another terrific concert

I was super excited for October to get here because I got to see BON JOVI with a bunch of girlfriends this past weekend. WOO HOO!! I have memories as a little girl of my mom listening to Slippery When Wet in the car. In the mid-90s my favorite Church dance slow song was "Always," and when I went to college and a friend and I were discussing what the "theme songs" for our lives would be, I chose Bon Jovi's "Keep the Faith." (Hers was "I Believe I Can Fly," by R Kelly.)

I heart Bon Jovi. I know most of the Keep the Faith album by heart. When the girlfriends all bought tickets a couple months ago, I dusted off my Always album, a greatest hits compilation from '95 or something, and put it in the car. WESLEY asks often to listen on Bon Jovi. Ummm awesome!

The show was great. It was in the Tacoma Dome, which I've been to once before, and we all carpooled down and had dinner together. We got lucky, since it was Homecoming weekend and restaurants weren't taking reservations. We were going to try the RAM, but it was PACKED, but luckily there was a much-more-expensive-looking seafood place next door. I don't even remember the name of it. We managed to cram two high tables in the bar together and order some real food. It was perfect. Our timing was perfect, we got to the concert in plenty of time, it was awesome. They even played "Keep the Faith" and I went a little nuts. Great show.

I started going to concerts when I was 14, and I've loved them ever since. My favorite part is being able to sing along at the top of my lungs and yet STILL HEAR the band. I really love concerts. I haven't been to a lot lately... it's hard to get away from the kids and all, plus find something me and the hubs would enjoy together, or else wrangle a friend into going.

This whole fun concert experience got my memories jogging, and I knew in one of my college notebooks (for Creative Writing class, when we did a whole section on "lists") I had started a list of concerts I had gone to. Well, I dug it out and decided to digitize it here on the blog!

Google is awesome... if I sort of remembered the city and year of a concert, I could Google it and find the exact date, plus in a lot of instances the whole setlist! Wowsers!

Here's my list....

6/23/95 - Live, Buck Cherry; Richmond, VA
8/5/97 - Live, Veruca Salt; Columbia, MD (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
6/22/98 - Dave Matthews Band; Virginia Beach, VA
7/98 - Third Eye Blind, Our Lady Peace, Eve 6; Richmond, VA
8/1/98 - Savage Garden; Harrington, DE (Delaware State Fair)
8/6/98 - Matchbox Twenty, Soul Asylum, Semisonic; Columbia, MD (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
10/98 - Third Eye Blind, Our Lady Peace, Eve 6; Salt Lake City, UT (SaltAir)
5/18/99 - Goo Goo Dolls, Fastball; Newark, DE
8/99 - Goo Goo Dolls, Sugar Ray, Fastball; Holmdel, NJ *
12/10/99 - Def Lepard, Train; Salt Lake City, UT
6/28/00 - Y100 FEZ 2000! - Stroke 9, Eve 6, Nine Days, Violent Femmes, 3 Doors Down, Lit, No Doubt, Third Eye Blind, Stone Temple Pilots; Camden, NJ
8/11/00 - Counting Crows, Live; Camden, NJ
10/17/00 - Matchbox 20; Orem UT (UVSC)
11/11/00 - Vertical Horizon, Nine Days; Salt Lake City, UT (SaltAir)
12/29/00 - SR-71, American HiFi; Washington, D.C.
2/20/01 - Eve 6, American HiFi; Salt Lake City, UT (Club DV8) **
3/01 - Collective Soul, Fastball; Salt Lake City, UT
10/27/01 - Fuel, Saliva; Salt Lake City, UT (SaltAir) ***
12/3/01 - Linkin Park; West Valley City, UT (E Center)
2/9/02 - Dave Matthews Band; Salt Lake City, UT (2002 Olympic Medals Plaza)
2/10/02 - Lifehouse; Salt Lake City, UT (2002 Olympic Medals Plaza)
4/02 - The Calling; Salt Lake City, UT (Club DV8)
7/02 - VANS Warped Tour - Good Charlotte, Bad Religion, Jimmy Eat World, Tsunami Bomb, New Found Glory, Trust Company, The Used - Salt Lake City, WA (Utah State Fairgrounds)

7/03 - VANS Warped Tour - Bowling for Soup, Sum 41, All-American Rejects, The Used - Salt Lake City, WA (Utah State Fairgrounds)

2/13/04 - Linkin Park; Tacoma, WA (Tacoma Dome)
8/7/04 - Incubus; Seattle, WA (KeyArena)
10/06 - Live; San Diego, CA

5/07 - Killers; Seattle, WA (WaMu Theater)

9/10 - Lifehouse; Monroe, WA (Evergreen State Fair)
10/13 - Bon Jovi; Tacoma, WA (Tacoma Dome)

* I WON tickets to this concert on the radio by singing a Goo Goo Dolls song. I LOVED the Dizzy Up the Girl album and knew all the words, so it was easy pie to win the tickets. Not only did I win tickets, I won a limo ride to the show. I took a co-worker, but I really wanted to take my brother Kurt. Because he wasn't 18, the radio station gave me sort of a hard time about it and I took the ungrateful co-worker instead. To this day if you ask me if I have any "life regrets," I would say this concert. I really wish I would have taken my brother. Sorry, Kurt.

**I GOT TO MEET EVE 6 after this show. It was AWESOME. The venue was a smallish club, and me and my friend Krysti waited outside for a couple hours and the band totally came out. The signed our CDs and some posters, and it was so very very cool. I remember how tall they were. I also remember getting stuck in construction detours afterwards and being really frustrated at how long it took to find the dang freeway out of Salt Lake. It was a great night.

***I GOT TO MEET FUEL at this show. I think I won tickets on the radio again. It must have been some sort of awesome experience, since I remember taking like 10 friends or something with me. I have a picture of me and Brett Scallions, and I look so young and really tan. I was a HUGE fan of Fuel at the time and it was totally awesome.

There you have it!!! Now what to see next....?
;-)