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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
My Review
Though I've been a Bon Jovi fan since 1986, prior to November 2000, my only concerts were in 1993 and 1995 when they came to Halifax. When the Crush tour was announced and Halifax was not listed, my sister and I decided to take a Bon Jovi roadtrip to Toronto and Montreal. The following reviews the Montreal concert.
Back to the Toronto review.
Tuesday morning, November 28, 2000 the clock radio woke us at 5 AM, and with barely 4 hours of sleep, we dragged our butts out of bed, checked out of the hotel, bought a newspaper to read the Toronto Sun review and headed through the tunnel to Union Station to catch the train for our 5 hour trip to Montreal. At noon we arrived in Montreal, checked into the Marriott Chateau Champlain and then headed out for a quick lunch, after which we decided to stroll past Molson Centre, just to see what was going on, and there was a scalper there already. He immediately approached us and, because we wanted to upgrade our row 48 floor seats, we listened to his sales pitch telling us he had great tickets and only wanted $300 for a pair!!! Yeah, right. They weren't even close to the stage! Deciding to go back later when more of the scum (I mean scalpers) were out, we returned to the hotel to get some sleep, however, no matter that we had only slept 8 hours in 2 days, we were too excited to sleep.
Around 5 pm, we headed back down to Molson Centre determined to upgrade our tickets. There were lots more scalpers out there now, actually way more than we'd seen in Toronto. Neither of us really felt like playing their stupid games, but we eventually gave one of them our tickets, plus extra money, for 7th row seats in section 121, because we really wanted to get seats off the floor. The night before was amazing, on our feet the whole time, dancing, singing and clapping, but we knew we just couldn't stand for another 2 1/2 hours, and besides so far back we figured we wouldn't see anything. As it turned out, the seats were pretty good, though quite far from the stage, however, we did get to see the show from a different perspective than the night before, so that was neat, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Just like the night before we planned our arrival to coincide with the departure of the opening act, and as we walked along the sidewalk the scalpers were still trying to hawk their tickets for $150 a piece! We went down to our seats around 8:10 pm and the place was already pretty full. And the crowd was totally pumped for the show. At 8:15 pm, they started a WAVE!!! Everyone, even people on the floor and upper levels participated, and after the wave fizzled, they started cheering the recorded music being played, and it wasn't even Bon Jovi! I knew right then and there that even though the Toronto crowd had been loud, this crowd would be even louder, and at 8:30 pm when Bon Jovi hit the stage the roar was deafening!
The setlist was identical to Toronto except for a couple of lines of Southside Johnny's "I Don't Wanna Go Home" in the 2nd encore.
The between songs banter was slightly different.
This time Jon did the "we're not a boy band, we're a man band"
stint and although there were no specific references to Montreal, I liked
the "Hollyweird" kidnapping story better.
In this version, Jon still got no response from the
ransom notes he sent to his Mama, but when he looked for news about his
"fake" kidnapping, this time he opened a magazine and found that he was
People Magazine's Sexiest Rocker.Another difference was when Jon grabbed a girl from the group of contest winners on the side of the stage and danced with her. I'm sure all of us females in the crowd wished she were that girl and when Jon kissed her the response was one loud collective shriek! Jon's response? A cute, yet most evil, grin! The only other difference that stands out is when someone threw a bandana on stage and Jon picked it up and tried to tie it around Hugh's head, and missed a few words of the song he was singing at the time.
Knowing this was the last time I'd see the band for quite possibly a very long time, I tried to take in every single moment, sometimes not even singing or clapping, just sitting, watching and listening.
However, after 2 1/2 hours and 3 encores, like all good things, the concert came to an end, with the band taking their final bow then exiting via the elevator.
The next morning we bought a newspaper to read the Montreal Gazette review and took the train back to Toronto for a few days of Christmas shopping before flying back home.
Which show was better? It's hard to say. Both shows were 2 1/2 hours long and the setlists were nearly identical. The blizzard of confetti fell from the roof in both cities, although in Montreal there seemed to be more as it landed all over the stage, so much so that when Jon took off his jean jacket and threw it on the stage a splash of confetti flew into the air. And when the band left the stage before the 1st encore, the crew actually came out with brooms to sweep the stage!
I think Jon talked more in Toronto, he changed his outfits more often, and the sound was definitely clearer in Toronto (every word spoken or sung was crystal clear) plus it was cool to be at a show where they taped a song for future tv showing, but the crowd in Montreal was so amazingly loud and with Jon dancing with and kissing the girl on stage, and trying to tie the bandana around Hugh's head, he seemed to be in a more playful mood. All in all, both shows were incredible, and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
My only regret? I still haven't met the band!
Setlist
One Wild Night
You Give Love A Bad Name
Captain CrashKeep The Faith
Livin' On A Prayer
Born To Be My Baby
Runaway (acoustic)
Blaze of Glory
It's My Life
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Thank You For Loving Me
Lay Your Hands On Me
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Rockin' All Over The World
Bad Medicine
Shout
1st Encore
Next 100 Years
I'll Be There For You
2nd Encore
Just Older
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Don't Wanna Go Home
Twist & Shout
3rd Encore
Never Say Goodbye
Setlist from Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi
Girls love the gospel at church of Bon Jovi
by T'cha Dunlevy -- Gazette New Music Critic
There's something about boyish good looks and simple rock anthemics that just make girls go crazy. Jon Bon Jovi is back from a five-year break. He has brought his band along. They have a new album in tow. Last night, they lit up a sold-out Molson Centre and proved that the above recipe - no matter how much cheese you add - always sends the kids home happy.
If Mr. Bon Jovi weren't such a looker, he wouldn't be where he is today. If his band weren't so friendly with the pop hook, despite its hard-rock affiliations, it wouldn't be where it is today.
Bon Jovi's new album Crush has achieved platinum status - the in-evitable by-product of having the lyrics to half your career's work memorized by millions of teens (and one-time teens) the world over.
The band's breakthrough 1986 album Slippery When Wet sold 12 million copies. Its 1988 follow-up, New Jersey, sold 9 million. While the group might have had respectable success since then, it is on the basis of those two albums that a career has been built.
He is the perfect vessel to deliver life-important party-propellers like You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' on a Prayer, Born to Be My Baby, Bad Medicine and Wanted Dead or Alive.
Of course, the good looks don't hurt. Nor do the rock-star poses, leather pants, jean jacket, feathered hair and I-really-mean-this-next-verse intensity.
Talking at length about the "church of rock'n'roll," and asking if there were "any believers in the house," Bon Jovi led a delirious crowd through more than two hours of sing-along hits - make that wildly-scream-along hits.
Whether it's in the Molson Centre or the university pub, these songs were made to be shouted at the top of one's lungs, or alternately, sung along to with emotive passion. Nothing more ambitious and nothing less.
So he traipsed about, singing at the top of his lungs and encouraging his fans to do the same. His fair face filled the ginormous wide-screen behind him.
At 38, Bon Jovi is not entirely over the hill. As the leader of an '80s (and early'90s) rock band on the comeback trail, he succeeds by not attempting to do anything beyond what he has always done - have fun and look good.
"In my church, there are no sinners," he proclaimed. "There are only believers and the newly converted."
And as Minister Bon Jovi preached to the converted, all raised their hands in unison and sang his, um, gospel.
Contrived? Definitely. Over the top? Yup. Simple? Yes. Effective? Sure.
What exactly Less Than Jake was doing in the opening slot remains to be explained. Ska-punk? Sorry guys, this is an arena-rock show - wrong bill.
From the November 29th, 2000 edition of the Montreal Gazette
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