Bon Jovi Concerts- 2010-2014

 July 25, 2013- Met Life Stadium- Meadowlands, NJ

My brother and I got seat upgrades because the section that we were in had an obstructed view due to the hanging speakers. It is not as if they moved us way down close; we were just in the section below this, in the first row.  

   A bit of the speakers did still block the view of the new guitar guy a bit. It seemed strange that Richie is no longer a part of the band.

   I can’t remember which song that Jon had told everyone to hold up their cell phones during; obviously one of their power ballads. I had joked around with my brother during “Keep the Faith” that we are in the Church of Bon Jovi now. They didn’t do “Lay Your Hands on Me” which was disappointing.

   A light rain started during “Bed of Roses”. It lasted for two songs then and later during the encore. I don’t remember at which point though. We got a lot of songs for that – 5 for the first one and 2 for the second. Jon had told the crowd that they didn’t feel like leaving.

   The opening act, The J. Geils Band, was pretty lame. Before the show, my brother had been talking a lot which was giving me a little headache. We hadn’t really felt like standing up much and luckily didn’t have to because of being up in front. I did make sure I did so for ‘”It’s My Life” and some other songs though.

Bon Jovi Concert Memories 2010-2014

 July 9, 2010- The Meadowlands, NJ

Mike and I don’t really like the new stadium. The rows seem narrower, for one thing. It is pretty scary climbing up the stairs too. We were all the way up in the last row of this venue.

   The staff made us throw our umbrellas away which we were pretty upset about. We only had brought them to use outside of the stadium if necessary. We had taken a train and lite rail there so we couldn’t put them in our car like the lady told us to do.

   We were sitting next to a nice couple from Upstate NY; I think that the town was Newburg. The husband said that this show was his wife’s birthday gift to him. They asked us what other music that we are into. I was kind of embarrassed when I mentioned Duran Duran. Mike said Def Leppard.

   A drunk guy was a couple of seats away from us. I felt very uncomfortable when he came over to talk to me when my brother was in the bathroom. He asked me where I was from and touched me on my arm. I was relieved when Mike returned.

   Kid Rock was the opening act; he was on stage longer than other such performers that I have seen. We didn’t really care for him. He came back out to sing “Old Time Rock and Roll” with Bon Jovi later. Richie Sambora sang “Lay Your Hands on Me” which we weren’t happy about.

   Late in the show, during “Livin” on a Prayer”, it looked as if Jon injured himself. He said something like he thinks that he might have pulled him calf muscle. He wasn’t moving around that well but kept performing, naturally. When I talked with Mike about this the next day, he told me that he hadn’t even been aware of this.

   Mike had gotten Nathan’s fries for $5.00 and a soda for $4.75. I didn’t buy the tour book this time because it was $30.00; the most that I have ever spent on one for them is $25.00, I think.

   I was beating myself up for not just putting my purse on my seat. It was feeling a little uncomfortable with the strap across my body which was unusual; at other shows, it has been fine.

   Dad had picked us up from the train station. The show ran longer than we had thought that it would. He told us that he had been waiting there for two hours.

Dreamtime- February 5, 2010- Bon Jovi Bus Concert

 February 5, 2010- Bon Jovi Bus Concert

I won contest- 2 tickets to a private Bon Jovi concert. Mom came with me because my brother was too sick to do so and I didn’t have any friends even in this holodeck program, which is kind of pathetic. This event was taking place in a very strange place- on a big, nice bus while it was on the road. I wasn’t sure where we’d be driving to yet though.

   It was leaving from the Meadowlands so I had to drive there, but luckily in this reality there wasn’t much traffic and less development in the area, as is often the case. We saw the old Giants Stadium being torn down there too. 

    It was the beginning of May and the temps were in the low 60s by late afternoon. Mom was feeling cold and wore her winter coat and hat. I had on a sweat jacket, t-shirt and jeans.

    There were about 50 people on the bus. In a space at the front of it were the bands’ instruments.  I saw a lady with her doggie, a Border collie mix. I was thinking how odd it was that she had it with her but also was wishing that one of my doggies were here also. 10 seconds later, Mookie appeared on my lap.

    Bon Jovi showed up 15 minutes later and now it was time for this adventure/event to begin.  I’m not certain what road we were traveling on, probably Rt. 3. I’m pretty sure that’s the one near the Meadowlands. But here there were mountains; I saw snow on top of them .The area seemed more rural after about a 5 minute drive.

   They performed 3 songs before stopping to do a lecture/Q & A type thing. I was so upset when my glasses disappeared during the latter. One of the mean aliens must’ve hacked into the program and made this happen. They like picking on and spoiling things for my friend Sam. I hoped that he’d detect this change and correct it so I’d get my glasses back.

   At one point, Richie sat next to me. He was wearing a black leather jacket. I was feeling kind of sleepy, and still angry about the glasses. I started dozing off, completely unaware that my head was now on his arm. A little later, I woke up as he was getting up. He left a flashlight on the seat next to me.

   They were taking a couple of requests, which was good. The first was one of my favorite songs, “It’s My Life”; I was really getting into that. By then, my glasses had been returned, thank goodness. They also did a few songs off of their new album.

    Jon was walking near me and I was feeling a bit nervous. This anxiety increased when he actually talked to me. He told me that he liked my eyeglasses and asked me where I got them. I said thanks and told him that they were from a place in Elizabeth. He was wearing sunglasses which seemed sort of strange to me.

      They had performed only about 8 songs during the 2 hours that we had been on this bus so far, which I was slightly annoyed about. I should have just been appreciating the fact that I was part of such a special and unusual event. I felt guilty for having that negative thought and emotion.

   Jon asked us if we wanted to go to a rest stop for something to eat, their treat, and everyone was saying yes.  When we got there I told mom to stick close to me. We had to leave the 2 doggies on the bus. Mookie had been sitting on Mom’s lap for most of the journey.

   Only about a minute later, I didn’t see Mom. She had wandered off already, which was upsetting. I couldn’t see her anywhere; where could she have gone so quickly? I thought that I had found her a couple of minutes later but this was just a woman with a similar coat.

    There seemed to be a lot of people at this rest stop. It was much better than the ones in reality. Another lady saw how upset I looked and offered to help me look for my mother after I told her about my dilemma. That was very kind of her.

   Luckily, we found her a couple of minutes later. Many of the people from the bizarre traveling concert were getting ice cream from Baskin Robbins, as did mom and I. I chose my favorite flavor, mint chocolate chip, in the kiddie- sized cup.

   We were all back on the bus about 30 minutes later. Bon Jovi did a 6 more songs and there was further interaction between the fans and them. During one of the power ballads,” I’ll Be There for You”, Jon was close to and looking right at me for a bit. I wondered why he had done this, but was also feeling happy about it.

   The return trip to the Meadowlands was much quicker, only about 70 minutes. We seemed to be going the same speed as before. That seemed kind of weird, but in the holodeck many such peculiar things happen.

   It was already daylight by the time that we got there even though it was only 12:30 a.m. Time was definitely different in this reality which was cool, now I wouldn’t have to drive home in the dark which is very hard for me because of my bad eyesight and other reasons. Maybe in this reality I wouldn’t have such problems though.

   When we were in the parking lot, Jon said “Let’s do some more” The audience was excited that the concert would be continuing. The bus traveled on a different road this time for about 45 minutes as Bon Jovi did 5 more songs and chatted with the audience. They signed some autographs too.

    What a long trip/concert this turned out to be, like 5 hours. I did have a very nice time. Mom was tired. Mookie and Buffy didn’t have any “accidents” just like in the real world when Mike, Mom, and I were at a party at Kathy’s house in PA for most of the day. This was good.

   I was petting Mookie in my car for a minute and just about ready to head home when Sam sent me back to my Earth. I had been preparing my lunch before being taken to his world. Mom and I were going to watch “The Price is Right” then. That seemed so dull compared to the thrilling event that I had just been a part of.

Buffy and Mookie

Figure Skating Shows

My mom and I really enjoyed watching figure skating during the Olympics in the 1980s and early 1990s. We got to go to 2 shows in the early to mid 90's. Brian Boitano was at both of them. We took some pictures but they did not turn out that great. Boitano and Witt are in the first 2. In the bottom 3 are Petrenko, Kerrigan and Boitano. You can clearly see on the program page who was at the first one but it's harder to see on the second - Torvil and Dean, Nancy Kerrigan , Oksana Baiul and Victor Petrenko are included in this one. We went with a couple of friends. Skating 2 was at MSG in New York City and the 1994 show was in New Jersey at the Meadowlands. I'm not sure why after 1994 I lost interest in the figure skating. I must've been watching it in the late 70s a bit too because I remember getting the Dorothy Hamill haircut a couple of times back then.

Bon Jovi Concert - July 9, 2010

My brother and I took the train to the stadium because it was easier than driving. The rail connection from Secaucus hasn't been around for that long and I wish it had been there for many years. The drive there was always so stressful for me.

We were both upset when they made us throw our umbrellas away. The girl said to put them in my car. She seemed annoyed that I was upset about this. I never usually bring an umbrella but because we were going by train and would be there 2 hours early I wanted to have it - the forecast was 40% rain. I had a rainhat for inside. I would not have used the umbrella in there. We were so lucky that it did not rain. It had a couple of times throughout the day.

I did not buy the souvenier book this time. It was 30.00. I have paid that for such books before but I was in a bad mood because of the umbrella incident and I figured that I'd rather have that money for a book and beanie baby at the US Open. The food prices were crazy. We brought a bagged meal that we ate outside the stadium. Mark did buy the Nathan's fries for 5.00 and a soda for 4.75 a few hours later though.

We were in the very last row at the very top of that stadium. It was a bit scary, moreso for my brother because he's afraid of heights. The stairs are so narrow. I did not even want to leave my seat to go to the bathroom which I did not until we got home at 1:40 a.m. There was a nice couple from upstate NY sitting next to us. This concert was his 40th b-day gift. Bon Jovi is his favourite group.

There was a band that I don't remember the name of before the opening act of Kid Rock. I only know 2 of his songs. He did a remake of Everyday People too which I did not care for. Not really a fan of his. The girl next to me didn't even know any of his songs. He came out on stage to do Old Time Rock and Roll with Bon Jovi later. They didn't start their performance until 9:30. Usually they are on stage by 9:00 but Kid Rock was out there for like 70 minutes and the other group for about 35.

The concert was great. They always put on a good show. I'm not like one of their devoted fans but I do enjoy their music sometimes. My brother listens to them more than I do. I'm the one who got him into them 7 years ago. I've only been a fan since 2000. It's My Life is what got me into them so of course I was happy when they did this one. We didn't stand much, only during certain songs like that and Bad Medicine. My brother likes that one alot.

The sucky thing is that the 4 big screens were either not working or they forgot to put them on. There were 3 screens by the stage but at our seat height and angle these were kind of hard to see. The three girls two rows ahead of us were blocking my view often so I had to look around them. I did use my brothers awesome binoculars sometimes. Maybe I should've used them more during certain songs. The screens did come on during the very last song - what's the point by then.

Jon injured himself during the next to last song. I think that he said that he pulled his calf muscle or something like that. He was jumping around and dancing alot as he always does. My brother didn't realize that this happened and thought that he was just being a ham. You could see the pain on his face as he was singing Livin' On a Prayer.

I'm beating myself up for not putting my purse on the seat until about the 5th song. I had a small purse on my like a sash and it was getting a bit uncomfortable when I was standing. They did a few of my favs then - Born To Be My Baby, Raise Your Hands and You Give Love a Bad Name. I hate that my memory of this time is mostly that pocketbook thing.

Why did Richie sing Lay Your Hands On Me. That was disappointing. I wouldn't have cared as much if he sang one of the power ballads - he did I'll Be There For You at a couple of the concerts that I was at. Mark still thinks that it's 5 times for me and I don't even want to tell him about the other 3 because he teases me enough about them. This was his third time.

Getting out of the stadium afterwards was very chaotic and slow. We had to rush to the train. I held his hand so we wouldn't lose track of one another. I have touching anxiety but in this case I wasn't minding. We just made that train and the one at Secaucus. Dad had driven us to Linden station because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a parking spot. I did see 4 of them there. We said that we probably wouldn't be home until 1:00 a.m. but he was already at the station and had been there for 2 hours. He thought it might be done earlier.

At first I regretted not bringing my camera but now I'm not. I really don't want a reminder of that stadium. Not that I'd be able to get good shots of the band - they'd be like ants on the stage even with the zoom. The concert was good but I don't like that place. The old stadium was better. I'm still mad about the umbrella - 6.00 for each in the trash. They should have a check place for stuff not permitted like they do at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. The conductor never came around on the return trip so we didn't have to pay for tickets then but we still lost money because of this.

Bon Jovi and US Open tickets

I had not intended on going to any concerts this year because I've mostly been saving for US Open tickets but this past Wednesday my brother informed me that he had been at the TicketMaster site looking into the ticket prices for both events. I was suprised that Mark changed his mind about not fitting Bon Jovi tickets into his budget. He seemed pretty excited about wanting to go which got me feeling the same way so I went to the site and ordered them for us.

It's my fault that he is into Bon Jovi now. He seems even more into them than I am. We have been to 2 concerts together. One was the Bounce tour- was that 2003? We were at Giants Stadium for that. It was the Prudential Center in Newark in 2007 for the Lost Highway tour. Crappy seats for both and likewise for the upcoming show in July. The tickets went on sale a few weeks ago so we are just glad that we were able to still get some.

This is only the second event that I've ordered tickets online for. Last time it was for the US Open in 2009. We did that like only a few days before so I had to print them out which was kind of frustating because our printer gives us problems often. This year I plan on ordering them early and having them sent by mail. We get the grounds pass and will be going for 5 days instead of 4 this time.

I always worry that tickets will get lost in the mail or sent to the wrong place. Until I have the tickets in my hand I will be anxious about this. I have always said my address twice to the person on the phone but I still worry that he or she misunderstood me. The tickets always get here, thank goodness. I worry too much about many things anyhow, I can't help it.

I heard You Give Love a Bad Name on the radio today and was feeling both anxious and excited about the concert. There are 4 shows in May but 3 of them are sold out and the 4th one had even crappier seats left. The opening act will be Kid Rock. I know a few songs by him. I am definitely not driving to the Meadowlands- it's too stressful. Luckily now they have a bus link from the Secaucus train station that will take you there so we'll be going to Linden station for the train. They only started doing this recently. They should've had that for many years- we would've went to more events there. I have driven there about 6 times and am glad that I don't have to again.

We aren't sure when the tennis tickets go on sale, maybe next month. If you are a member of the USTA you can order them now. The weather during the US Open had been nearly perfect the past 3 years. I have this bad feeling that this time it won't be and am praying that I'm wrong. Watch, it'll rain sometime during the first week but be perfect for the 2nd. I haven't gotten rained on for any outdoor concerts yet, I hope that this fortune continues for this one. It'll be interesting seeing the new Giants Stadium.

Bon Jovi Dream

I don't feel like being in reality today because I'm depressed about all the medical bills that I have to pay so I'm going to return to one of my dreams from February 5 of this year.

I won a contest - 2 tickets to a private Bon Jovi concert. Mom came with me because Mark was very sick. This was yet another alien abduction dream. This event was taking place on one of those big, nice buses which was very strange and they performed when we were on the road. I drove to the Meadowlands and saw the old stadium being torn down. It was the beginning of May. Mom was feeling cold and had her winter coat and hat on even though the temp was 62. There were about 50 other people on this bus. The seats were very comfortable. There was space in front for the band.

I saw a cute doggie- a border collie mix and about 10 seconds later my Mookie who has been dead for 5 years appeared on my lap. Obviously the aliens were reading my thoughts and memories. I was happy to see her. I was mad that they made my glasses disappear during a few of the songs. My eyesight is terrible. There was alot of talking going on between the band and the audience between songs. Not sure which road we were on; it might've been Rt 3 but it looked different- mountains, some of them snow covered, were here. Not much development either. Lots of countryside.

At one point Richie sat next to me. I was feeling kind of sleepy and dozed off for a bit. My head was on his arm. He was wearing a nice black leather jacket. Somehow my hand got caught on this when he was trying to get up. He left a flashlight on the seat right next to me. I was wearing a short sleeve shirt and sweatjacket.

They took a few requests. The actual music part of the dream is kind of fuzzy, unfortunately. There were a few from the new album. But I've only ever heard one in real life so I guess the others were in my imagination. Jon liked my eyeglasses and asked where I got them. He had his sunglasses on even though it was night but only for a little while. I was kind of annoyed that they hadn't performed that many songs and we had already been on this bus trip for 2 hours.

Jon asked us if we wanted to stop at a rest stop for something to eat- his treat. We all said yes. When we got out of the bus I told mom to stick close to me. We had to leave the 2 doggies on the bus. Mookie had been sitting on Mom's lap for most of the time. Only about a minute later Mom had wandered off and I couldn't find her. Where could she have gone that quickly? I thought that I had found her but it was only another lady with a similar coat. I was very worried even though she was just a hologram or shape shifting alien like everybody else.

There were alot of people at this rest stop. Another lady from our bus said that she would help me look for my mother when she saw how upset that I was. Luckily we found her a few minutes later. I got ice cream at the restraunt. We got back on the bus afterwards and headed back to the Meadowlands. The band performed some more songs and there were additional conversations.

It was daylight when we returned there which was odd because it had been around 8:00 pm when we had started this unusual trip. The total number of songs that they performed was 15 or 16. During one of the power ballads Jon was close to me and looked at me for a bit. I wondered why he did that. When we got to the parking lot he said "Let's do some more". The audience was excited and we went on a different road this time for about an hour and they did 5 more songs.

What a long trip/concert this was, like 5 and a half hours. I did have a good time and felt relaxed. I wasn't even freaked out about being abducted. Nobody seemed annoyed that they didn't do more songs in that long period of time. I wondered if I was on a holodeck on the alien ship or on their planet made to look like Earth as I always do in these abduction dreams. They seem to like taking me alot.

Seeing that report about Giants Stadium being torn down on the news and thinking about the 3 Bon Jovi concerts that I've been to there must've been the reason why they were in my night time thoughts. In reality most of the stadium will probably be torn down by early May but in this alien reality it was only half done.