I knew he was coming before we came home to Texas over the summer. The ladies in my coffee group had discussed his concert set for October one morning in April (or was it May?) .... and long, long ago... back in my teens... he was a pretty big deal in my every day life. So when a group of ladies said... "We should go!" I agreed.
Lindsey, apparently, did not have the same fondness for Jon. He didn't want to be my date.
Strangely, neither did a lot of the husbands... so we girls took ourselves!
Now, it's a been a few years since I was in my teens...
Okay... more than a few... A lot!
But that means a lot of years have passed for Jon too... and there was much speculation amongst us ladies as to how the years have been treating him. He's over 50. What would he wear? Can you pull off leather pants at 50? Would it even be wise in the UAE heat?
... I'm no spring chicken either. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd make a late night outdoor concert... old foggie that I am. But, alas.... you gotta "live before you die" & "take a chance"!
So, with the careem (chauffeur service) car ordered, we were all set to rock-n-roll!
Did I mention du Arena is an outdoor venue.. in Abu Dhabi? We arrived near 7:30 pm. It was probably in the upper nineties with 60% humidity, but the sun was already down AND we had a slight breeze. So, we all immediately commented on how we'd lucked out and gotten such pleasant weather! Our tickets were for the general admission standing area somewhere in the middle of the venue's viewing area. After a stop at the beer stand, we headed toward our ticket area.
Side note: I don't really like beer.. but they had wine... snobby? Maybe.. but I'm over 40 and I know what I do and don't like these days. I wanted wine; not beer... even if we are at a Bon Jovi concert. I decided to get a glass of "red grape" and a bottle of water (for later). Little did I know, but they won't let you have the lid to your water bottle. I paid and then received a small clear plastic cup of red wine and an open bottle of water.
How am I supposed to manage two open containers at once? I asked for the lid to the water bottle and was told "no". Wait.. what? I'm still not sure why no one was allowed their lids, but I've got an idea. Remember this for later.....
After the concession stand, we managed to worm/thread/elbow our way close to the stage... well, closER to the stage. We finally claimed a small patch of breathable air on the left side a little in front of the spotlighting structure. It wasn't great.. but it wan't bad either. We had an unobstructed view of the big screen and you could see the stage if you stood on tip-toe. Of course, I'm vertically challenged, tip-toe wasn't going to cut it... it would pretty much be the big screens for me!
The night started with a (local) cover band I've never heard of. They were quite international with a singer from India, a guitar player from Australia (I think), and a drummer from South Africa (who liked to wear a rat head mask). It was quite weird, and yet, entertaining. After an hour or so of these guys, there was a half hour (45 minutes.. but who's counting?) break while the stage was reset for Bon Jovi.
Finally, the stage started to glow, the lights started to flash, & the opening chords of That's What the Water Made Me started to play... Bon Jovi was making it's way on stage. I took this picture not to show the band.. but to show all the smart phones that came out. EVERYONE was trying to get a picture/movie of the band as they arrived. I was laughing so hard.. it's a sea of screens! You can't even SEE the stage!!!
I'd like to say that I sang along to each & every song, but it would be a lie. The group has a lot of new songs out that I just don't know. They played a good mix of the newer stuff and the old classics I remember. I sang the ones I knew until I was almost hoarse. I looked up the playlist after the concert:
Jon is looking good, by the way.
He didn't try to pull of leather (smart man)... but he did keep his long sleeves until the Encore section. Bless him.
I honestly don't know how he (or the band) managed. It was sweltering standing in the audience... It must have been an oven on stage under all those lights. AND, the humidity was well up near 60% all night. He was "glistening" midway through the first song and visible dripping by the second. The guitars must have been slick... I can't even imagine how slippery the keyboard keys must have been. I thought for sure that at least 3 sets of sticks would go flying during the performance.
But the band put on a great concert, singing for well into 3 hours. It was a really fun, if not sweaty, night. We were all very happy.
Okay... see the open water bottles in this picture?
Let's return to that now....
When the final encore was played, the crowd literally did an about-face and started moving towards the exit. I really don't think there is a better way to describe it.. we were quite literally "part of a herd" that bounced/jostled/shuffled towards the exit... the ONE exit. Seriously.
People bought a lot of beer/wine/water/etc. Most people just tossed their empty containers on the ground, and, in a crowd this size, that amounts to a lot of trash... at your feet. Feet you can no longer see because you are packed shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, front to back with your nearest fellow concert goers.
Ahhh... now I think I know why there were no lids allowed. An open water bottle will crush when you stand on it; a sealed one won't. Perhaps, in anticipation of this mass exodus, the organizers had the forethought to realize that a sealed water bottle is MORE of a tripping hazard than an open one?
Who knows.. but I can definitely say that I stepped on A LOT of unseen trash on my way to the exit gate.
In any event, I survived the night in one sweaty piece.
I'm not sure that I'll attempt another outdoor October concert venue in Abu Dhabi soon, but Bon Jovi still rocks, in my book!
No comments:
Post a Comment