From The Vault - BON JOVI

I'll embarrass myself a little bit here by admitting that not only have I seen Bon Jovi but bought one of the tour shirts. In my defense this was back during the band's early hair metal days in support of their second album, 7800º Fahrenheit. Bon Jovi had a couple minor MTV and radio hits by this point, but their nearly 30-year hold as superstars didn't begin until the release of their next album, Slippery When Wet.

I caught Bon Jovi on September 19, 1985 at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as the opening band for Ratt. Bon Jovi was clearly on the ascendency as they got a huge crowd response. According to multiple online sources the band's setlist on this tour was "Tokyo Road", "Breakout", "Only Lonely", "In And Out Of Love", "Runaway", "I Don't Want To Go Home", and "Get Ready". I remember "Tokyo Road" being the opener and "In And Out Of Love", but I could swear they played "Silent Night" at this show, too.

Ratt, for their part, was awesome. There might not have been a better time to see Ratt than on the Invasion Of Your Privacy tour. This was one of the first few concerts I had been to so Ratt's huge stage with multiple ramps and bridges across the stage was impressive. Of course, all the band's best music was played - "You're In Love", "Lay It Down", "You Should Know By Now", "Wanted Man", "The Morning After", "Dangerous But Worth The Risk", "Back For More", "You Think You're Tough", "Round And Round", and a massive drum solo from Bobby Blotzer among others.

Bon Jovi performs tonight, Sunday, April 7 in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center.