Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi > My show reviews > DECEMBER 14 & 15, 2005 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

My show reviews

DECEMBER 14 & 15, 2005 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Warning: If I ever find out that the pictures displayed on this page end up on someone's website without my consent, or if some people try to remove the watermarks and try to resell these pictures, they will have to provide some good explanations. I will then have to remove my pictures and other visitors of my website will be deprived of them!

1 Bon Jovi show is good, but 2 are better!

Day 1

Venue: Bell Centre
Ticket: Floor, Row F, Seat 21
Pictures: Available
Videos: Available

After more than 2 years of waiting, Bon Jovi came back to Montreal for 2 consecutive nights, a first since the These Days tour in 1995. I was 15 years old at that time, I wasn't able to go to both shows and I don't think it would have been good for my mental health! I'm 25 years old now, I can control myself...

When the tickets went on sale for both shows, I had met Sandra and her boyfriend, Geneviève, Maryse, Mary and Lucy, devoted fan club members. We had tickets one against the other on the floor, courtesy of the fan club that we love so much! One of the privileges of the fan club is to receive a ticket per member in the second, fourth, sixth or eighth row of the floor, without effort and for face value! So, we knew that we would all be together tonight in the sixth row of the floor in the center (row F) (I had a ticket in seat 21 and the seats on the floor are from 1 (on the extreme left) to 42 (on the extreme right)). Two years ago for the Bounce tour, seat 21 was an aisle seat, but in fact, the Bell Centre changed its floor seat configuration, the aisle seats are now 1, 14, 15, 28, 29 and 42...

Martin, my husband, had a ticket in the BMO box, so we got to the Bell Centre together. I had no problem bringing my digital camera inside. I immediately bought a tour program, because I bought the These Days one in 1995, the Crush one in 2000 and I was due for the Have A Nice Day (HAND) tour in 2005. We went down to section 124 in the red seats to get access to the floor. Martin waited for me in the first row of the red seats while I was going to verify where I was located.

When I got up front, I quickly noticed that my sixth row ticket was in fact in the third row, because rows A, B and C were not there in the central part of the floor! The closest I had been in the past was fourth row during the previous tour. The view was unbelievable! I took the opportunity to wave at Martin who seemed so far away! Hahaha I also went to see where my seat for the second show was... To be continued in the next part of the review... I waved at a security guard who was behind the barricade and he smiled at me so I understood that the third row was really close to the stage! The barricade is half a metal wall that allows the band cameramen to film without being flooded by people in the first row.

The stage was going forward forming a half circle, which explains why the first rows (A, B and C) were not reaching up to the central part of the floor. There were also catwalks on each side of the stage, stage extensions with an inclination that allowed Jon or other members to climb up to the people in the red seats on each side of the stage (sections 103 and 111 in the Bell Centre). Between the catwalks and the main stage, a little at the back of the stage, were the famous fan pits where lucky ones could end up in for a few songs and be able to have the chance to shake hands with Jon.

When I got back to Martin, he couldn't believe how close I was! Since there was nobody on the floor up front, I stayed with Martin a little. We planned to meet during or after the first act. The main idea was that I would go up in the red seats in line with his box and we would talk a little before going down. After putting the finishing touches to the last details, we left each other for part of the evening. I went to sit down at my seat and I waited a little. The girls who had tickets in the fourth row in the center all had the same reaction when they saw that they were in the first row! One of them even called almost everybody she knew to tell them! Hahaha Moreover, she called the girls who were sitting next to her and said: "Guys, guess what? We are FREAKING FRONT ROW!"

Chantal, a fan met on the fan club message board, was supposed to come and she was in row D. We succeeded in convincing her the previous day that it was OK to come alone at a show and that we would come to see her a little! Thank god we succeeded, she was in the first row, the seat next to the aisle in the central part of the floor! My head was not functioning properly that night, it took me an awful lot of time before I realized that it was Chantal who was sitting on this seat! Hahaha I then went to see her a little.

When the first act began, the security guard told me to go back to my seat. When I sat down, Geneviève and Maryse arrived, so we greeted each other. I immediately said hello on Mireille's behalf, a very nice girl from the fan club who lives in France and who frequently travels to America to see Bon Jovi on tour! They then showed me a necklace that they had just bought with the smirk on the CD (see picture below) and I fell in love with it!

Joe V

With ear plugs in my ears (what a beautiful invention for the first acts, mostly for Hadley who did the first act tonight!), I then left for the red seats to get to the level where the BMO box was in sections 123-124. Martin was there with his coworkers. The husband of one of them is a Bon Jovi fan and he asked me to send him my most beautiful pictures. I stayed for just a couple of minutes, because I had to go to the restroom and buy water to survive!

On my way to the restroom, I ran into a stand of Bon Jovi stuff, including the necklace! I quickly bought it! The women's restrooms were crowded, even if they were the ones on the floor, and the food stands were crowded as well. At this moment, I decided to go one level higher in the white seats. There is never anyone in the higher restrooms!

I took the opportunity to put on my necklace and I bought myself water. (It's cool, the Bell Centre staff puts a bottle of water in a clear glass with a cover and a straw, so there is less chance of spilling it over!) I was then in front of a big dilemma: how do I go down? Every escalator was going up! I then asked an usher. He told me to go to section 333 and that I would have doors to go down. When I got to section 333, there were no doors to go down without going outside! I then turned around and I asked a Bell Centre's security guard. She told me to take the doors in section 328 (if I remember correctly), even if it's written that they are an exit only, they are the only doors that allow someone to go back to the red seats level (2) from the white seats (level 6) without going outside. I then hurried, because I knew that the first act finished at 8h pm and it was almost that time.

I then got back to my seat in time to hear: "Thank you Montreal, good night!" and the guitar player threw his guitar on stage before he left. The lights turned back on and I saw Sandra and her sister sitting down near me. Geneviève and Maryse were gone, but they came back a short while after. At the same time, I turned around on the other side of the row and a woman called me out by my first name! It was France, a fan met on the fan club message board. She is from Ontario and she was with a very nice girl named Nancy who asked me if I wanted to have a glowstick, the glowing things that light up for hours. I however declined the offer politely.

Maryse and Geneviève were ready with their 3 512-Mbs memory cards for digital cameras. As far as I was concerned, I had brought 6 batteries for the camera hoping that I would not run out of space on the 512-Mbs memory card I had!

Mary and Lucy arrived also not long after, we greeted each other and we waited for the time to pass. 8h28 pm came and I started being nervous, because the show usually starts at 8h30 pm. As expected, at 8h30 pm, the background music which had a style similar to hip-hop got suddenly louder, giving the signal to everybody to sit down and allow the security guards to send back the people who had no business being up front. The people in the first row gathered en masse at the barricade, forming up to 2 human rows in the central section.

The lights went off, making the people go wild in the Bell Centre and the huge giant screen lowered itself. The band members arrived one after the other on stage, we could only see their legs. The only member who didn't appear is Jon who started the show at the back of the room, near the sound console. It wasn't a surprise to anyone around me, since we had kept ourselves informed of the things that the band did during previous shows. The crowd in the Bell Centre didn't seem to realize that the action was happening at the back of the room, apart from those who had Jon in the face! It's a weird feeling, you want to look back to see Jon, but while looking towards the stage, you see the band members so close that you ask yourself what to do!!! During the first seconds of the song, the giant screen rose while showing the smirk, the symbol of the current tour called HAND.

After the introduction song which I adore so much (during the lyrics: "Take your seats now, it's show time, hey Patrick, hit the lights", spotlights turned on everywhere in the Bell Centre, thus lighting the whole arena!), Jon made his way longing the floor, just beside the boards on the left when looking towards the stage (Richie's side like we love to say!) to then join his colleagues on stage. When You Give Love A Bad Name began, I looked towards the boxes and Martin seemed up on his feet, just like everyone else for this spectacular show.

I realized at this moment that I was not the only one to love Bon Jovi, the girls beside me raising their arms in the air (mostly Maryse who has as much energy as me!) and what an evening it was going to be!

Jon was so close to me, it almost gave me a pinch in the heart! I was however under the effect of the adrenaline too much to start panicking! Hahaha I was simply very happy to be there! With his clothing composed of cotton black pants and his half-zipped leather shirt, there was my idol and all his beauty... and the other band members!! I cannot hide the fact that Jon has always been and always will be my favorite! Here is the list of songs that they played tonight in order:

Encores:

What a lineup of songs! Usually, they don't play as many! The show lasted from 8h30 pm to 11h05 pm. Usually, it's supposed to end around 10h45 pm, so we were pretty spoiled.

Jon greeted us after the first songs and he said: "I'm a cat in a cage and I feel like getting lucky", making reference to a cat that goes out quickly from a cage when we give it the chance with all the enthusiasm that the animal can have at that moment! Jon seemed so full of energy on stage, a real human bomb! By the way, he gave that energy back to a wild crowd composed of 15 000 people who came to welcome their gods! I'm exaggerating a bit, but when La Presse writes that Québec is the band's second most important market after their native New Jersey, there is no doubt that the band is ready to give everything they got... and even a little bit more. Jon continued by saying: "It's crazy, when Bono comes to town, everyone is just at peace. When I come to town, you want to take home pieces of me." He also said a sentence that made all the girls get up off their seats with his "I know it now, women rule the world"! Jon also said a little later during the evening that there was something special in Montreal, he even questioned to know if it were our French culture that made Montreal an extraordinary place to give a show: "There is something about here (Montreal), maybe it's the French culture??"

There were at least 3 groups of people in the pits during the show! A few of the women (men are rarely there!) took the opportunity to interact with Jon by shaking his hands, touching his legs and other parts of the body which would be indecent to mention here... Jon seems to adore this, because when he went towards the people at the left end of the stage on the catwalk, he first crouched to shake hands with the people in the crowd and he then literally laid himself on the stage. The girls took the opportunity to pass their hand through his hair, grab his arms, his hands... He had a huge smile, which said it all on his mind set.

I took my best pictures of the evening while they were playing I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, such as the following example:

Bon Jovi - Bell Centre, Quebec, Canada (December 14, 2005)

This picture is incredible, even in 8.5 x 11 format, everything is clear!

As weird and unexpected as it may look, four people behind me were guys. And one of them was really into it, he always had his hands in the air and he was singing at the top of his lungs like the girls! I also had a tall guy in front of me who was blocking my view partially with his big head! Hahaha Moreover, he barely moved throughout the evening. I don't remember anymore, but it seems to me that he had his hands in his pockets throughout the concert! Grrr A girl beside him put her arm around his neck from time to time, I assume that she was his girlfriend. If not, the girl was drunk!

Even if I were telling myself to keep some of my strength for the second show, when Jon decides that he gets you started with his jumps, there is not much to do except follow him... and I followed him! I really don't know where I find this energy in fact! I had put my glass of water underneath my seat and sometimes, I bent over to go drink very quickly between two songs. Mary was also doing that regularly. I think this is what allowed me to gather my strength again and also, I didn't lose my voice, so it proves that it's a good trick!

One thing that also struck me is the fact that I smelled only one cigarette throughout the whole evening, when the lights went off for the encores. No pot, no smoke, nothing. I was hoping for the evening to go like that for my lungs, as well as the ones of my female counterparts and also the ones of the babies inside their mother's belly, like Geneviève who is a few months pregnant, and who was enjoying herself as if she weren't pregnant!

I was also surprised by my personal control throughout the evening. I was jumping like an insane person on the lively songs, but I could stop almost immediately to take a few pictures without moving too much. Then, I would put the camera back in its case tied to my waist and I would continue singing at the top of my lungs and dancing like there was no tomorrow. Let's say that I had gone through intensive workout sessions at the apartment since the day I had gotten my tickets for both nights. I was almost not out of breath anymore after my half an hour of intensive aerobic session in the last weeks and it paid off. It looks like Martin's coworkers were impressed because they couldn't believe how much I seemed to enjoy myself with people who I had just met. The Bon Jovi fan club is a big family and all the people who I have met with since I joined are very nice.

I could sometimes see myself on the giant screen with the other fans around me. What was a little pitiful is the fact that we could see everyone but me most of the time. The camera seemed to be behind Jon, because when we could see him on the screen from behind, we couldn't see me. I was really in front of him! I succeeded in taking a picture of me on the screen... while taking the picture! Hahaha

I had made a banner for both shows. People who are in close contact with me know it, but when I discovered Bon Jovi, I had a hard time letting go of the song Bed Of Roses. In fact, I listened to it 3876 times in 365 days (1 year) when I was 13 years old. I still have the sheets on which I wrote down the number of times I listened to the song each day. My coworkers tease me about this by the way since I have brought them the written proof! So, my banner was made with fabric, very easy to manipulate and on which we could read: "BED OF ROSES 3876 X IN 1 YEAR". I asked one of my female counterparts to take a picture of me holding it:

Marie-Hélène Cyr - Bon Jovi show at the Bell Centre, Quebec, Canada (December 14, 2005)

At the beginning of the show, Jon looked in our direction and he seemed to stare at Maryse for a few seconds. When he left our field of view, Maryse turned around and told me: "Woohoo, my evening is done!" It is not easy to catch Jon's attention, even when we are in the first rows. During Born To Be My Baby, he was often looking in the crowd, so I took out my banner and I tried to show it to Jon. I don't know if he saw it, because I couldn't see through the fabric to prove it, but Jon leaned against Tico's drums and he did a face like he meant: "Oh boy, what did I just see there?" I will never know if he saw it or not at that moment. When I showed the banner to France, Nancy, Lucy and Mary, they all had the same reaction: "What?" hahaha I didn't want to block the view of the people behind me too much, so I didn't show it again afterwards for the rest of the evening. I noticed that the banner was not on my seat at some point. I turned around and one of the guys behind me was reading it. He seemed to wonder what was happening with me. He then put it back on my seat.

Before starting Runaway, their first hit, Jon made a countdown of the years from 2005 to 1984 (or 1982??), naming all the years. When he said 1986, everyone applauded, because this is the year when the band released their album called Slippery When Wet which was a big hit throughout the world!

The band played an acoustic version of I'll Be There For You. It was really good, Jon and Richie have a phenomenal connection for this kind of songs. Then, Jon disappeared and the guys started playing a quite long introduction. I then knew that Jon was going to change his clothes and that he would walk on the other side of the floor near the boards once again to go on a platform on our right in the red seats (section 113) about halfway between the floor and the end of the first level of red seats. He stayed there to sing a new and a little funkier version of Blaze Of Glory. Here is where Jon was in the red seats:

Bon Jovi - Bell Centre, Quebec, Canada (December 14, 2005)

After this song, he stayed on the platform and as soon as I heard the first notes of the following song, I screamed so loudly that the people in the three rows that surrounded me turned around all at once to look at me. I had heard the first notes of Bed Of Roses, the acoustic version once again. I adore this new version and just hearing it in concert makes me act like if I had just become insane. France took a few pictures of me, I hope I don't look too stupid! It would have been pointless for me to show my banner during the song, because Jon was not on stage. However, I took several pictures of this moment. During the solo, Jon started making his way down slowly towards the floor, shaking hands with as many people as possible while passing by them. He danced a few seconds with a girl who was literally holding on him tight by the neck! The security guards then escorted Jon towards the stage once again. At the end of the show, Mary told me: "He should have sung Bed Of Roses beside you, it's not fair. You were way too nice about your banner!" I didn't want to block anyone's view too long, so I didn't show it often. But I also knew that Jon was in the crowd like that when he was singing Bed Of Roses during previous shows, so I didn't make the effort to make him notice me at that moment! Hahaha

My hair was wet at some point because of the way I was giving myself body and soul for Jon; I was hot! Hahaha My necklace was also very slippery around my neck, it was fortunately very well fastened!

I had a few problems with the song called Novocaine, I had not listened to it often in the last weeks and I didn't know half of the lyrics! It was all humiliating! Hahaha I could follow the rest of the songs well, even the excellent ones from their new album!

I noticed something tonight. A lot of people wonder what it is like to be in the first rows of the floor. Here is a good example. Sometimes, when Jon was leaning forward to sing towards us, I could hear his voice even before it was amplified in the speaker! There was no real delay between the time Jon was singing and we were hearing him, but still, it was special to hear Jon without a microphone! This is what it's like to be in the 3 first rows of the floor, it's as fabulous as that!

At some point during a song that got the crowd started, such as Raise Your Hands, I looked behind me and I could see the people in the blue seats raising their hands in the air! It's a really weird feeling to be close to the stage like that and know that the people in the back seem up on their feet with their arms in the air! I even made a sign to the guy behind me to invite him to look too, but he seemed to wonder what I was doing with my finger pointing like that! Hahaha

I filled up my 512-Mbs memory card with pictures, I even had to erase some as I was taking them to ensure I had enough space! I changed my batteries before the encores, but the first batteries that I had put in it were not about to be dead either. I took all the pictures without using the flash, apart from those where Jon was in the crowd. The pictures were very blurry, because I was moving a little and the exposure time of the camera was too long when there was no light. The slightest small movement made my pictures very blurry. Security let us take pictures as we wished without saying anything. The band always specifies that fans can take pictures. In this case, security is very kind.

Speaking of camera, I will always remember the incident implicating Maryse and the camera she had. To take pictures with a short exposure time, the trick is to put black electric tape on the flash and setting the camera so it thinks it uses the flash. Personally, I didn't have to do that, but Maryse and Geneviève did it. I turned around at some point and I saw smoke coming out of Maryse's camera! OH NO! What is that??!! It was her electric tape that was burning. Rapidly, she took off what she could, but the plastic covering the flash seemed to be duller than before! Oops, double oops!

During Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars, a really fun song in show, Sandra, her sister (if I remember well), Geneviève and Maryse started swinging their arms in the air to the beat of the song, by changing sides at the end of each beat. I started doing it as well, on the same side as them and I turned around to realize that there weren't many people who were doing it apart from us. During the solo, we saw ourselves on the giant screen doing that, Jon invited everyone afterwards, and everybody followed! It was one of the magical moments of the evening, because it's as if we had started it all.

At the end of Bad Medicine, Jon teased us by starting a part of Shout, a song that they were playing during previous tours which had the effect of blowing the roof off the Bell Centre. But when he was about to sing, he continued singing Bad Medicine! He did it on purpose to excite us for nothing! Hahaha

I unfortunately don't remember what I wanted to say about this anymore, but during Who Says You Can't Go Home, something special happened. I told myself that I absolutely had to remember that moment, but unfortunately, my mind did a total black-out afterwards. I know that I was involved, so it was either that I saw myself long enough on the giant screen for anyone in the crowd who knows me to be able to recognize me or either Jon looked at me...

I remember that at some point, Jon was looking in my direction during the show and I blew him a kiss! Hahaha He didn't reply on this gesture, but still, it gives an idea of the girl I can become when I'm in front of Bon Jovi! I was also surprised by doing the same moves as Jon during some songs, and sing like him. The live versions of songs are not quite the same as the ones recorded on albums!

The encores started and Jon arrived with a jersey of his Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul. He was very photogenic in his clothes, and I took a lot of pictures, such as the following:

Bon Jovi - Bell Centre, Quebec, Canada (December 14, 2005)

He was wearing the number 3 with Bon Jovi written in the back. He is proud of his team, and it shows!

When I had seen the band in Quebec City in 2001, I had been impressed by one of the signs that one fan had brought. It read: "Stay just a little longer". When Jon had seen it back then, he had started playing the old hit with the same name. Everyone had gone wild, because it was one of those spontaneous and privileged moments that the band offers from time to time.

Well, I found the authors of this sign when Maryse and Geneviève took the sign out of their bag! They were the ones who had made this sign back then and they still bring it at every Bon Jovi show. Each time, they get shown on the giant screen! The famous authors accepted that I take a picture of them, they seem proud that the banner made others talk! Thank you for the concept and for the picture, girls!

Maryse and Geneviève - Bon Jovi show at the Bell Centre, Quebec, Canada (December 14, 2005)

Before playing their last encore, and not the least, Wanted Dead Or Alive, Jon told us in despair: "Are you trying to kill me, or what?" All because the crowd wanted even more! He seemed really tired at that moment, but so satisfied by the welcome that we had given them! Faithful to their actions, the band members played the song, but they let us sing the first verse alone like big girls and guys! The effect is really spectacular to hear the crowd sing loudly enough on top of the music!

During one of the encores, a girl in the first row in the center was holding a sign that I couldn't read completely. I could only see "Please, don't". Jon looked at it and he shrugged to the author of the sign like he meant: "I cannot do anything about it, I'm sorry." (I learned afterwards that the author of the banner had written: "Please, don't forget about Australia". Australians are upset, because the band hasn't gone there in more than 10 years and a petition even circulated before the tour dates were announced to change the band's mind about having a concert in Australia.)

Towards the end, Jon headed to the right of the stage and he bent forward to shake hands with fans at the barricade. As soon as he began, I saw a flow of women running towards the front of the stage and the security guard said: "Wo, no no no..." and he succeeded in pushing them away before it got worse! He seemed nervous to have had an off-guard moment like that that could have been dangerous for his personal security.

A girl looked in Maryse's camera's LCD screen all evening long and at the end, the girl gave Maryse her email address simply to have a copy of the pictures! It was the first time that I was witnessing such a gesture! Hahaha

I don't remember which one of the two, but Jon or Richie threw his guitar pick near us. I would say it landed on my left, about 1 or 2 rows in front. I know that if the pick had been thrown a little further, I would have had a good chance of catching it! By the way, nobody caught it, because not long after it was thrown, people were still looking down at their feet and a little further!

At the end of the show, when the lights turned on, we all said to each other: "See you tomorrow!" and just when we were about to start a conversation, a security guard told us: "Ok, the show is over, go home!" Sandra succeeded in getting a set list from a guy who was between the stage and the barricade. The set list is the piece of paper glued on the stage for the band to know the order of the songs to play. It's a fortunate thing to have an original set list!

Martin and I had planned to meet after the show just outside section 123 in the red seats. He had kept my coat and my tour program with him and it was -15 degrees outside, so I would have never left without my coat! I was wearing a tank top that I usually wear when it's 30 degrees outside! He offered me a nice surprise as well: a bottle of water! He asked the clerk in the box if he could bring me a bottle of water. I had finished my glass of water during the next-to-last song and I felt as if I were completely dehydrated.

In the subway on our way home, I was looking at my pictures with the camera and a girl called me out behind me. She asked me where I was to have pictures like these and how I had done to get these so great tickets. I made a little bit of public relations with her by presenting the advantage of the fan club to her. She gave me her email address so I could give her a copy of my best pictures! She was in the blue seats and she had to settle for the giant screen to see the details of the show. It was fun to know that I will be able to make another fan happy.

I went to bed at 1h am and the next day, we had to wake up earlier (6h30 am) to take care of a little something for our house in construction...

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To be followed on the other page...

Copyright © 2005 Marie-Hélène Cyr

Day 2

Venue: Bell Centre
Ticket: Floor, Row D, Seat 30
Pictures: Available
Videos: Available

The fact that I stretched my leg and arm muscles before I went to sleep helped me a lot, I wasn't hurting anywhere special, except that I could feel the tension in my neck muscles. By looking up a whole evening, it ends up stretching the muscles a little too much!

When I got to the office, my coworkers had several questions to ask me. I showed them a few pictures to give them an idea of what I had seen of the stage. My supervisor even teased me by telling me that it was hard to believe that a girl as quiet as me could become so "passionately crazy". (Thanks to Karl and Michel T. for the expression, I adore it!) She told me that it would be worth for her to buy a ticket next time, not to go see Bon Jovi, but to see with her own eyes who I am in concert in front of Jon and the rest of the band! During the whole day, everyone was impressed at work that I could still move. In fact, during previous shows, I had a hard time walking for 2 days after getting as excited as I usually do. The workout was again beneficial. Everyone was impressed by the pictures I took, mostly the one with Jon and his black and white guitar, shown above (day 1).

I made really sure I emptied my 512-Mbs memory card when I came back from work. I had recharged my batteries of my camera as well during the night; I was ready once again for round 2 of my marathon. The whole day, I was nauseous or unbelievably hungry. The tiredness was already starting to settle in. When the adrenaline finally started pumping in my veins, I had a boost of energy, just before leaving to meet with Martin downtown.

Even though he wasn't coming to the second show, he was kind enough to go have dinner with me and then, I had left him the car at the Longueuil subway parking lot so he could spend the evening at home. We took our time and we finally arrived at the Bell Centre around 7h pm. The first act was starting at 7h30 pm. I asked him to stay behind until I pass the entrance to ensure that I could go in with my camera and my ticket! When I walked to my seat in the Bell Centre, I told myself: "I cannot believe that I will do it once again tonight!"

It's when I realized that tonight, I was going to the show alone. I didn't panic, but let's say that I was looking forward to seeing someone I knew arriving on the floor! I saw a few girls just about to become hysterical when they got to their seats... like a group of girls who were in the first row and said: "Oh my god, we are so close!" Hello girls, you are in the FIRST ROW, what were you expecting??!! There was also a group of girls who got in the second row in the right part of the floor and they couldn't stop saying that they had good seats. The thing is that they weren't fan club members and they had tickets sold to fan club members! One of them even said: "Wow, anyway girls, we must keep this contact, because he has great tickets!" If I catch the scalper who registered to the fan club and resold these tickets, I cut him open, that's for sure!

There was also a girl wearing a Philadelphia Soul jersey who didn't stop on going to all the security guards to tell them that she absolutely needed to go on stage, because it was "god's will". I must admit that she seemed a little too obsessed, but really obsessed as a sickness. She would have been the kind of people to do a really stupid thing (such as grabbing Jon too hard and making him fall down for example) just by the way she acted. I was really wondering if she were close to the stage or not and I was mostly hoping that she was not sitting near me! Hahaha Finally, she was in the third row in a seat beside the left aisle and she stayed rather quiet all evening. Let's say that security probably had their eyes on her more than others! She had a fluorescent yellow banner on which we could read: "Yesterday you sang to my son, can you dance with his mommy?" I don't quite know what it was all about, except that at some point, he came close to a child who was barely 2 years old and the girl beside freaked out. This was maybe the link, but what kind of mother would bring her preschool son to a rock show anyway? I hope that he had ear plugs on at least, poor little one!

When the security guard finished arguing with the girl in question, another girl arrived to talk to him. She had a camera and she wanted to know if she could use it, because she would go on stage for a few songs in the pits. The guard asked her if it were a digital camera or a disposable one and he told her that there was no problem for her to use her disposable camera. She then unwrapped it, all excited. The friend who was with her didn't have a camera and she asked if the Bell Centre was selling some. To the best of his knowledge, he told her no, but she could go buy one at a store near the Bell Centre. Like he said, the first act was not started and there was nothing to miss (hahaha), the band would play for half an hour and there would be another half an hour before Bon Jovi would come on stage. They seemed impressed that so much time was remaining. One of the girls then told him that she could not leave, because the guy at the doors had scanned her ticket. The security guard then explained to her that it is not a problem anymore with their electronic devices, because if someone wants to leave, they just need to have their ticket scanned before leaving and when they come back in again, the guy at the entrance scans their ticket once again and everything works correctly! It's good to know!

When the girls got back to their seats, I got up to talk a little with the same guard, since I was all alone. I asked him if it were possible for me to go in the aisle for a few seconds during the show to be able to show my banner to Jon without blocking people's view. I explained to him that I was there the previous night and that I had tried to show it to him, but I was not sure he had seen it, etc. He told me that if the decision were his only, he would let me do it, but he had received an instruction from his supervisor to not allow anyone in the aisle during the show. He told me that if I tried, it's his supervisor who would get there to put me back in my seat anyway if he let me do it... In short I told him that I would try not to block the view of the others who were behind me too long.

I also asked him who could go at the barricade, because yesterday, there were at least 2 rows of people before the seats. I quickly understood afterwards the story behind all this: all the people in the first row (about 40 people) were all packed in the middle and there were less people on the sides. He also told me that it was a rule established by the band and their promoter to allow people in the first row only to be at the barricade, and nobody else. He told me that U2 has given the instruction to let the people in the 5 first rows to be up front... I thanked him and I went to sit down.

My left neighbor had arrived during our conversation. She had the aisle seat. I asked her in French if I could leave my coat on my seat while I would go find water. She seemed shy to speak, so I asked her if she spoke English or French, in English this time. She made me a big smile and told me: "English".

I went to find water, but this time, I went to the food stand which was reserved to the people on the floor. There was NO ONE! The restrooms were empty as well, so I took advantage of it. I bought myself a bottle of water put in a transparent glass once again. I asked the clerk if she had a bigger format. She advised me to come and fill the glass up at the drinking fountain beside the restrooms! So, we pay 4$ for the plastic glass, because even the clerks tell us to fill our glasses for free! I then came back to my seat afterwards.

I still listened to what the guard was telling other guards who were with him. He was saying that he was afraid of seeing the same craziness as yesterday happen at the end of the concert by explaining that yesterday, when the girls started running towards the stage at the end, he was afraid of being crushed, because he was all alone to hold them back. He asked the others to come to the rescue by doing a human chain if it happened again.

The first act began, I put my ear plugs in my ears even if they were starting to be quite worn out! The first act wasn't so bad, but still, I hadn't come to see One Away for all that, so I couldn't wait for them to go away.

After the first act, I went to refill my glass of water at the drinking fountain. When I came back to my seat, there was already a fiasco with tickets being sold twice in the third row of the floor in the right part. The two same pairs of tickets had been sold twice! I'm not surprised with all the reselling of tickets that I saw on the internet! Too bad for those who make business with scalpers!

I also chatted a little bit with my left neighbor (I'm sorry, I completely forgot to ask her name!) by asking her the usual questions such as "Is it your first Bon Jovi show?", "How long have you known them?", etc. I learned that she follows them since their New Jersey album, she was there last night as well (she was in the first row in the middle!) and she doesn't miss any Bon Jovi shows in Montreal.

Then, Sandra arrived with her boyfriend. We had seen each other when we bought our tickets last October. Sandra was more than excited, she knew that she was in the first row tonight! I even asked her boyfriend how he would contain her! Hahaha She even got up early off her seat (I don't even remember if she sat down for 2 seconds??) to keep her spot at the barricade. I told her how I had been nauseous all day and she told me that she was so tired that she had yarned during the afternoon! Hahaha For those who think that I'm crazy when it comes to Bon Jovi, I'm far from being the worst! Sandra already saw 4 Bon Jovi shows in 6 days! (After going to 2 shows in 2 nights, I can understand why she wants to see as many as possible!) :)

Mary and Lucy arrived at about 8h20 pm, just in time to set in and greet each other before Bon Jovi took the stage. They were still beside me, on my right. The same song which had a style similar to hip-hop announced the imminent arrival of Bon Jovi around 8h30 pm. The list of songs that the band offered us during the second night is the following:

Encores:

The show lasted a little less time than yesterday (from about 8h30 pm to 10h50 pm), but what a show however! Jon started Last Man Standing at the other end of the arena like yesterday. The girl on my left even told me that her niece was disappointed, because she had a ticket in section 119 (at the far end of the Bell Centre) and she wouldn't see the band well. She told me that she would have the surprise of her life during the first song, because she told herself that it was better to get a surprise than telling her everything! I imagine the expression of the little niece when she saw Jon appear beside her!

After Last Man Standing, Jon passed to the left of the floor like yesterday to join his friends on stage. When he arrived up front, he said: "Can you hear me now ok?" like if we had not heard him well during the first song! Hahaha He then asked us how many people were there yesterday. Almost all the people in the first rows of the floor raised their arms in the air to answer! Jon made a facial expression that meant: "That's what I thought..." Let's say that the Montreal crowd is extraordinary at Bon Jovi shows. Jon even mentioned, and he seemed sincere, that Montreal is the third city where the band prefers to give a show! It was such an honor to hear that from our idol's mouth! The 2 first cities must be, in order, their native city and a city in England or Ireland. Jon however stayed silent on the cities that beat us!

After a few songs, Jon told the crowd on my right in the red seats something like: "Ok, I forgive you to have been sitting until now, but I must not catch you sitting down later on, because it won't work anymore!" HA HA HA

The kinds of people who were at the show were a little different in my opinion than the first night. There were 2 men in their fifties in the 5 first rows of the floor who were not really there to accompany either their daughter or wife, but because they loved the music! What stroke me the most is that in 2 nights, I had two men in front of me! Tonight's one was a little shorter, so he wasn't blocking my view. In fact, he was the only one in theory who separated me from the stage, apart from the fans at the barricade in the first row, even if I were in the fourth row. There were an uneven number of seats in the rows in the right part of the floor. I however had the nice security guard in my field of view...

I jumped and danced so much for this final show in Montreal, I couldn't stop telling myself: "Enjoy it, have fun, seize the moment well, you are so close to them." I didn't know that I had so much energy left, my sore muscles weren't causing me any pain anymore, mostly when Jon was coming on the edge of the stage! I really needed my water underneath my seat for this show because my throat was dry from jumping everywhere! Hahaha Mary was also crouching often to drink in her glass!

I tried to show my banner to Jon, mostly when he came our way. I tried during Born To Be My Baby once again where he walked around on the stage pretty much, but each time I had the banner ready to lift it up in the air, he was leaving! Hahaha I however think that he saw it at some point. He must have wondered what kind of maniac I am to listen to the same song as many times in such a short period of time! Hahaha I then put my banner around my waist, by inserting it at the front of my pants a little. It was like a mini-skirt at the front and I told myself that it was the best way to keep it close to me, in case the opportunity would come again to show it to him. It fell down from my pants a couple of times, but it came back safe and sound with me at the apartment!

During Just Older, after the solo, the music became quite soft, so I decided to take a deep breath. I then screamed with all my heart "I LOVE YOU" to Jon and Richie who were playing guitar. I'm sure that they heard me, because they looked at each other afterwards! I was sure that Jon would say something, but I was left unfulfilled!

When I heard the lyrics: "Regrets are all you left on your lipstick stains", I knew that I would hear Last Cigarette, a lively song on their new album. I was so happy to hear it, I jumped until my heels hurt! Hahaha I have worked out several times on this song during the last weeks and it was for me an adventure to follow the beat of the song!

I saw myself a few times on the giant screen tonight, but far less compared to the previous night. I was far from the center of the stage, but the good in all this is that I could see Jon without always having his microphone stand in the face. I took a few beautiful pictures of him during the evening, such as the following:

Bon Jovi - Bell Centre, Quebec, Canada (December 15, 2005)

Jon looked at me a few times and when he came our way, I tried my best to take a picture. He was so close to me when he was on the edge of the stage, I was nervous, so I unfortunately don't have pictures beautiful enough to show them to the public! Hahaha

I also realized that security works a great deal during a show of this magnitude! All the time, the guards had to call people out who were trying a quick one on them. A woman wanted to go back to her seat at the other end on the right in the 10 first rows and she tried to pass from the front of the floor... She had to turn around! Hahaha Guards also turned on little flashlights when the lights went off to avoid having people succeeding in inching their way through the crowd in the dark!

During Blaze Of Glory and Always, Jon went to his spot in the red seats, at the same place as the previous night. I was then really close to him and I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. When he came down during Always to go back to the stage, we all packed ourselves on the edge of the row to be able to see him closer. At a certain point, he was closer to me than when he was on stage! I unfortunately wasn't able to touch him, because there were still a dozen of people in front of me when he passed by! The girls in the red seats quickly understood however that Jon would pass by again at the same place while going down, I saw a few up high in the low-level red seats going down to the first row of the red seats to have a chance of shaking hands with Jon!

When he came back on stage, the band started Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars. Faithful to yesterday, I started swinging my arms in the air to the beat of the song. At some point, I saw Geneviève, Maryse and other girls do the same thing as me. It was funny, they were on the left side of the floor and I was in the right part, but we were doing the same thing as the previous night. At the end of the song, when I lowered my arms, they were numb! It's a good workout, but it's so much fun!

We witnessed a very funny moment during Bad Medicine. A woman who was part of the stage crew came on stage while Jon was drinking in his cup of water in front of Tico at the drums. She told him something, Jon made her repeat, then he touched himself between his legs and he told the girl: "Oops, you're right!" and he laughed. Everything happened without him having his microphone in front of him for us to hear, but we saw him talk anyway. He then disappeared from the stage by going down the stairs at the back of the stage. The song was started and he continued singing like nothing was happening, but he wasn't on stage. I looked at Mary to know if she knew what was going on, but she had the same question mark in her eyes. Jon came back maybe a minute afterwards, his belt unbuckled. He then leaned on Tico's drums and he invited Hugh (bass player) and Richie to join him, while buckling his belt.

He then told us everything in the microphone. The stage crew girl came to tell him that he had a hole in his pants. (If I remember correctly, he had just gone on one of the catwalks where he stretched one of his legs.) So, he went to change his pants! During a song! He never stopped singing and we couldn't tell that he was changing his pants! HA HA HA He then said as a joke that fortunately, he had another identical pair of pants; unfortunately, the pair of pants that he ripped was Richie's. He then said that he had taken Richie's pair, because his was too big... And he showed us to prove it, by shaking his belt. He then reassured us by saying that no matter what happens, he looks good in any pants! He then continued singing Bad Medicine. What a funny and unexpected moment!!! Moreover, he didn't take off his shoes to change, because a short while after the incident, Jon pulled on the bottom of his pants to free his shoes which were a little stuck!

When the band started playing Livin' On A Prayer, I called Martin to let him hear the song, one of his favorites. He told me afterwards that the sound was really bad and that it seemed like someone was cutting the throat of somebody else! Hahaha

The encores started afterwards. I didn't have much space left on my memory card so I had to do a quick sorting of the bad pictures during the show to have enough space for the encores! Afterwards, I erased the pictures that seemed blurry as soon as I took them.

Halfway through the encores, Jon told us that he couldn't let us go without singing a Christmas classic. He then started singing very lightly, with a nonchalant and joyful air: "We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas..." and he stopped by telling us that we deserved better than this. He then started singing a Christmas classic of Chuck Berry, Run Rudolf Run. Personally, I had never heard this song, but it is very easy to learn! Hahaha

Maryse and Geneviève were shown on the giant screen once again during the encores with their famous sign. They seemed very happy to have succeeded in seeing themselves on the giant screen once again!

Towards the end of the Christmas song, Jon turned around, he mouthed "Wanted" to David (keyboards player) to let him know that they would play the last song afterwards, Wanted Dead Or Alive. It's fun to be up front for that, we can see the interaction between Jon and the rest of the band. After making us sing the first verse and chorus of Wanted Dead Or Alive, he invited Richie to take the (Jon's) microphone and to sing the second verse without Jon. I found this was a really nice gesture, because it seemed sincere on Jon's part to give a little credit to Richie. He seemed really happy to let him take his place at the main microphone!

At the end, Jon seemed exhausted, but satisfied. He looked at the crowd, nodding to Richie like he meant to say "wow". He then thanked us one by one for coming. When he did that, he said: "I thank you, and you, and you, and you, and you..." by pointing randomly at the people in the crowd as if he were thanking us all. He then wished us very happy holidays, he asked us to take care of ourselves, to drive safely when leaving the Bell Centre and he told us that he would see us again in the summer (the reaction was immediate, even if several people knew that he was about to say something similar). His almost exact words were: "Thank you so much for coming, happy holidays on behalf of the band, drive safely out of here and see you in the summer time."

The band disappeared from the stage, the lights turned on and I just had the time to say goodbye to the girls who were beside me when one of the security guards told me to leave if I weren't waiting for someone! I then left to take the subway while calling Martin to tell him that the show was over.

In the subway heading towards the Berri-UQAM station, a man and a woman were sitting next to me. They were talking about the show, they were in the blue seats. I almost joined in their conversation at some point, but I changed my mind, because I was about to do my transfer soon and I didn't want to miss my station! However, they said so many stupid things, it doesn't make sense! First, the guy said that they would download their entire new album on the internet, the girl took out an unopened copy of the same album from her bag and caressed it... this tells me that the people went to the concert without hearing the new album! Then, the guy told the girl that the next time the band comes back, he would try to get floor tickets. The girl then said: "Personally, I'll be in front of him and I will not move throughout the evening next time!" The guy however told her that these tickets were at least 400$ and that they would be difficult to get! (When I thought that I was in the first 4 rows for 125$ each show, I wanted to laugh!) The guy then said that he was hoping for the band to come back sooner than the last time. He was convinced that the band hadn't come to Montreal since 5 to 6 years at least (they came on February 21, 2003, not even 3 years!) and he and his girlfriend started arguing on the last time they came to Montreal. (The girl was saying not even 1 year!) These people also said that the funny moment during Bad Medicine was caused by Jon drinking and he got his pants wet with water! I don't know if they understood correctly, but Jon said "ripped off my pants" not "spilled water on my pants"... They didn't stop on making reference to "him" and "he did this, he did that ", as if Jon were the entire band! COME ON, IT'S A BAND, WE SAY "THEY did this", "THEIR", etc.

When I transferred on the yellow line to go back to Longueuil, I had the time to see my left neighbor! The world is small!

I came back home satisfied, with a little pinch in the heart, because I was telling myself that I had just lived 2 extraordinary nights!

.....................

We are now 2 days after the second show, we got hit with a 41-cm snowstorm in 10 hours in Montreal. I learned that the band and their tour crew had succeeded in leaving Montreal in time, which relieved me! Take care boys, be safe, see you soon, we'll miss you like we always do!

My voice stayed intact after both nights, my arm and neck muscles are sore, but my legs are doing well. The underneath of my feet really hurts, but it's normal I guess, after giving body and soul to my favorite band, to my idols who give their 110% each night.

I have no regret of going 2 times to a show practically alone, I met extraordinary girls and I'm happy to have shared so great moments with them! I also realized something in light of these 2 magical evenings... the more you have, the more you want!

Copyright © 2005 Marie-Hélène Cyr

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