Bon Jovi Concert Recap

One of the items on my "40 Before 41" list was to attend a Bon Jovi concert. 

I DID IT!

I purchased the tickets well in advance of my 41st birthday, so I was able to cross it off my list! The actual concert took place on July 20th and I'm just now getting to blogging about it. (Better late than never!)

As the concert got closer, I came to realize two things:

1) I'd NEVER tailgated before a concert.

I was in touch with two friends from high school with whom I'd coordinated buying tickets, etc... As the big day got closer, it became clear to me that I was going to experience yet another "never done before" thing -- tailgating!! Anne, Nancy and I coordinated who'd bring what and I found myself getting excited. Good food, good friends, good music!

2) A bunch of ladies from my high school class were going to be at the concert (did someone say reunion???)

I posted ton Facebook that I'd gotten tickets to the concert and it was like the Pied Piper appeared. High school classmates were coming out the woodwork saying they were going, too! Eeek! In addition to Anne and Nancy, there were five others from the class of 1990. That's almost 10% of our class. We came full circle -- we had big hair in high school, and we were now attending a concert for a rocker whose big hair rivaled ours!!!

John came with me (after all, he OWED me after all of the crazy concerts I went to for him - especially The Dead. ::shudder::.)

We packed up our car with fruit salad, chips & salsa, camping chairs, some tasty beverages, and we were on our way!!! (Along with a million other Jovi fans!)

After a little help from Anne navigation-wise, we found her and her sister Eileen and the prime spot they'd garnered in a parking lot across from the venue, Gillette Stadium. They had a tent set up, balloons (so we could find the car!), snacks, and the grill was getting fired up.

Somewhere along the way Anne mentioned she brought her yearbook! We had a great time laughing at the pictures and the inscriptions.

Anne and Eileen cooked up some awesome steak and chicken, Nancy brought veggies, and I'm sure there was other stuff I'm forgetting -- it was all GOOD!

Here we are: (L to R): John, me, Dave, Eileen, Nancy, Anne:

I personally don't think we've changed AT ALL since high school!:

John and I:

After we stuffed ourselves, we packed up our stuff securely and started the trek across the street to the venue. Look we made it!!!

OK, so now comes the part in the story where I tell you that I was either a) peri-menopausal (my Mom would concur), b) reacting to a medication that I take, or c) just plain old wilting.

It was hot. I.was.dying. When I say my entire head of hair was soaked, I'm not joking (those in attendance can vouch.) Awful. I started panicking because as we got into the stadium, it became more and more real that we were going to meet up with ladies from our high school class. Ugh. How embarrassing. But, you know what? I grabbed a fistful of paper towels, and put a happy face on. After all, I was at Bon Jovi!!!!

After some texting/Facebook message, the majority of us found our way to each other! It was great catching up with these ladies after 23 years (::shudder::). I did, however, apologize to one of them that I was just a tad bit pre-occupied and I was sorry if I wasn't super social. I had one eye on the stage waiting for JBJ to make his appearance, after all!

I probably don't need to point out that I'm the shiny sweaty one in the middle, but anywho:

L to R: Michele, Sarah, Eileen (one class behind us), Anne, me, Nancy, and Joyce (Stephanie and Peggy weren't on the floor, but we waved to them and they were in the photo in spirit!)

Yes, if you caught that I said we.were.on.the.floor. Closest I've ever been to the stage at any concert! So worth splurging!!! After our reunion, we made our way to our seats and waited for the magic to happen.

It was magic. Truly. JBJ put on an amazing show. He was all over the stage and he played most of the songs that I'd hoped he would. It was great to be able to sing and dance along!

The set was the front end of a car and the different colored lights made for a neat effect.

Oh, and if you notice, he's looking DIRECTLY at me in this one:

It was a GREAT night. Would definitely do it again and would hope to see the same friends again and bring more friends from high school next time (I'm looking at YOU, Rosalind. :)

Until next time, Jon. ::swoon::