But, of course, we all just wanted them to leave so BJ could take the stage. (Poor opening acts!) The band came on at about 8:45. It was electric from the very first note. For anyone who hasn't seen the stage yet, it is fabulous. I had seen a picture of the big "satellite" video screens, but it didn't do them justice. They're huge. (If anyone is in the dark, they have 3 big fake satellites like the ones on the Bounce cover as the video screens. One faces the front, the other two face the sides, and they move & rotate.)

The band opened with "Bounce," and the crowd was absolutely insane. I love this song anyway, but it was born to be a live song. Then into "Bad Name," with Jon letting the crowd do his job for him. (Lazy Jon? Just kidding!) Next as "Wild in the Streets," which is another great live fist-pumper. I
was impressed that almost everyone knew the song. Next was "Everyday," which seemed a little heavier than usual.

"Undivided" was up next, and I was very impressed with it. The song was very heavy, and I thought Tico was the reason for that. He did a great job crescendo-ing up, and was earning the Hit Man title. Lots of emotion. Next was an electric "Runaway" and "Just Older," which was high-energy. Then on to "Wanted," where the crowd again took Jon's job.

Next up was "The Distance." This was probably the highlight of the show for me. Before the song started, Jon dedicated it to a couple of people in the audience who were holding up banners that said they had family members serving overseas in the military. The performance was amazing and very emotional. The backdrop added to it, because it was lit up with a bunch of little blue dots made to look like the "blue skies" in the song. I thought it was very poignant, and I was imagining those soldiers looking up at the same blue skies... Cheesy, I know, but it was pretty cool to me. They ended the song as a slow-tempo with just Jon's acoustic guitar & Dave's keyboards. Tear-jerker.

"It's My Life" was possibly the crowd favorite. I'm not sure if "The Distance" just pumped everyone up or what, but the atmosphere was electric. "Misunderstood" was next, and then Dave started "Right Side of Wrong" with a fabulous extended keyboard intro. This song isn't my favorite on the album, but I was very impressed with the live version.
Especially nice to see Dave highlighted.

Next was the *awesome* Richie doing "I'll Be There For You." This was my first time to see Richie doing lead vocals, so it was a big thrill. The crowd was very supportive, and I was proud that they appreciated his talent. Jon re-emerged and the band broke into "Blaze of Glory," which I was again very impressed with. I truly believe that this song is a different beast when done by the band instead of just Jon. Then came what seemed like a 20-minute version of "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night,"
although this fan would have been fine with another 20!

"Raise Your Hands" was a pleasant surprise. Although I had heard this one live before, the Dallas crowd kicked some major booty while raising their hands. Everyone was right on point, and it was great. I was sweating big time already, and then the band proceeds to break out "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead." At the beginning of the show, Jon promised that we would all get the best aerobic workout we'd had all year, and he was so right.

Before I knew it, the main part of the concert was over. The encore was a little short (one of my only complaints on the night), but it included "Born To Be My Baby" and "Bad Medicine/Shout."

All in all, a great and amazing show. I had a blast. The only down side, in my opinion, was the lack of surprise in the setlist. I know they've been playing some rarities like "In These Arms" and some covers like "Eve of Destruction." Also would have liked to hear "Hook Me Up," which I'm sure would be awesome live. However, I hate to bother complaining, because the boys' performance was incredible.

My overall reviews (rating 1-10):
Performance: 9.5
Setlist: 7.5
Crowd: 10
Arena: 9

Setlist:
Bounce
You Give Love a Bad Name
Wild in the Streets
Livin' on a Prayer
Everyday
Undivided
Runaway
Just Older
Wanted Dead or Alive
The Distance
It's My Life
Misunderstood
Right Side of Wrong
I'll Be There For You (Richie on lead vocal)
Blaze of Glory
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Raise Your Hands
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Encore:
Born To Be My Baby
Bad Medicine/Shout

For those of you who might be interested in what the guys were wearing, don't quote me on this because I was jumping up and down too much to notice! But here's what I caught: Jon came out first in a black leather shirts and black denim jeans. He changed his shirt during the time he was backstage for "I'll Be There For You." The new shirt was beige with some kind of embroidery on it. Richie was, well, interesting, as usual. He came out in a long red trenchcoat (Sgt. Pepper-ish). He also had on over his pants a belt of ankle-length fringe. He changed into a red long-sleeved shirt with "SAMBORA" on the front before the encore. He also changed hats a couple times. Don't really remember what Dave & Tico were wearing (maybe someone else could help?). I did note that Huey was especially colorful, since he's usually in all black. He had some kind of rainbow pattern on his bass also.

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