SamboraBlog

But even a supermodel has to let her hair down once in a while, even if she has to go to Kanata to do it.

Even the good folks at the arena seemed totally unprepared for the crowd of 17,000 -- the largest Scotiabank concert gang since U2 played the house in November 2005 -- which packed the joint looking for a big and sexy concert.

That's what you call a self-fufilling prophecy.

For two hours, the band -- Jon 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.

The band sounded great, tight and on their marks, although frontman Jon's vocals sounded reedy. But that was the only sign of wear and tear on Bon Jovi, which rocked the house with the energy of an aerobic instructor in a constant state of jumping, jacking and even doing a quick set of push-ups for heavens sake.

There were a couple of cheesy missteps, such as a time-travelling schtick when Jon-boy counted down the years to 1982. As goofy as it was, the fans got into the spirit, screaming increasingly louder for each year until we could barely hear the band on Runaway.

Also included were Lost Highwway, Story of My Life, and We Got It Goin' On.

The vocal highlight was Sambora's solo These Days, afterwhich Bon Jovi answered with (You Want To) Make a Memory.

Bon Jovi and Sambora performed Bad Bed of Roses out at centre ice before returning to the stage for Lay Your Hands on Me, Have A Nice Day and Who Says You Can't Go Home.

They've been rocking for 25 years. And it looks like they'll be doing it for many years to come.