Saturday, in the park

I think it was...Oops, wrong band :)

I got to the park a little over five hours before the show was to start, and by 4PM I was in and had a spot on the lawn. It was a great location. From where I was, it was a straight shot down to the stage, and while I was too far away to see it well there were huge screens up all over the place. And I was still in the front section, so about half the audience was behind me. The day was beautiful, a breeze was blowing and although I'd brought a bunch of magazines along to read while I waited I ended up spending most of the time looking around and just soaking up the atmosphere.

The show started right at 8, and it was right then that it really hit me that I was at a Bon Jovi concert!!! I just couldn't believe I was actually there! They started out with “Livin' on a Prayer” then went right into “You Give Love a Bad Name.” I'm usually pretty inhibited, but I quickly found myself really getting into the music. How could I not? And let me tell you, those guys really know how to work a crowd. During repetitive parts of some of the songs Jon Bon Jovi turned it into a call-and-response with the audience and continually encouraged everybody to sing along. (I wonder if they ever still get a kick out of hearing tens of thousands of people singing songs that they wrote.) The concert was at the tail end of their “Lost Highway” tour, and of course they played that song, “Who Says You Can't Go Home,” “Bad Medicine,” “It's My Life” (the one I know best—it was very popular in Peru the month I was there in 2000), “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “I'll Be There for You” (Richie Sambora sang that one), “Blaze of Glory”—just about all their major hits. I don't own a camera, but here's a picture I found online to give you some idea of what it was like:

I wasn't this close, but so what? The point is, I was there! :D:D:D

What else can I say? For me at least, it was perfect. I just wish it weren't over :( As exciting as it was to see Bon Jovi, I know it's not the last concert they'll ever give, and hopefully someday I'll be in a position to be able to get tickets even if they aren't free. But what are the chances they'll play at Central Park again? No indoor concert can compare to being outside, and I absolutely love that park. This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I am so, so, so glad I got to be there.