Carla's a lucky woman.

Having a rough day in this neck of the woods, but this little delivery has definitely brightened my disposition...lol.  Our relationship is secret, so don't tell anyone.  Denise doesn't even know...

Irish Whiskey

I've got a new short (probably three part) story in the works.  Part one has been posted if you guys want to check it out :)

http://irishwhiskeyff.blogspot.com/

Teaser...

Just a brief intro to a short story you'll be seeing very soon...

The soft lighting was minimal, in deference to the late hour.  A subtle amber glow gently illuminated the deep mahogany wood of the hotel bar, but still left plenty of surrounding shadows to hide from the world.   That seemed to suit Siobhan’s last patron just fine.

Last call had come and gone, taking with it the few still lingering at that hour – except for one lone man.  She slid a look toward the end of the bar while appearing to inventory her remaining liquor.  He was still firmly ensconced there; head hung low, oblivious to anything around him.  He’d been there most of the evening, not really drinking a lot, but drinking steadily. 

She knew who he was, of course.  You didn’t turn sweet sixteen in the eighties and not recognize this man.  Oh sure… the dark hair was significantly shorter, the lines in his face more pronounced, but there was no mistaking his identity.  He may not have been quite the same icon as the fluffy headed lead singer, but their tandem travels had earned him his own dedicated following.  A following that was still very much alive from what she’d read online.

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

It's a cold, rainy, nasty day here in the hills of West Virginia and my mood has been reflective of that lately.

I have a ticket the Columbus Bon Jovi show on Tuesday, May 10th.  This one was to be really special for me, doing the whole BSWBJ VIP thing, with the backstage tour and getting to touch/hold Richie's guitars, with a seat in the 2nd row of the pit.  Considering recent events, I've been kind of melancholy about the whole thing, I'm embarrassed to say.

Today has been a particularly rough day, and people are tiptoeing around me at work. That is, until the arrival of this lovely floral arrangement from my very best friend Stephanie...

Even though she doesn't really 'get' it, she's held my hand, been indignant on my behalf and been just generally amazing - because that's how she is.  Yes, I'm aware the inscription reads Carla, but there's another amazing Stephanie story behind that too.

Some of you may remember when they were selling autographed Richie photos for Who Says You Can Go Home in November 2009.  Well, I jumped right on that bandwagon, requesting that my inscription read "Carol, My long time fan. Love, Richie"  Apparently, our dear Mr. Sambora didn't have his glasses on, or is a tad dyslexic, and inscribed the photo to Carla.  I never took the time to email about the mistake, because I'm just not a wave-maker.  It was close enough. (Oh, and he got final editorial rights, too.  No 'love' on my inscription...lol)

Then that Christmas, there was a big package under the tree wrapped in Bon Jovi wrapping paper.  The tag read something to the effect of "Merry Christmas Baby.  You'll always be Carla to me.  Love, Richie".  I giggled over that for months because I couldn't imagine someone being silly or caring enough to go to the trouble.

THEN, for my birthday two months later, I got a personalized romance novel, starring.... you guessed it... Richie and myself.  In the book, his pet name for me is Carla. The book was actually from Stephanie's husband, Roger, but she was responsible for the flowers that made their way to my desk that same birthday.   The card read:  "Happy Birthday to the Undiscovered Soul of my life.  My one and only love.  Yours Forever, Richie".

Stephanie also encouraged me to try my hand at fan fiction, saying that if I enjoyed it so much, then I should write it.    So, indirectly, you have her to thank for WWBTF.  As a side note, she's been pretty ill throughout the writing process, so I've recently been narrating the chapters so that she can hear what she's unleashed!  LOL

Then, this Christmas, she gave me the most cool gift ever.  The super-dee-duper-awesome camera that produced Richie cam!! :o)

So, now you see why I have the best friend in the world.  She understands my mental issues and acts as an enabler.

I know you can't read this Steph, but I love you...

Nuts in New England - Philadelphia

Okay, so I've been SLIGHTLY negligent in posting anything on my blog lately.  But then again, I never really expected to have a blog, so I'm ahead of the game in some respects.

Anyway, I thought if I were going to chronicle my adventures in Philly, I'd better do it before I forgot all about it. After all, it's been six (*gasp* can it have been that long??) weeks ago.  Before you know it, I'll be headed back out the door on another adventure.  

Sooooo... Lemme see....  

Quick flight from Boston to Philly, grab a rental car, plug in the GPS and off to check into the hotel.

First of all, let me tip my hat to the Philly city planners on the whole sports complex thing.  They have the hockey, basketball, baseball, football arenas all in one neat area surrounded by a plethora of parking lots.  Now they charge out the nose to park there, but in comparison to the rest of the world it's fairly reasonable and a whole lot less stressful than trying to park at someplace with a downtown arena.  Kudos to the City of Brotherly Love...

After checking into the hotel, I jaunted off to meet @Gutter_CEO, @sissy452, @soul3208 and soul's friend Jennifer for lunch at Chickie & Pete's.  A Jovi lover's must do if you're in Philly, right?  Last I heard, Jon highly recommends the crab fries and lobster pizza.  A word about the crab fries: do not be misled my friend, they are not crabby at all.  They are merely fun cut potatoes sprinkled with the same seasoning they put on crab.  So no, they are nothing like BK's chicken fries.  These are really just seasoned fries. Consider that my Chickie and Pete's public service announcement.

Back to the hotel for a bit, where I saw a familiar woman in the parking lot.  I know that face, but where from...?  Hmmm....  WAIT!  I have it!  That's Richie's cousin!  I saw her on Facebook!  Apparently Richie isn't putting the whole family up at the Four Seasons, but it isn't my place to speculate on that.

Next, off to the arena where I was to encounter a whole slew of Twitter girls randomly throughout the evening.  Let's see... there was @ktfcoyote, @liznorwich, @CatteSambora, @JovisWillow, @TaraJovi, @jovixphillies24 and @gabbhook.  Wow!  I didn't get to visit with some of the gals as much as I would've liked, as the box office was a bit challenged when it came to knowing where to pick up tickets.  Hmpf.

Finally wandered into the VIP thingy down in the bowels of the arena.  While standing in line, I heard them playing 'Garageland' over the loudspeakers.  Or so I thought.  Nope, I'm a moron.  That was sound check!!  They almost played 'Garageland' that night, but opted for (I think) In These Arms instead.  It was still pretty cool to get to hear even a snippet of it live though!

Down to the Lexus lounge, where I enjoyed the company of @gabbhook, her husband, @jovixphillies24 and her friend Stephanie.  Oh yeah, @jovixphillies24 and Stephanie (who are high school students) won the Livin' on a Prayer video contest for Philly!  Their video was played during LOAP at the close of the show.  So VERY cool, and they were super excited!  Can you blame them??  I felt like I was hanging with celebrities.  XD

Finally wandered up to my seat ready to for showtime.  Opening act - Soraia.  Very cool band, but I didn't really know their music.  They had a good opening set.

Okay, camera ready?  Check!  

Oh wait.  I should mention something else first, I suppose.  

*flashback to Valentine's Day, Toronto*  

For those of you who follow the shows, setlists and play-by-plays, you may recognize this as the night the boys did Superman Tonight acoustic.  *THUD*  On the off chance you haven't heard it... well, you just must!  Richie's harmony and vocal solo were just stunning!  Unfortunately, all of the YouTube videos focused on Jon, and us Richie girls were left out in the dark (so to speak) on watching our man do his thing.  It was a very sad day :(

In speaking with some of my European Twitter friends, we came up with the idea of an all-Richie video, which I promised to do in Philly.  Thus the Richie-cam was born...

*back to Philly*

So, camera... check!  I'm not going to bore you with the setlist.  If you want a true account of the setlist and accompanying videos, please check out The 2010-11 Bon Jovi Circle Tour Blog sponsored by The Goddess Hathor and Company.  They do an amazing job linking everything up!  *tip of the hat to you ladies*

The highlights of the show (for me) were:

You Give Love a Bad Name

Okay, granted it's a bit overdone, but I have a special moment with Richie in this song.  I'm standing there in the third row, just bopping along to the music with my SAMBORA vanity plates flying over my head, and he sees them.  YEP!  AND acknowledges me!  We had a moment...  *sigh*  

On the off chance you're interested in proof of that moment, please check out the footage at 1:35.  He kinda nods his head and smiles, then actually points at me on the 1:37 mark.  

The More Things Change

Then a couple of songs later, he realized I was camera stalking him (:08), and started looking just the tiniest bit creeped out.  There may be a restraining order in my future. :P

Bad Medicine/Hot Legs

So the other main highlight of the show was the 'kiss heard around the world'.  Or at least around my Twitter world it was HUGE news!  In the middle of Bad Medicine, Jon lays a big kiss on Richie's cheek, both of them grinning like mad.  Guess who got it on film? Check out at around the 3:00 mark in the video.

So those were the highlights of Philadelphia for me.  Oh wait, Richie did give me another shout out for my license plate during the bows.  And I think I ended up in a pic of one of @BonJovi 's official tweets during the show.  

Philly was an awesome adventure, with a great show and a lot of great Tweeters.  One of the best times I have ever had!!!  

If you're interested in photos or all the videos, the links are below.  Next stop... Columbus, OH on May 10th.  Second row seat in the pit, backstage tour.  *giggles*  I'm VERY excited!!

Pictures

YouTube Videos

So why Bon Jovi?

I can't really remember how I got tuned into Bon Jovi originally, but assume it was an old boyfriend who led me in that direction (my teen years were filled prominently with hair-metal for that very reason, so we'll go with that theory). I know that I came into the Bon Jovi movement with the rest of the world upon the release of their third album, Slippery When Wet. I think I still know all the words to the entire album. However, unlike the rest of the female world Jon Bon Jovi was not the object of my intense fascination, it was the guitarist - Richie Sambora. His legs looked about 8 feet long in those tight black leather pants and, besides, I've always been a little out of the main stream anyway.

So I remember sticking around as a faithful fan for New Jersey which was released in 1990. That was also the year I got married for the first time and went through a lot of life changes. Unfortunately, that meant I lost "touch" with those boys from New Jersey for a while - a long while actually.

Fade in... American Idol Season 6, May 2007 with special guest mentor Jon Bon Jovi. In my heart and mind I was still the ultimate Bon Jovi fan and found myself in total disbelief that those Idol wannabes were performing Bon Jovi songs I didn't know! How could this be? I checked the my mental Bon Jovi files. I still remember my first concert ever (Bon Jovi of course) on July 19, 1987 so vividly. 1987... oh my... that's 20 years ago! How did that happen??? I hang my head in shame that I've missed out on so much. I mean, come on, they were even going cross-over with a country influenced album. I had to get back in the loop!!

That was 4 years ago and I have been cramming my little brain and ears with everything Bon Jovi I could get my hands on since then. Youtube, concert DVDs, CDs, news sites, the whole nine yards. I've been to 13 concerts (2 Lost Highway, 7 Circle, 4 Live 2011) since then with at least two more coming up in 2011. It's borderline embarrassing being a "fangirl" as my 16 year old son calls me, but I really and truly enjoy them on a whole different level now.

Richie still has a certain draw for me, Jon is more appealing than he used to be, while Tico and Dave are interesting in their background status, and what's with the bass player who isn't a band member after 14 years? I really want to mentally dissect them all and figure out their true personas, but I guess that's what you do when you're an obsessed fanatic!

Seriously though, I've discovered that Jon Bon Jovi is an amazing businessman, a genuinely nice guy and that I really appreciate Richie's voice more than his guitar skills. When those two sing together the harmonies often make my hair stand on end.

After the great American Idol revelation, I obtained 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong. Watching the interview footage included and listening to the unreleased material brings an interesting perspective. Jon mentions in his interview that some of these songs didn't make it because it wasn't the sound/image they wanted to project as a band, or "it was the sound for us now, but not for where we were going". Also mentioned is the fact that they write 30-40 songs for EVERY album. I guess being a simple redneck, I never realized how much work and thought had to go into putting together an album that made the exact statement that you were trying to make. I'm amazed at people that can put music together anyway, but when you add in the foresight, the vision, the business aspect of it all it's mind boggling. And yes, I'm aware that probably every band in the world has the same things going on, but KNOWING that it goes on with "my band" makes a change to my perception of them. I mean, sure, I still love to hear them and foolishly idolize them, but I also RESPECT them. They've been doing this for 28 years, really seem to still love it and say that they will continue as long as they have something new to say artistically.

Anyway, I'm still a silly immature Bon Jovi fan but I have the inner satisfaction of knowing that I can appreciate them on another higher level as well. So that's my story, goofy as it may be.

Nuts in New England - Boston

So, if you don't already know, I took a little jaunt to New England last week in hot pursuit of the men of Jovi.

I'd had pit tickets to Philly for a while, but decided at the last minute to hit Boston the night before the Philly show.  I'd never been to Boston, and had always wanted to go, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity.  A little Travelocity here, a little US Airways there, and I had a ridiculous amount of flights to get me through home, Charlotte, DC, Boston, Philly, Charlotte and home again - in three days time.

Slightly nuts?  Perhaps, but a hell of a lotta fun.  I'm not one of those girls who has qualms about traveling alone.  I mean, come on.  I spend half my life on Twitter with dozens of other people.  I was never REALLY alone anyway.

So, what about Boston?

Well, if you're looking for an excellent review of the show itself, The Goddess Hathor does a much better job than I ever could, so check out the  review on her blog.

As for me?  Well, I think everybody should get stuck on a rotary in Boston at least once.  *shudder*  (Give me the kiss-your-backside curves of the hills anytime, where merging traffic pretty much consists of a deer or possum trying to cross the road!  :P)  But that only happened once, and I got the hang of it fairly quickly.

Parking for the concert was interesting too.  I circled upward for eight floors in this MASSIVE parking garage in my rented two-door Speck.  Fortunately, I found a herd of concert-goers on my way down and followed them the few blocks to the TD Garden.  Finding my car after was slightly more challenging...

I got to meet my very first Twitter friend @Mary81bjc in Boston!!  Such a sweetie, and she was soooo excited that she had wicked-good seats next to Richie's side of the circle!  Mary even managed to sweet-talk one of the crew into taking a picture of Richie's guitars behind the stage too.  Super nice guy!

Wicked-good... my attempt at blending with the Bahstin accent.  Mary and her family still insist that I'M the one who had the accent, but whatever...lol.  I'd move to Boston just to listen to them talk!  I was thrilled to have a lengthy chat with the lady sitting next to me so that I could just revel in those flat, drawn out vowel sounds.  *sigh*

Anyway, a last minute ticket landed me behind the stage (which I actually prefer to being at the OTHER end of the arena), so I spent the evening jamming with Dave as I tried to tweet the play-by-play.  Reception behind the stage sucked for tweeting, so I ended up texting the songs to @yoopergirl89 so she could tweet it for me.  I was on the aisle right next to the exit and kept bopping back and forth because I could get a signal in the hall.

That's where I was when the sound blew in the middle of Work for the Working Man.  I was like "WTF?", asking some girls that were just walking out, "Did something just happen to the sound?"  "Um, yeah, I think so?" Pffft!  Amateur fans...

After 15 minutes in which part of the band was off the stage, and part of them were hanging out with the crowd (or so I heard - screens were block my view of the stage at that point), they got everything back up and running again, seemingly no worse for the wear.

The rest of the show went just as the rest of the show should, everyone applauded and filed out to the massive parking garage and I made it back to the hotel without a notable incident.  Uploaded my few little videos and pictures courtesy of an awesome wi-fi connection in the hotel and slept for about four hours (awoken by a random tweet, which was great since I forgot to set an alarm.  Thanks @gabbhook!).

Up and at em and off to Philly!

(Oh, and if you're interested, pictures are on Facebook and videos are on YouTube)

Day 30 - It's All Over...

Day 30 - Anything you want...

I'm going to have to give this last shout out to the fans of Bon Jovi.  I don't think there are any like them in the world.

An example:  We were at Chicago #1 this summer, and my friend had a migraine.  The lights were killing her and she approached a woman, asking to buy her sunglasses.  The woman said, "Absolutely not, but take them and use them.  It's all about the love of the guys."

I think that sums it up...

I'm headed to Pittsburgh this weekend for two - count 'em TWO - Jovi shows, and I can't WAIT!! Check back for videos and pics next week...

Happy Monday :o)

Day 29 - Feelin' the Love

Day 29 - Reasons you Love Bon Jovi

As far as the musical group Bon Jovi - it's all about the Jon & Richie harmonies!  Those two men and a couple of acoustic guitars rule my musical world.  I get lost in it every time!

Now for the MEN of Bon Jovi - who wouldn't love them?  They're all good, down to earth guys who give back some of what has been given to them.  *shrug*  It's a no-brainer.

Only one more day left!!  EEEP!

Day 28 - The Cities

Day 28 - The cities/places you've seen Bon Jovi

I feel like this is a repeat of previous days, so I'm making an executive decision (a la CEO JBJ) and changing it.

Based on a conversation I had with some Twitter friends last week, I'm making today's challenge:  A Bon Jovi performance that you WON'T watch.

Unplugged 2007.  One of the saddest things I've ever seen in my life.  The only good thing I take away from that taping is Jon talking about the magic when he and Richie sing well together.  But it wasn't that night.  That wasn't Richie.  Not REALLY.

So I pretend it doesn't exist and think about how good the band looks now and the awesome tours they've put on since then.  They seem like they're doing well - except for Jon's perpetual boredom anyway!  LOL.

See ya tomorrow!

Day 27 - Jovi Ink

Day 27 - Would you ever consider getting a Bon Jovi inspired tattoo?

Well, that would be a yes.  As a matter of fact I did.

March 6, 2010, which you may notice coincides with a concert date in Las Vegas.  I got my ink about 3 pm at a place way off the strip, and was back at the MGM Grand by showtime.  What did I get?  It's not too daring or original, but it suits me quite nicely: Classic Jovi logo, with a nod to my favorite member.  It's timeless and one I'll never regret having...

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a body art kinda girl.  It is and will probably always be my only tattoo.

Day 26 - Ink on Jovi

Here's a two-fer for ya.  Courtesy of the Charlotte show in April, 2010.  I'm becoming more and more drawn to their ink...  (no pun intended)

Day 25 - The Logo

Day 25 - Your favorite Bon Jovi logo.

I think this is a strange question, but maybe I'm just overthinking it.  To me, the logo is the heart and dagger.  Period.  And since I'm going to be wearing it the rest of my life, that's what I'm going to have to go with.

Just for funsies though, when I google 'bon jovi logo' the heart and dagger shows up (obviously), along with the HAND smirk and this one.  Whether it's true or not, this one is the old school Captain Kidd design in my mind:

I will say that I enjoyed the Halloween logo the marketing guys came up with this year though.  Very clever...

Day 24 - The Lyrics

Day 24 - Favorite Bon Jovi Lyric

This is going to come as the greatest shock to you, and I'm sorry.  But I really CAN identify ONE favorite lyric!  It stands out from the rest of the song for me every time and it's one of those stupid things I keep in the back of my head to take out and play with when I'm waffling with a decision.

From the song Just Older, on the Crush album:

"You can't win until you're not afraid to lose"

Day 23 - The Stuff

Day 23 - Photo of your favorite Bon Jovi merchandise

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that my merchandise collection is not as extensive as some - maybe even as most. I mostly have a lot of t-shirts.  What I do have that isn't t-shirts goes up on my obsession wall along with my ticket stubs.

The hat's probably my favorite...  Although I am pretty partial to the "All I Want For Christmas is Richie" ornament... (Thanks, Lauri!)

Day 22 - Me & Jovi

Day 22 - A picture of you and any member of Bon Jovi

Alas, I've never had the fortune of meeting any of the Bon Jovi guys (Tico and Richie DID touch me on their way round the circle last time I saw them in Chicago though).  However, I did make an impromptu pilgrimage to Richie's homeotwn of Woodbridge, NJ this past summer.  It was COMPLETELY unplanned.  We were on our way home from Montreal and had been up since early that morning, so that's why I look like crap.  But at least I had my Jovi hat on!   Anyway, this is as good as it gets - for now. ;o)

.  

Day 21 - THE Song

Day 21 - The Song that made you fall for Bon Jovi

I honestly don't remember how I found the boys when I was a teenager.  I remember learning every word on SWW, but can't remember what started it.  Soooo.... I guess I don't have a song that made me fall.

Hmpf.  Very sad.

Day 20 - Music Video

Day 20 - Your Favorite Music Video

Sad to say, I don't watch the 'official' videos nearly as much as the live performance stuff on You Tube.  I was going to say Wanted because when I was a teenager, life would stop every time it came on MTV.  Even at my grandmother's house!  LOL

But then I remembered this little video.  So funny.  And it's the closest I've ever come to being Jonny girl with that see thru shirt and the cute little rolling of his eyes at 'passed out in the yahd again'.  Yep, it's Misunderstood.

Day 19 - Richie Quote

Day 19 - Favorite quote from Richie Sambora

Richie's kind of a random guy (IMO, of course).  He usually has a lot of big words in his very short sentences, but he's always got his heart in it.  So I'll take a quote from When We Were Beautiful:

"...when I walk out onstage, my heart becomes that much bigger. When I walk out onstage, it's a part of my life that I love and feel comfortable with.  It's like taking your clothes off in front of seventy thousand people every night."  -Richie Sambora

Yeah, we all know he's also said it's like having sex with 70,000 people, but that's not comfortable, that's the adrenaline rush. :o)

Day 18 - Tour/Era

Day 18 - Favorite tour/era

I was around and actively involved for SWW/NJ, but I was regretfully absent during everything after that up until Lost Highway.  Knowing what I know now, it's the Crush/Bounce era I think I regret missing the most.  Good songs, good energy and GOOOOOD looking men.

Day 17 - Album Art

Ooops, this one didn't post when it was supposed to.  Sorry!!

Day 17 - Favorite Album Art


Well, by far the funniest has got to be the cover for 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong.  Gold lame suits/jumpsuits?  Love it!

The new GH album is probably my favorite though.  Very cool...

And just as a little bit of eye candy, the cover for the What Do You Got Single...

Day 16 - JBJ Quote

Day 16 - Favorite quote from Jon Bon Jovi

Jon has so many pearls of wisdom.  These are a few of my favorites 

Hello ego...

"This is the way I look at sex scenes: I have basically been doing them for a living for years. Trying to seduce an audience is the basis of rock 'n roll, and if I may say so, I'm pretty good at it."

And yet you're letting them cover your song on their reunion tour? Stranger than fiction.

"We've been gone five years and the best they could come up with was boy bands? "

This one allows me to justify my obsession with writing fan fic.  Anything that gives you permission to do something frivolous is a good thing.

"Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate."

And my favorite, just because I believe it to be true...

"When Richie and I sing well together - that's the magic." 

Day 15 - Topless Photo

Day 15 - Topless photo of the band

Well, my limited powers of photo searching weren't able to come up with a shirtless picture of the entire band.  To be real honest, I stopped when I found this one, because I hadn't seen it before.  I'm a Richie girl, but DANG.  Shirts off to ya Mr. Bongiovi...

Day 14- My Jovi Photo

Day 14 - A photo you have taken of Bon Jovi

I'll interpret that to mean the entire band.  The best ones I have are in the header of this blog, but I'll post here again just to be in compliance with the challenge.  (Like it's a contest and there's a prize at the end or something.)

Closing bows, Chicago #2

Think JBJ knows we all love it when he puts his hand over his heart like that  - as though he's overwhelmed by all our love and adoration?  Yeah, that's why he does it almost every show.  Doesn't mean it's any less swoon inspiring though.

This one is purely for the Hugh factor.  I absolutely do NOT consider Bobby Bandiera part of Bon Jovi!

Day 13 - Fave Gig

Day 13 - Favorite Bon Jovi Gig

One that I've personally attended?  Chicago, July 31, 2010.  Just because I was in the pit.  But as far as videos and all that I've seen?  Gonna have to go with Hammerstein Ballroom, 2002.  Those are the videos where the guys are in black and white and the audience is in color.  They look amazingly hot and are in such a good mood, it just makes me wanna giggle.

This one is particularly giggle inspiring.  You've all seen it.  "A man with a strong butt".

Day 12 - Live Events

Day 12 - List all the times you've seen Bon Jovi live

1. July 19, 1987 - Huntington, WV
2. March 5, 2008 - Pittsburgh
3. March 15, 2008 - Pittsburgh
4. March 6, 2010 - Las Vegas
5. April 22, 2010 - Charlotte
6. May 19, 2010 - Hershey (my first stadium show!!)
7. July 19, 2010 - Toronto
8. July 20, 2010 - Toronto
9. July 30, 2010 - Chicago
10. July 31, 2010 - Chicago (my first time in the pit!!)

And the best is yet to come in 2011...
11.  February 11 - Pittsburgh
12.  February 12 - Pittsburgh
13.  March 1 - Boston
14.  March 2 - Philly for Jon's birthday.  Third row pit and the debut of Richie Cam.


So far, I have at least one video from all of them on YT except for the 1987 show.  And I should continue that trend since I got an awesome new camera for Christmas with a ridiculous zoom on it.  Fair warning though, I've become neurotic about taping the bows at the end of the show for some reason.  Stop by and check them out if you are bored:  http://www.youtube.com/blushnscarlet 

Updated 9/8/12
15.  May 10, 2011- Columbus, OH
16.  May 22, 2011 - St. Louis, MO
Both very bittersweet.  My first backstage experience in Columbus and great seats at both shows, but no Richie. :(

17. May 20, 2012 - Bamboozle, Asbury Park, NJ
18. July 6, 2012 - Greenbrier Golf Classic, Lewisburg, WV

Updated 2/26/2013
Because We Can tour:
19. February 21, 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA
20. March 1, 2013 - Tampa, FL
21. March 2, 2013 - Sunrise, FL
22. March 10, 2013 - Columbus, OH
23. March 14, 2013 - Louisville, KY

Updated 6/4/2013
Because We Can tour (again!):
24. October 8, 2013 - Fresno, CA
25. October 9, 2013 - Anaheim, CA
26. October 11, 2013 - Los Angeles, CA

Updated 2/9/17
This House Is Not For Sale tour
27.  February 28, 2017 - Sacramento, CA
28.  March 1, 2017 - San Jose, CA

Day 11 - Fave other song

Day 11 - Favorite cover or B-side

By my count it should exclude the box set, right?  So at least I don't have to deal with that.  *whew*

And these are two totally different categories with multiple answers.  (By this point in the challenge, I don't think that surprises you.)

Covers - I have two special favorites that I listen to ALL the time...

Bridge Over Troubled Water - To borrow a quote from The Goddess Hathor... "The Harmony.  Sweet LORD the harmony."

Lean On Me - The video isn't what you would hope for, but the vocals more than make up for it.  These boys are acoustic angels, I'm tellin' ya...

B-sides - Holy cow, where do I start?  I really am trying to keep the short list, honest.  These videos aren't much, but in case you haven't heard the songs here they are.

The End

Alive

Unbreakable

Day 10 - Fave HAND Song

Day 10 - Favorite song from Have a Nice Day


*sigh*  Another hard one.  This album has all kinds of life mantras on it that make you just wanna live a little while longer.

• Welcome to Wherever You Are - gets me through those depressing days.
• Bells of Freedom - Jon's voice is so soothing on this one
• Who Says You Can't Go Home - I know there's a lot of controversy over this one, but I can't help but sing along when it comes up.  S'alright?  lol
• Complicated - Because who isn't really?

That being said, I'm gonna ultimately choose Story of My Life. Maybe because of the Special Edition version of it?  "Wait a minute.  That never happens in this organization.  The bass player made a BIG mistake.  Huey doesn't MAKE mistakes.  Most solid guy in the band."  "I woulda shot him, but there's too many witnesses!"

Day 9 - Fave Crush Song

Day 9 - Favorite song from Crush


This one's a lot easier.  But, first, can I make an observation about Crush?  Bon Jovi has only released two songs with Mystery in the title and they put them both on the same album.  And both songs draw out that word so much that I think of it as the Mystery album...lol.

But I digress...  Going with Just Older on this one.  Secrets to the grave...

Here's a great video of it being performed live in Sydney last month

Day 8 - Fave NJ Song

Day 8 - Favorite song from New Jersey

New Jersey was probably one of Bon Jovi's best all-around albums, which makes it that much harder to pick a single song.  Yeah, I know I'm missing the whole point of this thing, but if you can pick a single favorite anything of Bon Jovi, then you're not looking hard enough.

So...

• Living in Sin (Don't you just love it when Jon snarls "I don't need your Daddy tellin' us what we should do"?)
• Blood on Blood  (When we were so young, -so young - soooo young!)
• I'll Be There For You  is probably one of the best songs they've ever written lyrically

But those are my "also-rans".  

There's nothing that gets me more than an acoustic Jovi, so I'm gonna have to give this one to Love For Sale.  They're so damn cute in the original cut of this, and "feelin' like a dawwg that's been kicked in the head" always brings a smile to my face.  Add that to Richie's guitar improv and his solo line of 'I got some luuuuv for saa-ale!" near the end and I'm toast. 

Here's an awesome live version if you just have to hear it now...

Day 7 - Fave SWW Song

Day 7 - Favorite song from Slippery When Wet

You'd think it would be Wanted, since it's my all-time favorite, right?  But, alas, no.

Since Richie pointed RIGHT AT me in Chicago (with my SAMBORA vanity plates in hand) and said "YOU give love a bad name!", that one holds a certain soft spot in my heart, but still -  no.

Gonna have to go with Never Say Goodbye.  This is the version I listen to most often on the iPod, carefully ripped from this AMAZING YT video from MassJoviFan.  It was recorded on the circle at the Mohegan Sun show on 3/26/2010.  Richie's mic is up good and loud :o)

Day 6 - Fave All-Time Jovi Song

Day 6 - All-time favorite Bon Jovi song

Crap.  My favorite song changes all the time.  The More Things Change just gets stuck in my head.  Keep the Faith always makes me wanna be-bop around the room.  Something for the Pain is a new favorite since it hit the Circle acoustic.

*sigh*  I'm so bad at following directions.

I guess if I had to pick one ALL-TIME favorite song, it would be Wanted.  I very seldom ever listen to it recorded, but live performance sucks me in every time.  I remember being a teenager and sitting in my grandmother's living room floor totally engrossed EVERY time the video would come on MTV. (I think a snippet of it was recorded in our local civic center).  It's not a song, it's an experience.

Counting down the days 'til I see it again in Pittsburgh and Philly!

Day 5 - Fave Richie Picture

Day 5 - Favorite Photo of Richie

Well, why don't you just ask me to choose my favorite hair on my child's head??  It absolutely CANNOT be done!  I can't even choose my favorite one that I'VE taken of him.  But we'll start with one of those...

This is my favorite stolen, sweaty chested, sexy Richie pic...   *drool*

Puppy Richie...  *sigh*

Giggly Richie (Yes, I know, but it bears repeating.  Seriously.) *hee hee*

Now, are all the hard assignments over with????  See ya tomorrow!!

Day 4 - Fave Tico Picture

Day 4 - Favorite picture of Tico

Tico is absolutely as sexy as he can be these days (not to be confused with These Days).  Puppy boys were cute, but I love a real man, even though this pic of Tico makes him look like a naughty little boy...

Day 3 - Fave David Picture

Day 3 - Favorite picture of David

David looks better now than he ever has, IMOHO.  I mean come on, you can't really tell me he was having ANY good hair days in the 80's.  (sorry bayaderra...)  I THINK he usually wears contacts and not glasses, but he looks awfully cute in them, and the scruff is a nice change.

Day 2 - Fave Jon Picture

Day 2 -  favorite picture of Jon

Maybe not my FAVORITE, but again there are frickin' MILLIONS to choose from - even more than there are of the band!  So I chose this one.  It is definitely one of the hottest ones I've taken with my very own camera.  And besides, who can resist a sexy, sweaty chested Jonny calling you out??

2/7/13:  THIS ONE I remember...

And this is my favorite Jon AND Richie pic.  Yeah, I know it wasn't the assignment, but this pic is TOOO cute to pass on posting.  (Shamelessly stolen from @MarnieNichole - I told you I loved it!!)

Day 5 is gonna be a bitch to choose...

Day 1 - Fave Jovi Picture

Day 1 - Favorite Picture of Bon Jovi

Okay, so how do you really choose?  There are MILLIONS of them out there!  In the interest of time and my sanity, I went with one of the standard issue pics from one of my favorite 'hotness' eras:  Bounce.  I looked for the Crush pic of them in the black suits and ties, but couldn't find one to suit me.  That REALLY would've been my first choice.

2/7/13:  It's come to my attention that my pictures have been eaten, so I have to replace them, best as I can guess.  If these aren't the original pics, sorry.  They're still good!!  :D

See you tomorrow for Day 2!!

Bon Jovi 30 day challenge

Shamelessly stolen from @debee1015 and @marnienichole.  Thanks girls!!

Not sure if I have the level of committment required for this, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try.  And this should just get me to the Pittsburgh concert dates of Feb 11 & 12.  Can't wait to see you guys!!!!

So here we go...

Day 1 - Favorite photo of Bon Jovi
2 - Favorite photo of Jon
3 - Favorite photo of David
4 - Favorite photo of Tico
5 - Favorite photo of Richie
6 - Your all-time favorite Bon Jovi song
7 - Your favorite song from Slippery When Wet
8 - Your favorite song from New Jersey
9 - Your favorite song from Crush
10 - Your favorite song from Have a Nice Day
11 - Your favorite cover or B-side
12 - List all the times you’ve seen Bon Jovi live, if at all
13 - Your favorite Bon Jovi gig
14 - A photo of Bon Jovi that you have taken, if any
15 - A topless photo of the guys
16 - Your favorite quote from Jon Bon Jovi
17 - Your favorite album art
18 - Your favorite tour/era
19 - Your favorite quote from Richie Sambora
20 - Your favorite music video
21 - The song that made you fall for Bon Jovi
22 - A photo of you and any member of Bon Jovi, if you have one
23 - A photo of your favorite Bon Jovi merchandise
24 - Your favorite Bon Jovi lyric
25 - Your favorite Bon Jovi logo
26 - A photo of a member of the band’s tattoo
27 - Would you ever consider getting a Bon Jovi-inspired tattoo? Explain
28 - Cities/places you’ve seen Bon Jovi
29 - Reasons you love Bon Jovi
30 - Random - whatever you want, you’ve made it!