OTTAWA - Even after 25 years, nothing says big and sexy in rock 'n' roll quite like Bon Jovi.
Hours before they were scheduled to start playing, Scotiabank Place was a frenzy of stretch limousines with a platoon of tight-lipped security escorting hundreds of killer babes glammed up for a big night out.
But even a supermodel has to let her hair down once in a while, even if she has to go to Kanata to get it.
Even the good folks at the arena seemed totally unprepared for the crowd of 17,000 -- the largest Scotiabank concert crowd since U2 played the house in November 2005 -- who packed the joint looking for a big and sexy concert.
That's what you call a self-fufilling prophecy.
Few do sexy as well as Bon Jovi. Jon wasted no time getting frisky and funky, strutting and gyrating his hips loud and clear on We Got It Going On.
Not that Bon Jovi's setlist needs a whole lot of sexing up. After decades as American pop's poster boy, the band has plenty to work with. For two hours, the band -- Bon Jovi, with guitarist Richie Sambora, David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres and bass player Hugh MacDonald -- played some new stuff from their latest album Lost Highway, and a healthy and generous dose of old favourites such as You Give Love a Bad Name, Raise Your Hands and It's My Life before our early deadline.
For the first hour, the band sounded terrific. But the show ultimately fell upon frontman Jon, who's vocals sounded reedy.
But that was the only sign of wear and tear on Bon Jovi, who rocked the house with the energy of a dude half his age.
Like a gospel preacher, Jon counted down the years from 2007 all the way back to 1982, and with each year the ovation building until we could barely hear the band introing Runaway and Story of My Life.
There were signs the show would be huge. The tour for Lost Highway, the band's 10th studio album, earlier this month included 10 consecutive gigs on 10 consecutive nights.
They've been rocking for 25 years, and they know how to do it. And it looks like they'll be doing it for many years to come.
