My love is like woo

Well it has been ages since I have just posted a weekly blog on here or just some kind of update. I have mainly been doing my blogs on my Myspace account so when it comes to doing blogs on here they are almosy non existant although I did manage to copy all my blogs over here the other week.

I'm sat here feeling ill again, yes again, and I am sick of it. To be fair I haven't been that sick for a couple of weeks expect for a nasty cough that keeps me awake at night and wakes me up when I am choking and gasping for air. Before that I had that nasty illness that I don't even want to think about right now.
Illness really shouldn't be a part of my everyday life but when I do go to the doctors to tell them about the illness that I have 85% of the time it is on days when I don't have it so they can't even see the symptoms. It is at the stage when I want something doing about it because it has taken over my life for the past two years and I just want to have a normal life like everyone else and only get sick now and then like everyone else so a trip to the doctors will be happening next week. I just found out my doctor only works on Tuesday's (lucky him) so I need to try and get an appointment on Tuesday but I guess people will be trying to get one on the same day as me so I need to get in fast otherwise I will have to wait another week.

My bed has finally broken, well it wasn't like I was trying to break it or anything but I woke up on Sunday morning with a broken spring poking into my back. I was going to go and get a new one on Monday evening with my dad but I changed my mind at the last moment. I do need one because of course my bed doesn't feel the same now and I did turn it over but it won't be long until other springs go. It lasted ages, I think I got it in 1999 or something like that and it was £500 and I've loved every minute of sleeping on it because it is so comfy but now it is time for a new one. It's a single bed too and I have wanted a double one for ages now so it will get me to get a double bed which is a good thing. I was actually looking at double beds from Ikea last month and the one I wan comes to about £350 and I had the money but spent it in the four days that Nathan and Dianna were here and then I spent a lot more when I went to see them in Scunthorpe. I was spending like crazy which is so out of character for me and the moral of the story is I don't have the cash for the bed and have to get it on a credit card and I don't even want to think about how much money I own on credit cards at the moment.

I had to quit my Religion course, I was just so ill and couldn't keep up so that is the end of that and it puts my degree back a year. See what I mean about my illness getting in the way of life? Also my late all night sessions on MSN didn't help either but they have almost stopped now except for the odd one now and then because I do enjoy them but I do need to go to bed at a suitable time so I can have a life and work and study and hopefully sort out my illness and get back into some interests of mine.
It hurts to have to gve it up but there was nothing I could do about it and no one really understood the amount of work I had to do, I think they thought they did but they didn't really truly understand who much was involved and at what level and that's mainly because they haven't studied at that level before.
Anyway I still have my two short courses to start and I am looking forward to getting into those because they look interesting and aren't something I normally study and if I feel better by Sunday I will spend a couple of hours on one on Sunday.

Anyway I am hopefully off to Ikea this weekend to get myself a new bed and I shall be back on here soon :o)

BON JOVI @ The O2 ... London – 24th June 2007.

I wasn't as excited about the concert (well not on the day) as I am normally about concerts, maybe it didn't seem real because I was in a strange place (in London) and not surrounded by my normal things. The day seemed to drag on a little at times and I didn't know how I would cope with standing for over three hours because my feet were very sore from all the walking we had done the day before (read my London blog – due out in the next couple of weeks).

Anyway we were running about 2 hours behind when we finally got back to where we were staying, I wanted to be back by 2:30pm but we were still in the central London having fun at that time so I didn't get back until 3:30 so really just an hour behind so I said I would be ready for 4:30 and hoped I would be.
I rushed to the shower and had a shower but by the time I got back to my room it was already 4pm which only gave me 30 minutes to dry and style my hair as well as do my make up and get dressed so I thought I would take longer, maybe 45 minutes in total.
I did my hair and then got dressed and did my make up before putting my clothes on, finishing my hair and other finishing touches and before I knew it the time was just after 5pm so I packed my bag in a mad hurry and rushed up to the 6th floor to get my dad and rushed out of the building to the underground station which is five minutes walk away.
It was raining outside again so up went the umbrella and I rushed along making it to the underground in record time for me, got down to the track just as the train was coming in. One station later we got off at Waterloo and changed over to the central line which would take us to North Greenwich. We stood all the way there because it was busy but I didn't mind because the adrenaline had started to pump through me. We got off about 15-20 minutes later and made our way out of the station. It was then I saw the O2 for the first time (formally the Millennium Dome) and it was massive. I couldn't see it all from where I was stood but what I could see was really big. The walk way to the O2 was all under a glass roof type thing so I could put my umbrella down. There were loads of people making their way down it into the O2 itself and upon entering there was thousands and thousands of people and it soon became very clear that not all of them were there for the concert and it soon became apparent that there was no chance of me going into one of the restaurants and eating like I planned because everywhere was just packed and there was massive queues to get into places. I wasn't pleased about this because I hadn't eaten since lunch and planned to eat there but as we walked round we could see there was no chance of eating anywhere in there and the queues for the only set of toilets we could see was so long we decided to go back to the train station and use the toilets there so we walked round the way we came in, which took ages because of the thousands of people, we were having to fight our way through the thousands of people. Once we got back to the train station we could see that other people had done the same as us and had come back to the station to use the toilets because there was a massive queue for the women's toilets and there was nothing I could do but wait in it (the queue) because it was shorter than the one in the O2. I queued for probably 20 minutes and was glad to get to the front of the queue. I came out and bought 2 drinks and then went back to the O2 and got in line to buy some merchandise for the concert and there were a few hundred people with the same idea. We were stood in the queue for 30 minutes when we heard that they had sold out of all the t-shirts but one. The queue was moving so slow that we thought there must only be one person serving; it was at that point that I decided to give up queuing because by the time I got to the front the concert would have been over lol

So we made my way inside, I found our entrance and went and queued up and had my bag checked and the lid taken off my drink,. I was lucky because I had just passed my bottle of water to my dad and they didn't spot it so he managed to keep the lid on so it went straight into my bag as soon as we got passed that section. Up the escalators we went and found some places selling food which I was very happy about. I ended up with a chicken panini and a diet coke and soon found myself needing to go to the toilet yet again. I walked round to the ladies but the queue was so massive my dad said I should use the men's because the stalls are just as you walk in, so in I went and I looked and saw a row of men stood at the urinals because rushing into the cubical in embarrassment, well at least they didn't see me as they all had their backs to me hehe.
Came out and was stood for a while and heard the opening act on but couldn't work out who it was although they did sound very familiar to me. Needed the toilet again so rushed to the ladies and queued up again and went one more time before going in and finding our seats.

Walking into the arena I've never seen anything so shiny and new and so different. The arena isn't as big as you would expect from an arena that holds 23,000 people. But they have designed it so the seats go upwards and not backwards like they normally do so the people at the top are a lot higher than in normal arenas. It didn't take us long to walk to the front of the arena where we were sitting and as I sat down I realized that I needed the toilet again lol. I couldn't believe that I needed to go so soon but two massive diet cokes later and I needed to go again and I was contemplating going and I kept thinking that if I go the band will come on stage and for 15-20 minutes I sat there thinking about going and then all of a sudden the lights went down and I knew what was coming next. So I decided to go to the toilet 15 minutes into the set after they had done three songs. Most of the band came on stage, except for Jon, and started the "Livin' on a prayer" intro but then didn't go into the song but instead just carried on with a beat and then all of a sudden on the big screen behind the band (and also on the two other big screens for the rest of the arena) Jon appeared walking out of his dressing room. There was a thunder of cheers when he came onto screen making his way from the dressing room to the stage, he was shown the whole time from the dressing room to the stage and just before he made his way onto the actual stage the intro to Livin' on a prayer kicked in and the audience went crazy and we all started to jump up and down to the beat.

It was amazing being there right at the front in the thick of it all. The atmosphere is just so much different from being up in the stands. It's electrifying and something that can't be easily put into words but the adrenaline kicks in and it starts to pump through you like crazy so it almost feels like your not really there and this is some kind of amazing out of body experience.
Jon then bounces onto the stage and we all go crazy again and cheer like mad as the opening words to the song are sung. I was on such a high at this point and was singing and clapping along like crazy. Normally I'm so self conscious about things and wouldn't be caught doing anything like this but your body just takes over with the adrenaline and your just acting like everyone else there. ( - I've often watched concerts on TV and think they are totally mad jumping up and down and cheering but until your actually right at the front in the thick of it all you can really understand what it is to be in front of a band you think is amazing. Your body takes over and your mind is just so much taken over by everything that is going on around you that you simply just don't have the time to think about how much jumping or cheering your actually doing. - ).
"Livin' on a prayer" is one of my all time favorite songs so to be in front of Jon singing along to the song was just an amazing feeling for me, I felt like I was floating and it was amazing. I often looked around the stage to see who was doing what and at different times different members of the band were looking at me and for some reason I felt slightly uneasy about Dave (David Bryan – Keyboard player) looking at me. Maybe it was because he looked at me a lot but I think my lack of confidence kicked in knowing he was looking at me. Hugh (Hugh McDonald – Bass Player) was right in front of me so I felt his eyes on me a lot and when I looked he was generally looking in my direction but he had dark glasses on so not being able to see his eyes were good for me otherwise I would of felt totally self conscious all the time I was stood there.

As soon as "Livin' on a prayer" finished it went into another favorite of mine, "You Give Love A Bad Name", this song has a lot of audience participation at the start at the end and I loved being a part of all of it. It was amazing to sing to and I almost felt (at times) like I was the only person there. Even when I was taking pictures and other people got in the way I felt like it was just me and the band, I guess a lot of people felt that way.
By the end of "You Give Love A Bad Name" I had caught Jon's attention, he looked in my direction a few times but there were times when I couldn't see him because of people stood in front of me but times when he would look at me I would move slightly so the people in front of me hid me away from him. Its strange why I did that but I'm not the most confident person in the world and I thought maybe he has better looking females to look at although around me there weren't many females, mainly males.

Now it was time for some of the new stuff from the new album, I like their new album a lot but I don't know everything word for word because it had been out for less than two weeks. I knew the entire chorus' and all the words to three songs off the album so it was amazing when I was singing practically all the words to all the new songs. I think there was only one where I struggled at times but being there I just seemed to know most of the words even though now I seem to know less lol

Hearing the new songs live was amazing, they all song great although the acoustics on "Want to Make a Memory" didn't sound as good up front, maybe it did at the back of the arena but where I was standing it didn't sound too good but that was the only time during the whole concert where something didn't sound right.
The most amazing new song they sang live was "We've Got it Going On"!! I just love that song anyway (if you haven't heard it you really need to listen to it) so when Jon Said to Richie "Get your Talk Box going" I knew what was coming even though he uses to Talk box on other songs I knew what song was coming and I've got to tell you live that song truly kicks arse!! It sounds totally amazing and fresh and raw and dirty live. To me that was one of the best songs all night, I hadn't heard it live before so to hear it was mind blowing and I was totally into it singing along – "Shake your money maker, smoke it if you've got it" – I love that part of the song and I was dancing and clapping along and singing like I was the one actually on stage singing it, I was giving it my all to that song.

They did lots of my favorite Bon Jovi songs but as of yet they haven't done one that I've wanted them to do every time I've seen them and that's a song called "These Days". – I have a video clip of them doing it live on my profile if you want to check it out -. I've only ever seen them do it live on clips I've found on You-Tube. It is probably one of my top ten Bon Jovi songs and I really want to see them do it live and I had hoped they would do it during their show at the O2 but they didn't. The song is off an album called "THESE DAYS" which is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. It's different from what they had done up to that point (1995 it was released) and I just love the whole album and the stand out track of that album is the title track and to hear it live (in person) would be amazing so I hoped they would do it but I did get the feeling they wouldn't.

75 minutes into the show Jon said goodnight and the whole band left the stage. We all knew they would be back but thought it was a little early to go off for an encore so I did wonder if the concert was going to be a lot shorter than they normally do.
A couple of minutes later, in the darkness of the arena, I could see little flash lights and then the dark images of the band back on stage as they started into song again. Cheers all around as Jon came back on stage and the show was starting once again.
You may remember me saying that I was going to go to the toilet after three songs. Well I didn't. I only really thought about it once but I didn't want to miss anything because they were doing amazing songs and knew I would be 5-10 minutes and thought I would miss one of my all time favourite songs so I held on. At times I didn't even realize I needed to go because I was just so caught up in things. When they left the stage I knew they wouldn't be gone long so I didn't even bother thinking about going because I knew they would be back on stage before I even got out of the arena to get to the toilet.

More great songs followed their return to the stage and both Jon and Richie had got changed. I thought Richie would because when he came on stage he was wearing his trademark long coat and sunglasses and he kept wiping himself down with a black towel and then maybe 40 minutes into the show he got someone to help him take his jacket off and his shirt almost came off so I was ready to drool ;o) So they came back on and Jon (who came on in a black shirt with embroidered angels wings on the back) had a black fitted t-shirt on and Richie had a black thin shirt on that was unbuttoned to more than half way down but you couldn't really see anything because his guitar was in the way.
I don't blame them for changing. I was sweating too and every time the lights went down, after each song, I would wipe my forehead with a tissue and rearrange my hair to make sure it looked OK hehe and every 5 (or more) I would reapply my lip gloss hehe because of course I didn't want to look all hot and sweaty – probably the same as they didn't want to either but they never reapplied their lip gloss – well not that I know of ;o) lol

They did their first ever single "Runaway" which was released in 1983. I've never seen them do that song live so it was amazing to be there for that. It sounds good now even 24 years after it was released. It was good to be apart of that concert where that song was played. Jon described it like an "old wine", just keeps on getting better. When that song was over they went into another great Bon Jovi song, "Born to be my Baby". What a song that is, I love it!! Great 80's rock song with great guitar and piano running through the entire length of it. Those two songs really got the crowds going; I could tell there were a lot of Bon Jovi fans there that knew all their stuff from the reaction to those two songs. Then once they were over they went into one of their biggest hits which brought them a lot of new fans in 2000 – "It's My Life". Love that song and from the crowds reaction they loved it too!! From the first part on the talk box to the "it's my life" at the end it is a crowd pleaser and another one of my favorite Bon Jovi tracks ever!!

Then it was time to slow it down a little because it was then they did their new single "You want to make a memory", as I said above the acoustics weren't too good on this song but it was good to watch the band perform it. I really like the song, the lyrics mean something and it's one of those songs that is just so beautiful and captures so many emotions. I love the last 60 seconds of the song with the beautiful harmonies provided by Richie. Two more new tracks followed one of them being – "We've got it going on" – the song that got me going crazy hehe. Well not crazy (hehe) but I just love the song and it's perfect for live gigs because it gets everyone singing and cheering along and I just love the fun-ness of the lyrics and the sound of the song. I especially love the talk box on it. I know Richie has tried to use the talk box on lots of things over the years and it's only worked on a few things and on this song it brings the whole sound together and makes the song sound even more amazing than it would without it. The song is a real crowd pleaser and something that they could play at every concert they did and the crowd would never get bored with it. I know that if they played it ten times in a row that night I wouldn't have minded because it just sounds so fresh and it's exciting to sing along to.

They did "Who Says You Can't Go Home" which propelled them to the number one spot in the country charts (in the US) last year. They were the first rock band to have a number one in the country charts and it's a great song. The audience, again, loved this song and we had our hands in the air on the word " it's alright" and when the song finished Jon said "now it's you and me" and he played on his acoustic guitar as we sang along with just him and then all of a sudden the band came back in and we sang along again for another verse and chorus and the buzz from the crowd at that point was just electrifying. This was followed by another song that always gets the crowd going, "I'll sleep when I'm dead", and it had us all carrying on singing and cheering like crazy. I loved it, going from one with lots of audience participation to another. It's another song I love too so to hear it live was great. I think I heard it live the first time I saw them but nothing beats it live and close up the way I was. It was amazing and seemed to go so quick.

The band really know how to please a crowd and keep us entertained because as soon as that lively amazing song was over they went straight into another amazing song, "Bad Medicine", and this song will now forever hold special memories for me personally.
The song is just so rocky and is one of the best songs they do live; I remember the first time I saw them live at Old Trafford Football Ground the crowd went crazy for this song. We sang so loud that Jon stopped singing and let us sing it. The singing from us was so loud that we could no longer hear the band and the music. It was so wonderful being part of that and I've never experienced anything as amazing as that, we were all loving it and singing it on the top of our voices and it was just so awesome. I think that was (at the time) one of the best things that has happened at a concert (that was also my first ever concert too) but on the 24th June 2007 at the O2 arena something even more amazing happened during "Bad Medicine" which I will never forget and probably never stop talking about lol.

"Bad medicine" started and we are all hyped up because of the songs so far and we are singing along, well I know I am, and cheering and again being close up makes it more enjoyable and it's an electrifying feeling running through my body as I sing along and watch the band play. About half way through, after Richie's guitar solo, Jon comes and stands right in front of where I am standing and he is singing the song and looking right at me and I look away and he sings "your love is like bad medicine" etc and then he kind of says it like he is saying it to someone (the song lyrics) and I look up at him and our eyes meet and he went "yeah, you the cute blonde", I look away shocked and embarrassed. I knew he was talking to me, there is no doubt about that, as there were no blondes in front of me or behind me as far back as I can see and I could see further back than Jon because I once read somewhere that he said he can't see further back than the first 10-12 rows as the faces start to get blurry.
As you can imagine I was shocked!! Totally shocked and it was so amazing to be called "cute" by one of the biggest rock stars in the world. Not many people could say that one of the biggest rock stars in the world called them "cute" but now I can and I'm sure that I will be talking about it forever but it's just such an amazing thing to happen and its done wonders for some of my confidence issues. It's a truly great feeling I now have because of Jon calling me "cute", I can't just quite believe he said it but he did and I'm the happiest girl on the planet at the moment. Of course if Richie Sambora said it I am sure I would have passed out because I think he is HOT!!
Once he said that and I looked away I couldn't look at Jon for a little while, maybe he wasn't happy at me looking away but who knows, because I was a little embarrassed by it all but I still carried on with the concert and my enjoyment levels by this point were totally through the roof. That song went on for ages because he then went into "Shout" and then went back into the song again so it must of gone on for near enough 8-10 minutes and the atmosphere was just full of electric and I was full of electric and I was pumped full of adrenaline and it was just wonderful and I'd forgotten about needing the toilet too.

Jon said goodnight again and they left the stage, I knew they would come back on again. I just got the feeling, plus they had yet to do my favorite Bon Jovi song which they never miss.
"Someday I'll be Saturday Night" was another crowd pleaser, always is and I loved it. The song is amazing anyway and live it's amazing too. I always love to hear this song live. It's a live song really, even though it's great on CD etc it's one of those songs that comes totally alive when they play it live so I always enjoy singing along to that song :o)

They did a song called "Hallelujah" which I have only ever heard once before, and it was them singing it. I saw it on a video clip on their site. It is a slow emotional type song. It is beautiful and I haven't heard anything like it before and I don't think many of the audience members really knew the song. It was the quietest part of the concert, but it was one of those songs you can't possibly cheer along to because it's really deep. Jon had his eyes closed the whole time and he sang his way through the song and Richie stood next to the drum kit with a towel in his hand wiping the sweat off himself (no guitar in site) before walking over to his mic and joining in with Jon (towel still in hand). It seemed to be such an emotional song to sing for the both of them, when Richie wasn't singing he looking down at the floor and Jon never once opened his eyes during the song. Half way through Richie walked over to the side of the stage where his guitar man passed him a guitar which he put on and turned so it was on his back. Then he made his way back to the microphone and carried on singing, his guitar staying firmly in place until he moved it to the front when he needed it during the song. It was so strange to see Richie standing there singing without a guitar, it's such a rare site because he is the guitarist in the band.
When Jon introduced the band, quite a few songs before the end, it was interesting. There are three other people in the band, a woman playing violin and a guy on one of those country and western type guitar things (if you know what I mean) as well as another guitarist who toured with the band last year. He introduced the guitarist first, who was on tour with them last year, before moving onto Hugh who he said "would play for clothes", next he moved onto the other guitarist (the country one) player and the female violin player who Jon said should be at the front and them (Jon and Richie) at the back because of her sparkly dress. Then he walked over to the other side of the stage (just passed Dave) and at the side of the stage (both sides) were a group of fans so he went and stood by them and started to introduce Dave and one of the girls next to him (Jon) was talking to him and he said "you want to kiss me or him?" and she said something to him and he went "oh him, you want to kiss him or you want me to kiss him? Because I'm not kissing him" and she obviously said she wanted to kiss him (Dave) because he went "go on then, don't mind me I'm only trying to get on with the show. Let me know when your finished and I will carry one with the show". He then sat down next to the barrier and the girl climbs through and up onto the stage and runs up to the area where Dave has his keyboards and goes to grab him and step up onto the platform at the same time and they almost lose their balance. Jon then says "no tongues" so Dave grabs this girl and pulls her into a passionate clinch and makes it look like they are kissing passionately but it's obvious they weren't. Then he gives her a proper hug and she gives him a full on kiss on the lips and gets down off the platform and goes back to where she was standing during the concert – probably happier than she's ever been in here life lol. Jon then asks if he can get on with the concert before standing and introducing Dave. Then he starts teasing the crowd, because it's Richie's turn, and he says "the one you've been waiting for" and we all go absolutely crazy and I mean crazy because it was great to have him there because of all the problems he's been having we were half expecting him not to make it to the show but he did. So before he even fully introduced him we were going crazy and giving him the best cheer of the all night. Then Jon finally said his name and when I thought we couldn't get any louder we cheered so loud I'm sure it's made me go slightly deaf hehe. I think he was totally overwhelmed by the response he got from us but he deserves it, he got his mojo back during the concert and it was a true pleasure to have him back. (To know more about him getting his mojo back please carry on reading).

When they started to do "Wanted Dead or Alive" I was one very happy person. That is my favorite all time Bon Jovi song and I love it live. They actually call it their "national anthem" and ask that if anyone is still sitting to "please rise for the playing of our national anthem" and it's just an amazing song from when they keyboards come in until the last chord on the guitar. They always play up till the first verse and ask us if we know it and then get us to sing the first verse and chorus and the feeling I get every time I sing it at a Bon Jovi concert is just amazing, I get goose bumps all over my body. I love it!! Richie and Jon stood in the middle, just slightly to my left, and played the song on their acoustic guitars as we sing along and then when we finish the first verse and chorus we always cheer like mad. It is just an amazing thing, you know I can't even put into words just how amazing it is and how it makes me feel. Nothing will come close to what I feel during that part of the show when we sing that part of the song, it seems to last forever but at the same time it seems to go so quick and before you know it Jon is back in front of his microphone singing the second verse. It is just so wonderful, we always carry on singing loud during the second verse and the crowd loves this song just as much as I do as we sing and clap along. It's soon time for the explosive guitar solo as Richie walks to where his guitar tech is standing ready for him to swap from an acoustic to electric guitar. As soon as he strums the first note the crowd is screaming with electrifying excitement. I love that part of the song, it makes the song sound so amazing and the whole crowd surge with excitement at that point and electric runs through the whole body as Richie strums his way through the guitar solo. At the end of the solo we scream and cheer with excitement at the man of steel that plays that solo with such ease. The rest of the song right up till the end is just amazing and so wonderful and of course I wish that it wasn't going to end but that's probably just because it is my favorite Bon Jovi song and I can't help but want to hear it again. I cheer and scream the loudest I have done all night.
Once Wanted is over the band all leave their instruments and make their way to the front of the stage, all hugging each other. It's at this moment I know the show is about to end so cheer and clap and wish they were staying for longer. Their final bow came and Jon looked really overwhelmed by the crowds response (we were going crazy) so he turned to the band and said something to them. Then instead of walking off they walked back to their instruments and Hugh started to play the opening bass line to "Keep the Faith" and the crowd went crazy. Another great song and the show wasn't over was almost more excitement than I could handle. It was amazing and soon everyone was jumping and singing along and of course we all shouted "FAITH" and pumped the air with our fists every time it came to the word "faith" in the song and I loved it. I think I wasn't the only person loving it and I was taking pictures right up to the point of almost every "faith" in the first half of the song and just a split second before each faith I would let go of my camera so I could put my fist in the air in time for it. The guitar solo rocked, of course it did, and it was just so amazing to hear the song again. They have done it every time I have seen them live so it must be a song they do at every concert, maybe it just wouldn't be the same without that song. It's such a great crowd pleaser.

The song ended and they all came to the front of the stage and waved but there was no bow this time because they'd already done it. It wasn't long before they had left the stage and I knew there was no way they were coming back so I put my camera in my bag and waited for the lights to go up before leaving with the 20 odd thousand other people.
By this point I knew I had to find a toilet before my bladder burst but being at the front of the arena normally means a long queue to get out but I was very surprised to be out of there in less than ten minutes and in the toilet less than a minute later.
I was deaf at this point from the music, it isn't as loud down the front which you would expect but my hearing wasn't too good and I was trying to acclimatize myself to my surroundings in the light after being in the dark for over 2 and a half hours.

I was talking to my dad telling him that I really wanted to go to the after show party because Jon said he would see us at the after show party. I didn't think the band were going to be there so I didn't buy a ticket to go so I wanted to try and buy some tickets off someone to go even though my feet were in a lot of pain and I was tired. I knew there was some ticket machines inside selling the tickets but when I found them I found out they closed at 9pm so I was stood around with my dad just looking across the O2 entry way when a man came up to us and asked if we were wanting to buy some after show tickets. As you can imagine I was very happy to hear those words and even happier when he told me that he only wanted the face value of the tickets which were £20 each. I and my dad were stood there talking to him and his wife and I could tell my dad didn't really want to go and I wanted to go so it was a clash of ideas really. I would love to go and he was tired and didn't know what time the last train was so didn't want us to get stranded in a strange town and I could see his point and because my feet were so sore and I was so tired I decided not to go. I know that will be shocking to my friends who know how much I love the band but my feet were in pain (read my London blog to find out about that – when it's written) and I was tired and I didn't want to get stranded at the other side of London to where we were staying. If we were in Manchester or staying near the O2 then I would have gone but circumstances made me think it wasn't the best idea that we went and I don't regret it to this say (3 weeks later as I'm still typing this) but it would have been nice to check it out. I know I wouldn't of been close to the band but I was so pumped up and full of energy it would have been nice to have been in that atmosphere with all the other fans who were at the concert.

We eventually left the O2 and head for the underground station and as we get closer we almost fall over in shock because there are about 2000 people trying to get into it. They were all queuing in the door way and as we get closer we have to queue too. The last train was 30 minutes later and we were worried that we wouldn't get on. We are stood there around 5-10 minutes when the queue starts to move forward so we start moving and it isn't long before everyone is getting pushed because everyone wants to get on a train before they stop running. We are soon in the doors and the pushing is getting worse. Soon the pushing just gets silly and I am getting pushed into the woman in front who keeps tutting really loudly. The person she is with asks if she is being pushed and she says yes. Then after a minute of me being pushed into her the other woman pushers her out of the way and turns around and shouted at me for pushing the person she was with. I was so annoyed because I wasn't pushing her, I was being pushed forward the whole time and I couldn't help it so I got on the escalators and turned round and had a go at her because I was annoyed with her for accusing me of something I didn't do and being nasty to me about it. I wasn't going to take any rubbish off her for something I couldn't prevent so I made it clear that I wasn't pushing the person she was with.
We are soon down another level and looking for the platform to get our train but they are closed off and we are being directed to another platform. When we get down there we think there is no chance we are going to get on the waiting train because there were hundreds of people waiting to get on it. 5 minutes later and we are all squashed in there. I mean really squashed. I couldn't move or even breathe and it was a pain when someone wanted to get off at a stop. We were about 6 stops away which aren't too bad but it was a long journey really because of how many were on there. I was happy to get off it I can tell you that.

Richie getting his mojo back!!

Well as everyone knows Mr Sambora has had a tough year, first his bitch wife filed for divorce and then his dad died. He went off the rails a little bit which is understandable really. Two weeks before Bon Jovi were due to come to England and open the O2 he checked into rehab or as we find out now he was just detoxing.
Anyway before he did that he basically cracked up on stage during a performance, I think everything came to a head and he just lost it and then the next day he checked into rehab/detoxed. So I was wondering if he was going to even be at the concert and wasn't going to go if he wasn't there because there isn't a Bon Jovi without him in it. But the good news came from Jon Bon Jovi who announced a week before the show that Richie will be performing.
The concert opened and Richie played and sang like he normally did but his vocals weren't as loud as they normally are. I heard the day he cracked up on stage they turned his mic off/down so I thought that was going on too at the concert in case he cracked up again.
Anyway during "Whole Lot of Leaving" Richie did the guitar solo and it was amazing but then it went on really long and Jon turned round and stood watching him in astonishment and the crowd were all cheering like mad, he was really into this solo and giving it all. I could see he was returning to himself and Jon put the microphone to his mouth and went "he's back; Richie Sambora is back, welcome back"! The whole arena then roared into rounds of applause and cheers as he carried on with the solo, I was happy and excited and had a feeling of surreal-ness creep over my body and had tears in my eyes. I can't explain the feeling I had but I think everyone in the whole place felt how wonderful it was to have Richie back with us, he had been lost and it seems that being amongst his fans brought him back from the dark place that he was in. When the solo finished we were cheering so loud we couldn't hear Jon's singing but it didn't matter because it looked like Jon was fighting back his tears of happiness. As soon as the song was over Jon said Richie is back and then went and kind of hugged him and patted him on his back as Richie stood forward and took a bow and waved to his fans. You could tell Richie was totally overwhelmed by his fans and his reaction and we were just happy that he was back and his smile said it all really.

It was a chilling and exciting experience. I was worried about him especially when it was obvious his microphone wasn't turned up as loud as it normally is, I almost thought he wasn't better but I guess he wasn't at the start of the show but after that solo performance where he played better than ever he came back to us and I think maybe some of the sadness that had been clouding him was taken away. He got the biggest, loudest and longest cheer of the night and he deserved it and I was glad to be there and part of him finding himself again and maybe making piece with himself and what has been going on in his life in the past 16 months.

Set List

O2 Arena London, England ... Sunday, June 24, 2007

Livin' on a Prayer

You Give Love A Bad Name

Lost Highway

Whole Lot Of LeavingRunaway

Born To Be My Baby

It's My Life

You Want to Make a Memory

I Love This Town

We Got It Going On

Who Says You Can't go Home

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Bad Medicine w/ Shout

Any Other Day

Someday I'll Be Saturday Night

Hallelujah

Last Night

Wanted Dead or Alive

Keep The Faith

So to conclude….the concert was amazing!! Well more than amazing but what word is better than amazing? I don't know myself but it was above amazing, more than amazing. It was simply the best night of my life and I don't know if anything can top that night. The way I felt and still feel now is such an amazing feel that words can't even describe. The night itself is something that will remain with me for the rest of my life, the feeling that was running through my body is something I don't feel from day to day life so to be caught up in such an amazing feeling running through my body – the electricity – it's just something that I may never experience ever. Just imagine the best feeling you've had run through your body and times in by a million and you won't even be close to imagining the wonderful feeling that ran through my body that night. The electric and the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins made me feel so alive, like I wasn't there and was in an out of body experience, a dream. It's crazy, you are there but you feel like you are floating, your body has all kinds of things running through it and the music is so wonderful you think it isn't happening and that something so amazing and wonderful can't happen.

To be so close and see it up close was just so mesmerizing and special for me and worth every penny of the £600 that I paid for those tickets. I feel lucky and privileged and so amazed by it all that I can't quite believe that I was there.
They were great, they sounded amazing and the songs were their best. They captured my heart, my soul and my mind that night. The songs were some of my faves and I am happy they played them although I did want them to play "These Days" but I hope they do it at least one time when I see them live and I hope to be so close again in the future because being at the front is amazing. Don't get me wrong I love being in the stands because the atmosphere is electric up there too but it isn't as electric and as wonderful as it is up at the front, it's just a totally different and wonderful experience being there and seeing the band so close up and it makes you feel more apart of it all than normal. Just to be there in the thick of it all is hard to describe but if you have ever been at the front (this is the second time for me, first time was when I saw Meat Loaf) you will know how amazing it feels to be there amongst the fans, the life long fans. It is amazing but the energy given off by everyone down there is amazing and it fills you up and drags you into it.

The best night of my life, can't think of anything that ever comes close or will ever come close. It was amazing; the whole being called "cute", the part where Richie looked up at one, smiled and pointed at me during one song and then him throwing his plectrum to me at the end of a song is amazing. The songs, the venue, being in London and everything about it all just add to it all being the most wonderful and amazing night of my life. I loved it and can't even say to you now just how wonderful it is, I can't think of strong enough words to comprehend it all to you. Just that it was the most amazing night of my life and nothing will be as amazing and nothing will ever be the same again ever!!