Chicago Jovication 2013

Hi Friends and Jovi's,

I'm so glad you stopped by my blog today.  I had great fun getting to see Bon Jovi at Soldier Field on July 12th.  I really enjoyed writing down my memories, and I hope you find amusement in reading this "Paint Girl's" Tale.

For those of you who are new to my blog, I'm a busy mom of three (what Mom isn't busy, right?) who recently decided to take back control of my life, including going out and having fun with the girls.  I also recently decided to start VLogging (video-blogging) my adventures about being a mom who has  returned to school (college).  You can check out my YouTube Channel with my VLog by clicking here.

My Jovication 2013 adventure started on July 11th, Richie's birthday (Sambora, of course).  A bunch of us--mostly girls--that new each other from Twitter (you can follow me on Twitter by clicking here), decided to meet on Thursday, July 11th at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago.  We were all supposed to meet that night at 6:30 for dinner/drinks.  I had just come back from a vacation in North Carolina the day before and had a lot of  "loose ends" to tie up before heading off downtown on the 11th.  So it happened that I was running late that day, and to top it off, the Taste of Chicago (a popular Chicago festival containing many of the city's food vendors) was taking place in Chicago, which meant that traffic was HORRIBLE due to the great crowds of people that visit The Taste--as we Chicagoans call it.  Concert buddy, Sue, was, of course, with me, and we didn't get to the Hard Rock until almost 8:30 p.m.  We weren't the only ones late either--traffic was bad everywhere causing many people to be delayed.

The Bon Jovi fans that we met that night, who I had been in contact with through Twitter, who always seemed so nice, were even nicer and sweeter in person (right, a picture with Twitter buddy, April--who, I'm glad to say is now a friend).  And if hanging out with super fun Twitter buddies wasn't great enough, David Bergman, Tour Photographer for Bon Jovi, even came to our little soiree!  If you've never met him, David Bergman might just be the warmest, most down-to-earth guy around.  I was even able to get a picture with him (below).

We also sang Happy Birthday to Richie Sambora...and Max.  I don't know Max's last name, but for you super-awesome-crazy fans like me, Max was the one who coordinated the Milan display (the fan display that brought Jon to tears).  Yes, Max was in Chicago for the Bon Jovi show, all the way from Italy (I think).  Max, also a really nice guy, shares a birthday with Richie Sambora. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, check out the picture below to see what Max coordinated in Milan that brought Jon Bon Jovi to tears when he saw it.)



After an awesome evening at the Hard Rock Cafe and a good night's rest, concert buddy, Sue and I headed out to pick up our friend, concert buddy, Teri.  We arrived at our hotel and lounged around for the afternoon.  Soon, it was time to get dressed and head off to Soldier Field where Bon Jovi was playing that night. (The pic below--left to right--is me, concert buddy, Teri, and concert buddy, Sue.)

Concert buddy, Sue, and I had spent the better part of a year and a half saving money so that we could buy a Fan Club PIT ticket that included the backstage tour.  Neither one of us had ever purchased a Fan Club ticket before so we were very eager to get to Soldier Field so that get on with the night's festivities.  Our taxi cab ride there was longer than expected due to the Taste of Chicago traffic (caught in The Taste of Chicago traffic again!) so upon our cab driver's advice, we got out of our cab early to walk the rest of the way to Soldier Field.

After a pleasant walk to the stadium, we found ourselves standing in line in the HOT sun for a while, when finally (HOORAY) we were admitted entrance into the backstage area.  In the backstage area we were wined and dined while Bon Jovi music/videos played.  There were also plenty of pictures to look at like this one (below).

But how about that backstage tour?  The tour in and of itself is pretty cool.  One of Bon Jovi's staff members takes a group of people around (those that have purchased the tour) and talks about how things are set-up backstage; the tour guide also describes the responsibilities of some of the stage hands.  While on our tour, we entered into a hallway that our tour guide said was a very private area, which was the hallway where the band's dressing rooms were located.  There were big signs posted everywhere that said, "ABSOLUTELY No Autographs In This Area."  We were told that if should we see someone from the band, we had to let them quietly pass by and not ask for an autograph/picture.  Coming down this "dressing-room" hallway, walking in the opposite direction (toward us) was David Bergman (the Tour Photographer).  Our guide introduced David, and he began to tell us what he does for the band.  Off to our left, we heard a voice say, "Hey David, here's your photo op right here."  We all turned around to see JON BON JOVI standing there, leaning up against one of the "No Autographs in this Area" signs with a sly smile on his face.  Our tour guide quickly said that we could quietly gather around Jon and take a few pictures.  YES, JON BON JOVI was about 2 feet away from ME!  Here's the best picture that I took.

After a minute or two, Jon said, "Alright, that's enough," and headed back into his dressing room. Our tour guide said that, to date, Jon has NEVER greeted fans during a backstage tour, and that most likely, it will never happen again.  She said he was in a really silly mood that day.  WOW! BEST TOUR EVER!

The tour guide jokingly said, "Well, that's it.  The tour is over.  You all won't hear a thing I say now."  It took a few minutes to regain our composure--our tour guide included--but eventually we set off for the rest of the tour.  We got to see cool things like Jon's guitars and Phil's guitars that they use for the show (Phil X is filling-in for Richie Sambora, while Richie is taking time off to handle some personal issues).  Everyone on the tour also got to take a picture with Jon's white mic stand.  Here's my pic with it.  Jon touches that thing! YEOOWWSEER!!

The show itself was awesome.  I got to hear Captain Crash live...finally.  They also did some of my favorites like Lost Highway, Someday I'll be Saturday Night and (You Want to) Make a Memory.  I also think that Phil X absolutely rocked Always--which is the one song I always (no pun intended) want to hear live...every time.  Phil's absolutely SLAMMED the guitar solo on Always--he put such feeling into it--it was really great.  I put a link to a YouTube video (not a video that I took) at the bottom of this blog.

We had 4th row PIT, dead center (PIT 3), which was awesome to see, but no so awesome for taking pictures.  There was a big light was shining behind Jon which made most of my pics come out bad, but here are just a couple that I liked.

See?  If it wasn't that blasted light getting in the way, it was the mic stand.  The mic stand that I love, and got to take a picture with so I'll stop complaining now. :)  How about another "Jon pic?" (below)

And how about this one?  Concert buddy, Teri, snapped this pic of concert buddy, Sue, and I on the big screen.  Using her awesome photography skills, she even grayed out the people around us so that we could see ourselves better.  Ya, she rocks!

After the show, as if we weren't already having the best luck possible, we ran into Phil X and got to take a picture with him.  He was super nice and friendly to the fans that had gathered around.  I made the pic black and white because the area we were in was really dark and the picture turned out bad.  Making it black and white seemed to help the quality of the picture somewhat.

After a really awesome night, we headed off to bed.  Concert buddy, Teri and I were so excited that we couldn't sleep more than about 3 hours.  Goodness!  We felt like teenagers!  I usually need my sleep, but not when I'm too hyped up from a Bon Jovi show.  We got up early and headed downstairs for coffee.  The coffee maker had run out and the hotel staff was making a new batch.  We didn't feel like waiting for the new batch so we headed out of the hotel in search of some fresh java.  While walking down the street, who should we see about to get in an SUV headed for, I assume, the airport?  YES!! DAVE BRYAN! FINALLY, FINALLY! I GOT TO MEET SOMEONE FROM BON JOVI!! I've listened to and loved this band since 1985, and I FINALLY GOT TO MEET SOMEONE FROM BON JOVI!

Dave Bryan was so sweet in person. When I saw him walking by, I called out his name, and he turned to see what I wanted.  I asked if he would take a picture with each of us.  He gladly obliged.  I also asked him if he would sign an autograph for each of us.  (You know, we Jovi girls come prepared with a CD to sign and a sharpie.  You never know who you might meet!)  Teri and I both had copies of the What About Now CD with us.  With CD and sharpie in hand, Dave asked what my name was.  I thought to myself, "This is already more wonderful than I could have imagined.  Is he really going to personalize this for me?"  And sure enough, he signed my CD, "To Erica, Dave Bryan."  Here's a pic of it.
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We also saw Bobby Bandiera, who plays guitar on tour with Bon Jovi.  He was sitting on a luggage cart laughing at Teri and I, so we asked him for a picture too! :)

I was so blessed to have this experience.  I would recommend the Fan Club backstage tour to any Bon Jovi loving fan--even if it's just a one-time experience.  And while, the chances are slim of getting an impromptu pic of Jon, it was a fantastical thing to get to be on stage to take pics before the show, see the guitars, and take a pic with the white mic stand.  Best of all are the new friends and acquaintances that I got to meet over the course of a couple days.  Oh wait...maybe best of all is that I got to meet Dave Bryan.  Hmmm....

All joking aside, this is a memory that will live on for years to come.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my journey--Jovication 2013.  I also hope you share with me your experiences.  I'd love to hear about them.

Until next time...which will be October 23rd of course (next Bon Jovi Chicago concert).  :)

Best Wishes,
Erica Basile

Oh yeah, and here is Always...