Only hours to go until showtime, when Bon Jovi will kick off its tour in Des Moines and play to the largest crowd to yet visit the new Wells Fargo Arena.

Yep, Sir Paul McCartney packed the place last week, but the more than 15,500 fans expected for Bon Jovi tonight will edge out the size of the former Beatle’s audience thanks to the quirks of staging.

Yesterday afternoon I took a tour of the arena and stage as it was being prepped for the band’s rehearsal later that night. It was to be the first full run-through by the band with all its trappings in place — a giant high-definition video screen hung at the back of the stage, catwalks that nearly reach out into the audience (with, seriously, “slippery when wet” warning stickers stuck to their sides), etc.

The band’s first live show tied to its new album, “Have a Nice Day,” took place Sept. 16 in Amsterdam. There also was a Sept. 19 performance at Nokia Theater in Times Square, New York, that was broadcast by America Online. Then there were four days of rehearsals on a military base about 15 minutes from Jon Bon Jovi’s house in New Jersey, capped by a performance for cadets and soldiers. The production’s time spent in Veterans Memorial Auditorium, before the show moved into Wells Fargo Arena last Friday, was mostly to sort out lighting.

Some helpful folks, including Ilene Schreibman, one of the band’s managers, helped escort me around the stage-in-progress and dig up a bunch of info for you fans and concertgoers:

*About 60-100 fans per show will share time on stage with the band. “Fan pits” have been established on either side of the stage, where giddy audience members (some determined by radio-station contests and such) will be herded to spend 2-3 songs at a time, before another group replaces them.

*Expect an acoustic mini-set. While I visited this afternoon, the sound crew was checking levels on mics, acoustic guitars and even a mandolin. Chairs and a small drum kit were arranged at the front of the stage — perhaps for a stripped-down rendition of “Wanted Dead or Alive”? But I also saw a huge stash of electric guitars for Richie Sambora — double-necked models, guitars with leopard skin straps, etc. There were at least 19 of Sambora’s guitars to choose from in the cases on stage.

*Bon Jovi actually will number seven musicians in concert. Familiar tour bassist Hugh McDonald will be back on board, as well as guitarist Bob Bandiera and keyboardist Jeff Kazee from Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

*What does it require to take this show on the road? Try 12 trucks, 5 buses for the crew, total personnel of about 150 working behind the scenes.

*Everything fans see on the giant video screen will be directed on site by none other than Jon’s brother, Anthony M. Bongiovi (original spelling of the family surname).

*Bring your cell phone. Sprint is sponsoring the entire Bon Jovi tour and will enable fans to text message the entire arena, to have their messages flashed on the giant video screens before showtime and perhaps between the opening band (Des Moines’ own Nadas) and Bon Jovi’s set. (Don’t worry, both an automated filter and a human employee filter messages for explicit content.) I saw this in action in September during the Green Day concert, and it was good fun — text messages featured sparring between Hawks and Cyclones, different high schools, etc.

*Speaking of the Nadas, tour management confirmed that the opening band contest will last throughout the first leg of the band’s tour, but there’s not yet a plan after that. So the Nadas will be competing with bands from the Twin Cities, Wisconsin, etc., for a gig next summer (precise date TBA) at Giants Stadium.

--Kyle Munson



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