| 18 July 2000 - Fukuoka, Japan Concert Review |
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Unbelievable!!
I'm an 18-year-old Singapore girl and was very fortunate to have won a ticket to see Bon Jovi live in Fukuoka, Japan. The dust has settled and all is long gone, but quite frankly, I'm not quite over the experience yet...
17 July (Monday)
I found out the band was staying in the same hotel as I was (Grand Hyatt Fukuoka) and got really excited. Unfortunately, the organisers cancelled a meet-and-greet session which I was supposed to have with them. However, with the help of a press rep, I managed to pass a gift for the band to David Bryan and managed to get David's and Tico's autographs... :-) To say I was over the moon will be an understatement!!
18 July (Tuesday)
The big day!! I learnt earlier that as part of a special arrangement, there will be a "bars on stage" concept where contest winners and members of the media will be seated for two songs during the concert. This is totally new and exciting to me and I really can't imagine sharing a stage with the band, being at close range and all.. :-)
David entered first, followed by Tico and Hugh, then Richie, and finally our main man Jon. As the first riff of guitar sounded through the dome, everyone just stood up. Frankly, I've never seen something so moving before, a crowd in unison...
I was delighted to know that the first two songs, Livin' On A Prayer and You Give Love A Bad Name, were the same as the London concert they had few years ago. The accoustic segment was so moving, especially to hear Runaway... I couldn't control myself and just cried... :-)
Then my turn came to go up on stage. The band did Someday I'll Be Saturday Night and Bad Medicine and Jon actually came over to my side during Bad Medicine... I'll never ever forget the look in his eyes... :-) And Richie kept making faces at us, which was quite funny...
The Japanese couldn't understand English well and I was initially worried about how an encore's gonna take place... I was glad they came back for more. But honestly, the Fukuoka crowd was too quiet for my liking. I'm only saying this coz I actually took a good look at the crowd from the stage.
But then again, it's the band we were rooting and man, they sure are a top notch live act!!
19 July (Wednesday)
I was about to proceed up to my room when I saw Hugh. I almost couldn't believe my eyes!! I got a picture taken with him and chatted a little. He was really nice.
Some time passed and I got acquainted with a Japanese girl, Kumi, who's a big time fan of Richie. She had actually gone for every single concert they had in Japan and was hoping to meet Richie so she could pass him a huge soft toy for his daughter... Just then, someone spotted Jon... *gasp* Yes, he was just walking across the lobby... Funnily, I didn't get to say a single word to him coz someone else did but I did get a pic taken... :-)
So there... he rushed off and returned shortly. The band left for Osaka in the afternoon.
That pretty much sums up my experience in Fukuoka. Really, there are so much I would want to say and I really wish I could post the pics here... but I'm still not composed enough to do it... Anyone wants to share their experiences, just mail me. KEEP THE FAITH
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