Livin' on a Prayer

There is something to be said for the stamina and longetivity of a band that is still able to pack an enormous arena more than 20 years after their first big hit. Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Bon Jovi concert at the Pepsi Center with my friend Danielle. Admittedly, I didn't know what to expect, aside from some big hair and lots of denim. Oh yes, acid washed denim. And I was not disappointed. Let's say the Pepsi Center holds 50,000 people; a minimum of 40,000 were women, the rest a combination of male Bon Jovi superfans (and I have a photo to post later...) and on the other end of the spectrum: bewildered men that begrudgingly accompanied their girlfriends and wives.

Aside from the attendees, the production of the show was quite the spectacle. Granted, I am quite used to attending small, no-frills indie shows, so I think any concert at an arena as large as the Pepsi Center would be visually shocking; however, this was unbelievable. The lights, the huge screen, the video cameras, Bon Jovi suddenly appearing on mini-stages in the middle of the crowd... I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. Now, I know some people I told that I was going to see Bon Jovi kind of chuckled and were probably secretly (wait... no, publicly) mocking me, but I have to say it was really an awesome concert. He played all of the hits, we sang along, and let's face it, Jon Bon Jovi is looking pretty damn good for being 44 years old. Here are some photos from the show. I apologize for the poor quality, just had my cell phone with me.





I was truly looking forward to some fantastic people watching, but I honestly was so enthralled with the show that only a few people caught my attention. In general, there was a lot of big hair. There also were a lot of late 30's/early 40's women scantily clad drunk women. But, they were having so much fun, you can't fault them for that. Perhaps when I'm 40 years old I'll still be attending Radiohead shows; I hope I only have as much fun as these women did last night. The cherry on top was the superfan a few rows behind us. He was decked out in acid washed jeans, a mohawk style wig, bandana, and a jean jacket. He was too cool to wear a Bon Jovi jean jacket (unlike the INXS superfans) to the Bon Jovi concert, so on the back was an image in tribute to another band. Here's a pic of the superfan...