Hi friends,
Since this is my first blog, I thought I should take a minute and introduce myself. Let's start with the name, "About Paint Girl." Where in the world did that come from? Well, my husband and I have owned a paint company for nearly 20 years now. He's out in the field painting and I keep the books, do social media marketing, etc. Well, one day, he got it in his head that I should start blogging about paint, but never having worked with paint, I told him I couldn't do that. He said, "Well, then blog about what you love." Soooo, I decided to blog about the other great loves of my life--my husband, Perry, of course, being the first. But the other loves of my life are BON JOVI along with other 80s Metal/Rock bands.
Just a little bit more about me, I was born and raised and still live in the Chicagoland area, which is, by the way, a beautiful city. My high school years were during the late 1980's and, IMHO, was the GREATEST, MOST FUN time EVER for music!
Well, let's get on to the meaty stuff now. As I was mulling over the idea of starting a blog, I found some other interesting blogs (that I highly recommend) like Hair Metal Mansion, to keep we rockers up-to-date with what our favorite 80's bands are doing. I also came across Big Apple Jen who has seen Bon Jovi something like 187 times to date--and, who gets great seats--and I must tell you, whose blog I love living vicariously through. But perhaps you're more like me and your life has been more of a Tommy and Gina story than a Cinderella story. I will always try and keep it real as we have fun together talking about our favorite bands and as I share with you my experiences in life.
So with Richie's solo album coming out soon (Sambora--if I even need say which Richie I'm talking about), I decided to blog about my experience seeing Bon Jovi at the United Center on March 9, 2011.
Now let me tell you a little story...it had been so long since I had bought any concert tickets (I'm a busy mom of three with a Tommy and Gina story, what can I say?) that I didn't know how to get close seats anymore! I know, sounds stupid, right? I didn't know that the first section of seats after the pit are also "package" tickets. And that "first section" was the section that I was aiming for. So I was at-the-ready at my computer...and the minute that the tickets went on sale I was on-line with Ticketmaster. The first set of tickets to pop up were--can you believe it--WAY IN THE BACK!! WHAT?? REALLY?? So I refreshed my screen and tried again. And OH NO! Tickets WAY IN THE BACK! No way! This can't be happening! So I called Ticketmaster while simultaneously refreshing my screen. The girl on the phone only had tickets---you guessed it---way in the BACK! ARRRGGG! But then, on my screen popped up 2 tickets in the 3rd row of the second section. YES! I'll take it! So we ended up with about the 17th row after the pit, which wasn't too bad. (Next time though, I'll be prepared to get much better tickets!)
And now, the part you've been waiting for. The show was PHENOMENAL! They played a full 2 hours and 45 minutes! They were taking a short break in the tour after our show, so they weren't in any hurry to call it quits!
The show started with Living on a Prayer and went right into You Give Love a Bad Name. Talk about starting the show on an "up" note! So high-level energy. It was amazing!
One of the highlights of the show was Bed of Roses (I didn't record this video--I got it off YouTube--it's a GREAT video)! Concert buddy, Sue, and I freaked out--of course, just like everyone else--when Jon sat on the pit circle to to sing to the crowd. It reminded me of one of the GREAT moments of my life, when I had front row for Keep the Faith Tour. During I Want You, Jon held my hand, looked right into my eyes, and sang a few lines of the second verse to me. Ahhhh! Those were the days long before digital camera phones, so it is but a wonderful memory to me. I sooo wish I had video of it! :) Anywho, here's Bed of Roses from the United Center.
This is Love For Sale...another great video I found. This one features the whole band on the pit.
And I had to include this one because I can see myself when this guy scans the audience! HA! I'm visible on the words "...home. I'm a cowboy." HAHA! I think that's hilarious!
I had to include this next one, which is shaky, but MAN, is this girl close! There's some great shots of the best smile in the world!
I shot the next two videos, but the thought of blogging wasn't something I had ever thought about at that time. AND I had been sick for days with the flu (thanks children of mine for the lovely gift--pardon my sarcasm) and just about had to crawl to my seat, but I MADE IT! So the videos are short. I'll do better next time. I promise.
Here's Someday I'll be Saturday Night.
And here is I'll Be There For You.
As Jon says in this video, "I'll leave you with just one more." Always...the final song of the encore. Enjoy.
All in all, it was a GREAT evening and I can't wait for them to come again, just like you other Joviholics out there!
I hope you enjoyed this blog. I'd love to hear your comments about what I wrote or about your concert experiences, so "talk" it up!
I'll be seeing Night Ranger next week, so stay tuned for another blog coming soon!
Best Wishes,
Erica Basile
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