Rockin' In The Free World

We had such a great time hitting up the Bon Jovi concert at the Energy Solutions Arena last night. My little brother was seriously star struck when this man, his music idol, came out on stage. Admittedly, I think we all were. I confess, it was probably the leather pants for me. Who knew he could still pull those off?

 As a family we are constantly cranking up the volume when a Bon Jovi song comes on. It has even been elevated to Saturday Morning Chores status, that is how good all of the songs are. We blast the bass, get to rockin', and before we know it the house is clean and the yard work complete.

Most of the photos are courtesy of our phones, which means not the highest quality. Story about this though. On the way into the concert there are signs posted all around about things you cannot take in with you. No food, no drinks, no knives, no guns, and no cameras! I was pissed to say the least because I was packin'. Granted, it was just a camera and a package of M&M's, but still, not being one to break the rules Spen and I ran back to the car so I could unload my pockets. When we get back the line is backed all the way down the stairs. Now there is a lady in front of us who blatantly shows off her huge flask of alcohol and I am secretly praying to the karma gods she is searched. Of course, she wasn't! I could easily have snuck in one camera and a harmless package of melt in your mouth, not in your hand chocolates. C'est la vie I suppose.

The stage was phenomenal. I got a keychain of the logo and I love it.

Thanks to an incredible mother in law we had some amazing seats. We were on Bon Jovi's left and when he walked to the edge of the stage I could have spit on him, that is how close we were. We were right above the portal and only one row back. It was fantastic to see the whites of this man's eyes.

One of my favorite songs was "The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same." During a bridge Bon Jovi startded giving us the breakdown on how this seems to be true. He said, "What is it about this Justin Bieber? Wasn't it Justin Timberlake like five minutes ago? And all this about Jay Z? Man, I was around even before Ice T. And what is up with Lady GaGa? I already had to put up with Madonna." Well put Jon Jon, well put. Then he said, "We all know there is one thing that is never gonna change, don't we all know what is never gonna change?" Insert dramatic pause here. "And it's on this stage here tonight!" 

Spen whipped out his air guitar and I swear Linc never took his fist out of the air. Needless to say, we rocked and I believe Bon Jovi even took notice. I even brought some glow sticks we had looped around our wrists. Hard core, I know. It was such a blast and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

One of the most incredible things about the concert were this mobile digital panels. The moved up and down and all around, at one point they even formed a platform/stage. I was literally in awe. We couldn't possibly have had a better time.

Source: (Leah Hogsten The Salt Lake Tribune) March 22, 2011.