Quick Review - night 1

I enjoyed the show BUT - I would have won money had I bet on the setlist and the opening number.

The setlist was very basic - no big surprises other than Richie. That surprise ****ing rocked in my opinion but I have liked Richies voice for a long time now. Another notable was In These Arms which was done very well surprisingly. I didn't think I would ever hear that live again in that version. Some of the extra singers help cover the fact that Jon doesn't sing some of the highest notes.

The rehearsals for 70 + songs would have been all the different arrangements that they did. Very little was played with the same arrangement as they used to - even though the songs themselves were pretty much the same except for the Lost Highway stuff.

Where I was sitting (in section C row 13) the sound was horrible - very muddy and dirty except in the higher ranges. I don't know if this was an arena problem or a Bon Jovi sound problem. I guess I'll see tonight. Other people I spoke with thought that the sound was great so it may have been the arena. It seemed to swallow up the sound big time.

I'm not as down on them for the same old setlist as Seb is - I go to these shows because I like the songs and I like the sound of them. It is very simple music to begin with and it makes me happy I was pleased to see that they can still rock with the best of them - I was afraid that they would turn it down a notch or two. Had they done that - coupled with the relatively boring setlist I would have been very disappointed.

The arena itself was fantastic - as was the local staff. There were plenty of first night problems though. Tickets scanners weren't working all the time - elevators had some problems and the food people didn't have everything they were supposed to. Small potatoes though overall.

So to sum it up - it was an excellent show with only a few surprises. I will judge the entire effort after hearing more shows and seeing if they really do change the setlist from night to night.

Thank you very much for the input Kathleen

Thank you very much, can´t wait anymore!!!

Thanks for the review my friend. I really hope that Richie continues to sing These Days, I would love to hear that.

Have a great time tonight, I'm so jealous!
I'll see you next year when it's time for Giants ..

Cool review Kathleen, enjoy the show tonight!

oooo...thank you for your review! its very weird that you were in C, but had horrid sound. definitely dont forget to review tonites show...lucky dog!!!! lol. did you notice any camera policies while there!? how about the parking situation? im very unsure about how to get there...its only 35 min from me... but im hearing horror stories. :*(

Thanks Kathleen.
Sounds like agood show that needs tweaking.
What was the merch situation like, btw?
Are there any specific event shirts?
Also, do they have those nice (yet insanely overpriced) hoodies that the website has?

Thanks for the review.It will def be interesting in regards the setlist(prob wont change much though)but would still love to be at one of the shows

we were in sec 6 last nite, and i totally agree, there was something funky with the sound, something wasnt right

Lots of merchandise - but no opening night shirt which is what I really wanted. They do have those insanely priced hoodies at SOME of the booths - not all of them though - in red and black. I confess that I came home with a black one - it's a companion to the JERSEY Bounce tour hoodie that I have.

And yes - I'll review tonight.