A review by Steve / shalabs@cyberus.ca

Finally I get to write my review :) I know that when I read reviews posted here, I prefer the ones with lots of details, so I've included plenty. I came into this concert expecting a lot, and boy was I was blown away.....

Wow. Incredible. A religious experience. What transpired last night at the Molson Centre in front of 20,000 fans I will never forget. This was my 3rd Bon Jovi cncert, and it was by far the best...it's the best concert I've EVER been to, and I've seen some good ones (ie: AC/DC, Aerosmith)

The support act Less Than Jake was pretty horrible. Not
really the kind of music (ska) you would choose to open up with.

After a set change, the big TV screens were
unveiled and you heard satellite transmissions. You see these awesome graphics of a satellite in space trying to locate Bon Jovi somewhere on Earth. (I won't spoil the rest of the opening, but its really cool :)

When they hit the stage, Bon Jovi are standing in front of the crowd just waiting - taking it all in while 20,000 people go crazy.

They run to their parts of the stage and blast into
their opening song - One Wild Night. They played a lot of their BIG hits early (ie: You give love a bad name, Livin On a Prayer) Of course there was the mandatory slow ballads....they got a big reception for Thank You For Loving Me (their current single)really cool, all you saw was a sea of lighters...For Born To Be My Baby, they
brought a REALLY HOT looking girl up on stage to dance with Jon....they dance around a bit, and then Jon gives her a kiss on her lips....all you hear are shrieks coming from
the girls in the crowd...(my ears!!)

They also did a slow version of Runaway which was really haunting, and one of the high points of the night.
...a nice atmosphere.

The big screen was also cool with all sorts of images and
cool graphics being played....the light show was really awesome too, and very freaky near the end.....

Anyways, Jon stopped in between every once in a while and talks to us about how he has gone to make some Hollywood movies and how one day the whole band knocked on his door to get him and start recording a new
album....."I try to get out, but they PULL ME BACK IN" (quotes Al Pacino from Godfather III)

Anyways, he said some funny things like: "It's been 5 years eh Montreal? We go away away for 5 years, leave you to your own devices and all that you can come up with is boy bands. Well, tonight, here is a MAN band baby!! " (crowd goes wild) He talked a lot to the crowd which was really cool.

At one point he was telling a funny story for
almost like 2 minutes, and the crowd was hanging on his every word....really a great story teller....

When they got to Livin On A Prayer, the Molson Centre was shaking....Jon began the song by singing the first verse slowly. The crowd finished the verses.

When It's My Life came on, something magical happened for me...I can't quite explain it, but I've never FELT music quite like this before.(I know this sounds corny, but I'm being genuine here) maybe it was the "smoke" in the air ;) but, I could FEEL the bass and drums and guitar running through my body as each pulsing rhythm echoed out into the crowd.....seriously, I was REALLY trippin'...I had this incredible body buzz as each sound echoed through me...I was reverberating from the music...wow....it was SOOO intense...I was so much more sensitive to music..it was like I was a conduit to this electricity of music in the air.

That's the first time that I've had that kind of connection with music before...it was akin to some sort of religious experience...

Everyone was standing and singing along for
It's My Life (talk box was really cool). It was like some kind of tribal rhythm or something. Like 20,000 Native Indians chanting/roaring into sing along choruses.

Later they had like sparkling confetti pour out
from cannons in the rafters....really cool against the awesome light show.

The stage backdrop was made to look like a back alley brick bldg (kind of like a metaphor for going back to their roots as a "street" or garage band.

They finished up the set with a medley (combination) of Bad
Medicine and "Shout!" and then leave the stage..they come back and play a new song off their album (Next 100 Years)

The backdrop is lit up to look like stars - really cool....and that song which included a searing 4 minute guitar solo!! wow, that was f$%^&* incredible! Richie just wouldn't quit! - his hands were going crazy on the guitar!!

Next they played I'll Be There For U (once again the
lighters) that song seemed to go on forever at the end (like 10 min), as the crowd would sing in unison WOOO HOOO WOOOOO HOOOOO WOOO HOOOO (while Jon would ad lib some new verses and was really into this song) it was so cool how the crowd sang together that one verse over and over.....Jon just kind of let the crowd sing at one point and smiled....that song was the highlight of the evening for me.

They get off the stage....but the screaming is deafening and
they come back. They play Wanted Dead or Alive - my favorite song....crowd is just going bananas. Jon's grin from ear to ear is proof that he is having the time of his
life...."I've seen a million face, and I've ROCKED THEM ALL!!" Oh Yeah!!

They pretend to leave, and Jon is not sure if he should come back.....

They leave again...crowd is stomping their feet, clapping,
screaming, they come out again looking fatigued and with a big smile on their faces....they play a cool cover - Twist and Shout --- you should have heard it when they hit the high notes in that song!!!

They leave AGAIN, but the crowd is not going to let them
go...you see them come back and are not sure if they should come back or not....The crowd erupts!!!!..I have never heard sound reach such a high level..........they come back ONE more time to play Never Say Goodbye to end a magical evening.

The show lasted about 2h40 minutes, with 22 songs in all...and 6 ENCORES !!! count em 6!!!(3 encores of 2 songs each) I've been to a lot of concerts, but this will be one to remember.....

Thank you Bon Jovi

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