Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community - Chicago review...and Jon's birthday!

The Goo Goo Dolls were just as good last night as they were on Thursday in Milwaukee. When they got to the song Sympathy, Johnny said that he "fu**ed it up so many times the other night in Milwaukee" but got it right last night. Nothing spectacular about their performance, but great none the less. They only played for 45 minutes in Chicago as opposed to the 55 in Milwaukee. At the time I thought that maybe they asked them to cut it down due to the fact that there would be some kind of celebration for Jon's birthday. At the time, little did I know what was to come.

Bon Jovi came on at about 8:45pm, and you could tell right away that they were in the mood for a celebration. The energy level was unbelievable, both from the band and the audience. There was nothing spectacular about the setlist, almost a carbon copy from Milwaukee 2 nights before. But the thing that set this show apart was the huge crowd and it's elation that Bon Jovi was back in town.

Keep the Faith was the best I had ever heard it...the jungle noises...the extended music...this one really pumped up the audience. Jon showed so much emotion during Right Side of Wrong...I heard many people around me commenting how emotional he was when singing that song.

Jon made a remark about how that morning he was walking from his hotel to find someplace to eat and found a restaurant that had a picture of Frank Sinatra and that Frank told him to calm down, that Chicago is always welcoming to Jersey boys.

During Just Older, Jon was playing with the audience and when he got to the part "I'm not old, just older" he made a gesture with his fingers being an inch apart as if saying "only a little bit".

When they finished the main set, there was a feverish pitch in the audience...I could see them bringing a cake onto the stage...and knew that this was when we would acknowledge Jon's birthday...other than the "Happy Birthday Jon" signs that were littered throughout the United Center during the evening.

Richie, Dave, Tico, and Hugh all came back out wearing glittery jackets with tails and top hats. Richie and Tico wore silver, and Dave and Hugh wore gold. They started jamming to the old Beatles' song "You Say It's Your Birthday" and the crowd was jamming right along with them when Jon walks out with this big smile on his face. When that song was fininshed, they brought out the big cake...the look on Jon's face when Marilyn(Monroe) jumped out was hilarious. She then proceeded to sing Happy Birthday to Jon in the same manner that the real Marilyn sang it to JFK. He looked pleased and embarrased all at the same time. She was caressing his face and singing to him, luckily right in front of where I was sitting...er standing. Then she gave him a birthday kiss. After she got out of the way, Richie got the crowd going to sing Happy Birthday. Jon just stood there while we sang, and when we finished he said...thank you so much...just one reason why Chicago is one of the greatest cities...I owe you guys something...and lead into 'Always'. The crowd exploded at this point. I didn't think it could get any louder in there.

Heather Locklear was there, along with Dorothea. Richie's daughter Ava was also there, rocking right alongside her daddy on his side of the stage. He went over to give her a kiss a few times. Jon also gave her a kiss when he went to that side of the stage. Didn't see any of Jon's kids there.

When Jon was leading into Richie singing I'll Be There For You, he pointed over to Ava and said that Richie is singing it to his #1 fan...

At some point, a girl threw a birthday card up onstage...Jon opened it and read it with Richie. Jon had his hand over his heart and said "She says she loooovvvvveeeessss me"....Richie was laughing hard standing right beside him.

A fabulous time was had by all...Bon Jovi was once again outstanding...a real treat to be able to be included in Jon's birthday.

Bon Jovi finally left the stage at around 11:30pm, but not before I got what I was waiting over 2.5 hours to hear..."see you in the summertime!"

Setlist (not in order)

Bounce, Bad Name, Wild in the Streets, Prayer, Runaway, Wanted, Keep the Faith, Everyday, Undivided, Hook Me Up, Right Side of Wrong, The Distance, Just Older, It's My Life, Misunderstood, Saturday Night, I'll Be There For You, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Raise Your Hands, Born To Be My Baby

#1 You Say It's Your Birthday, Marilyn singing Happy Birthday, the crowd singing Happy Birthday, Always, In These Arms, Bad Medicine/Shout

#2 Rock and Roll Music, Twist and Shout