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Bon Jovi > My show reviews > MAY 4, 2011 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
My show reviews
MAY 4, 2011 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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The last times of my tour when I touched Jon
Venue: Bell Centre
Ticket: Circle Pit 1, Row E, Seat 2
Pictures: Available
Videos: Available
I would never have thought that one day, I would be lucky enough to see Bon Jovi 7 times during the same tour and 5 times in Montreal! The quality and quantity of memories that I have accumulated during the last 14 months (oh yes, it's an average of one show every two months!) greatly exceed my expectations. I would have never thought neither that I would have the incredible chance of seeing my idols 18 times in 18 years! I must admit that if I had not been pregnant, I would have liked to go to more concerts during the The Circle tour (I already hear some people say: "Oh my god, she is crazy!!"), but my bank account has been crying for a while already!
In fact, if I had listened to myself, I'm not sure I would have bought tickets for this show... When the extra show on May 4 was announced, I was afraid of Martin's reaction, I didn't even want to tell him the news... All that I was telling myself was: "How will I go to a Bon Jovi show one month before giving birth? Why are they doing that to me?" In effect, I was going to be in my third trimester at that moment. More precisely, I would be 35 weeks pregnant exactly. Martin's reaction was extremely good despite the fact that I had tears in my eyes while telling him the news, and he was even the one who convinced me to buy tickets!! What he told me was: "It's not one more show that will make a difference at this point... You don't have any problems related to your pregnancy, if you want to go, go!" I also got reassured by some friends and coworkers who have had similar experiences. Afterwards, I was able to make peace with my decision to go to the show so late in my pregnancy and by an incredible chance once again, I was able to dig out a pair of tickets in the circle through the fan club; Sandra was very happy once again and personally, I was hoping to stay in enough shape not to be forced to sit down on my seat on the evening of the show! In fact, it was the perfect scenario in my condition, because security is at its maximum in the circle and it's a very safe place to be compared to the first rows of the floor.
Let's say that the elliptical machine that we have the privilege of having at home was of a great help to keep me in shape so I could enjoy the show a little bit despite the fact that I was in the last stretch of my pregnancy at that moment. To put myself in the mood and to motivate myself to keep in shape, I made a banner especially for this show:
I was looking forward to the show on May 4, but at the same time, I was not looking forward to it, because it meant the end of my The Circle/Live 2011 tour. I was under the impression that I was nostalgic in advance, because I was now used to get ready for a show. I couldn't get it through my head that it was my last concert until the next tour. I had a few watery eyes episodes again a few days prior to the show while listening to Bon Jovi. I knew quite well that the fan club tickets that I had been able to buy a few months prior were excellent once again. In effect, Sandra and I had tickets in the fifth row in the circle, the two seats beside the main aisle.
Six days before the concert, we learned a bad news about Richie, the guitar player. In order to preserve his private life in this review, since I don't usually participate in spreading rumors and I don't often get involved publically in the band members' private life, I will just say that Richie is not doing very well these days and the band decided to continue the tour without him until he is better. I would simply like to wish Richie the best and I hope to see him in shape soon again! Other fans and I were really wondering what a Bon Jovi show would be like without Richie... A few days later, we learned that his replacement would be Phil X, a well-known guitar player who, from what it seemed, was offering a good performance on stage with Bon Jovi.
Faithful to my personal tradition, I took a day off work on the day of the show to be able to get ready slowly. Obviously, I had already gotten all my things ready in the morning, a few things were all that was left for me to do in the afternoon before meeting with Sandra at her house. We had planned to leave the South Shore around 4hpm to get to the Bell Centre around 5hpm to go get our fan club tickets and we had planned to go eat around the Bell Centre. It was raining hard in the morning and I was not too happy about that, because with my hair that can get frizzy very easily with humidity, I would have preferred a sunny day for my last show of the tour! Moreover, it was only 9 degrees Celsius outside, the average being 17 degrees for this time of year. I had to change my plans concerning the clothes I would wear. Among others, I thought I would wear sandals, but I had to kiss this idea goodbye and put on my closed shoes...
I got to Sandra's house at 4hpm sharp, we left at 4h15pm to head towards downtown Montreal aboard Sandra's car. She felt sorry for me with my pregnant legs, it was out of the question to take the public transportation, because I didn't know how I would be at the end of the show! I had brought my hospital card just in case, it gives you an idea of the worst scenario I was expecting after the show!! Despite the traffic to reach the Champlain Bridge, we arrived at the Sheraton Hotel parking lot in front of the Bell Centre at 4h45pm! I was expecting worse than that on a week evening... We then headed towards the Bell Centre by foot to go get our fan club tickets. Based on the email received from the fan club a few days before the show, a tent would be near the ticket office, but with the rain, I was expecting that the fan club would settle inside the Bell Centre like in last February.
When we arrived at the doors of the Bell Centre, I saw security guards near a door and we headed towards them. I told one of the guards that we were there to get fan club tickets. He asked us if we had VIP packages or normal tickets only and he let us in while mentioning that the tickets would be at the table completely on our far left.
When we got in the Bell Centre, I saw a table on the left and another one on the right where fan club posters were located. I told myself that the security guard was wrong and that he didn't know that the fan club was on the right. Another security guard then talked to me in French and he asked me if I were coming to get a VIP package. When I told him no, he said: "Oh ok, it's the table on the left then!" I didn't understand anything anymore, but I still headed towards the table on the left... A man who was sitting down behind the table talked to me in French. I found it strange, because usually, the people who hand out the fan club tickets speak English only... He asked me to find my name on the list of names in front of me, I found it right away. It was not hard, they had put a little sheet on top of the other ones for the tickets in the circle! This little sheet only contained a few names written bigger than the names on the other sheets. The man lifted up this first little sheet to help me, but I told him: "No no, I just saw my name on the sheet on top!" He then asked me to sign my name and he checked my ID card at the same time. It's then when I realized how lucky I had been to get tickets in the circle through the fan club, because there were at most 8 names written on the little sheet and we could buy two tickets per member... The man simply confirmed with his female colleague who only spoke English that the protocol was the same for tickets in the circle and when she nodded positively, he handed me the envelope #4 with both my tickets inside. The whole process took about two minutes. I'm very impressed by the speed and the organization shown by the fan club since the beginning of the tour!
Sandra and I decided to go have dinner at the same restaurant as in last February. Despite the rain and our obsessive fear of seeing our hair and makeup get messed up by the rain, we arrived without too much damage at the restaurant called "Cibo & Vino" located near the Bell Centre. We saw, to our great joy, that the restaurant was empty apart from a table where people were eating. I don't know if the person who greeted us was the owner (I'm under the impression that it was), but he asked us if we were going to the show that night. When we said yes, he told us: "Oh ok! In fact, the last time that they came, it was literally the end of the world here! I hope not to relive such a busy evening!" It is the first time that I heard someone working in a restaurant apprehending getting too many clients! It's true that in February, the restaurant was packed when we had left! We had an excellent service from the staff and I ate exactly the same thing as in February, that is a thin crust American (all-dressed) pizza. At some point, the restaurant employees decided to put the Cross Road CD from Bon Jovi in the sound system; it was a nice initiative on their part, because there were several people who seemed to go to the show from the conversation bits we could hear!
We took our time to eat and still, it was not quite 6hpm when we finished our plates... The doors of the Bell Centre were opening at 6h30pm only and since it was raining, I didn't want to go get wet outside, so we stayed in the restaurant until about 6h20pm. There were quite a few people in the restaurant when we left, but it wasn't madness.
We stopped at Sandra's car to go get our things for the show while heading towards the Bell Centre. I felt weird when I crossed the last street before arriving at the Bell Centre. My tour would come to an end in a few hours and I was already nostalgic! It's as if I didn't want to arrive at the Bell Centre, because I knew that when I would come out, all would be finished. When I had attended every other shows of the tour, I knew that there was at least one more show coming up, but this time, it was not the case...
When we entered the Bell Centre by the entrance on the Canadiens-de-Montréal Avenue, the man who was scanning the tickets didn't quite know where we had to go to go to the "pit" as our tickets indicated. We didn't care about this, because we were aware that we needed to go to the floor! After getting in the Bell Centre, we quickly saw a huge poster with Polaroid pictures of people who had their picture taken at previous Bon Jovi shows, probably in February 2011. Several people seemed to have pens in hand, so we figured out that the poster had been made for us to sign on it. We got closer, we took markers and we signed it. The result guaranteed to be really beautiful. I took a few pictures, it can give an idea:
We walked a little in the Bell Centre hallway. At some point, we were at a merchandise stand when I turned around just in time to see Maryse and Geneviève go by in the hallway. Maryse seemed to write a message on her cellular phone, but Geneviève saw me right away, so we said hi. What were the chances of meeting each other in the Bell Centre hallway among 20 000 people?? Geneviève and I rubbed our pregnant bellies one against the other so both our babies could say hi as well! Haha We would have the chance to see them again once in the circle, because they had succeeded in buying tickets in the second row of the circle through Evenko a few hours before the show! We can call it being lucky! Fortunately, they were able to get rid of the tickets they had bought at first!
We went down to the floor around 7hpm, because Sandra had seen that Evenko would give away a few prizes including a guitar signed by Jon. Evenko had invited us to be at our seats when the draws would begin around 7hpm. When the usher who was verifying the tickets of those who were heading towards the floor checked Sandra's, he told us: "Oh, that's completely up front!" I couldn't resist and I told him: "Yes, I know, it's not our first time!" We got a lot of service when we arrived at the circle. We showed our tickets to the same security guard as in February 2011, I'm sure of it. Then, he asked other security guards to escort us to our seats, as if they wanted to show us where our seats were! It was the first time that guards took care of us like that, I felt important!
Before forgetting and to shed a light on the mystery once and for all, I started looking at the seat numbers at the end of the rows while moving towards the back of the circle. I'm now a reference for the seats at the Bell Centre, I don't quite know why... From all the times that I had been in the circle, I didn't think about checking for the number of seats per row and it is a question that people asked me a few times. So, in the circle, there are two "pits", that is two little sections of six rows separated by a central aisle. The rows are made of:
Rows A and B: 18 seats per pit for a total of 36 seats;
Row C: 16 seats per pit for a total of 32 seats;
Row D: 14 seats per pit for a total of 28 seats;
Row E: 10 seats per pit for a total of 20 seats;
Row F: 4 seats per pit for a total of 8 seats.
Therefore, in all, there are at most 160 people in the circle, what makes it a very privileged spot compared to the 21 000-people capacity of the Bell Centre; 99.3% of the people were behind us!! With the number of people compared to the number of security guards (a good dozen...) in the circle, I felt very safe and I knew that I would get assistance from them if necessary if I felt faint during the show! Like someone at work had told me lately, I was safer at the Bell Centre knowing that security guards and emergency medical staff were closer than if I were home!
Our seats were exactly at the same place as on February 19, 2011, in the left pit while looking at the stage, but we were a row further. Our seats were then exactly where I thought they would be! As close as this, it's not a row closer or further that makes a difference; we are close nonetheless! I quickly sat down on my seat (I once again let Sandra have the seat next to the aisle since she was faster than me to get out of the row...) to save as much energy as possible for the show and to avoid having my ankles swell too quickly!
Mary and Lucy, two friends of Sandra's whose seats were also next to mine during the Have A Nice Day tour in 2005, arrived in the circle immediately after us. We said hi and Sandra started talking to them a little. Among others, Sandra explained how happy she had been to receive my fan club confirmation emails when I had bought the tickets. In fact, I didn't turn my attention to their conversation very much, I was too excited... I saw that they had tickets in the right pit when they headed towards their seats.
Around 7h15pm if I remember correctly, two people came on stage to make the draws of the prizes given away by Evenko to thank Montreal's crowd for the support given to Bon Jovi. Among the prizes, there were bags filled with merchandise from the Bon Jovi online store, a Montreal Canadiens jersey signed by the band members, a pair of tickets to go see the Canadiens next season and the grand prize was a guitar like the one used by Jon in concert signed by him. I quickly figured out that there was discrimination in their draw; from about twenty prizes given away, the winners were all coming from sections in the Bell Centre; nobody was coming from the floor! We still waited to hear what the winner seat of the guitar was and we decided to go to the restrooms one last time before the show. Sandra asked a security guard where the closest restrooms were and he then indicated to us those at the back of the floor where I went in 2005 when I had attended a show alone (in other words, the "before Sandra" era...).
Big surprise of the evening: there was no waiting line at the floor women's restrooms at that moment! It was almost unbelievable, but true! Sandra was courteous, she let me go to the largest stall for disabled people and when I thanked her for the compliment, a woman who was in the restrooms started laughing and she said something to Sandra. While I was getting in this stall, Sandra then told the woman in English that I was 35 weeks pregnant and that I deserved the big stall to have more room! When we got out of the restrooms, we saw that there was now a huge waiting line at the restrooms entrance! We were lucky to hurry before the draw ended officially, because otherwise, we would have waited a little! I was so afraid of having to go during the show, it was now my main worry! Little side note: I felt less the need to go during the show than during the shows in February 2011! I was proud of myself!
It was probably a little later than 7h30pm when we got back to our seats. Even if there were no opening acts once again and our tickets indicated that the show started at 7h30pm, the experience of February 2011 convinced me that the show would not start before 8hpm...
Maryse, Geneviève and one of her friends arrived in the circle and we said hi again. Maryse had a seat in pit 2 while Geneviève and her friend were in pit 1. Maryse stayed with us to chat, because she had seen that she would be stuck between two guys and she was in no hurry to go sit down at her seat. I took the time to admire the Bell Centre once again, we were really close to the catwalk, only one row separated us from it... I recognized a few familiar faces of fan club members in the circle, it seems to me like there were more of them than before; it was fantastic to see that we were able to get tickets in the circle!
I waited a little before getting ready officially for the show, because the woman who was on my left had decided to put her beer underneath my chair. I found it weird for her to take so much space, she already had two beers underneath her own seat and the woman who was next to her seemed to have at least one as well with her... I will never understand why people need to drink so much alcohol during a show... A little while after we arrived, the woman who had slipped a beer underneath my seat took it away; she had probably noticed that she took too much space. I then got my things ready as usual by putting my large purse underneath my seat hooked to the seat by the strap and by putting my bottle of water on the floor underneath my seat. I took out my super pregnancy-related banner and I held it tight to the seat with the strap of my purse.
I put my fan club laminates and my pass from last February's VIP package around my neck; I also put my camera around my neck and I was now ready! In fact, no, I also took the time to put drops in my eyes one last time to ensure I would see correctly throughout the show with my contact lenses. I once again succeeded in putting the drops in my eyes rather than everywhere in my face, but I had to wipe my cheeks a little, because I had put in a lot of drops!
We saw several people getting their picture taken in front of the stage and Maryse asked us, Sandra and I, if we wanted to do the same. So nicely suggested, how could we refuse?!
It was about time that I thought about having my picture taken in the circle, after having gone 4 times in the last year! I asked Maryse if she wanted to have her picture taken in front of the stage. She accepted, so I took a few pictures of her and Sandra immediately after. I then went back to sit down on my seat. I was once again quite nervous and time now seemed stopped... The people who had the four seats of row F behind us arrived at the last minute, I even wondered if these seats had been sold at some point!
At some point, a security guard behind me was holding a sheet that I recognized right away when I saw it: the set list of the evening! Woohoo! I tried to see as many songs as possible, but he didn't let it unfolded for long! I was able to see that Hallelujah was there, but I didn't see Bed Of Roses. I then had no expectations on the way that the evening would unfold. (I had forgotten that the set lists don't always contain the complete song titles...)
I saw Gilda, a fan club member, and one of her friends arrive in the circle on the right side when looking towards the stage. They had several little phosphorescent sheets with them on which they wrote a few messages. She and her friend were in row F of the right pit. I don't know if they got a warning from security because of the huge carton signs they had in February 2011 that they were often waving in the air at arm's length, blocking the view of the people behind them. These little sheets were definitely more appropriate than the huge signs...
A woman came to sit down in front of Sandra in row D shortly before the show started. She talked to someone and Sandra saw that she had the same digital camera as ours in her hands, but with a 24X zoom (ours have an 18X zoom). Sandra then asked her, in English, if it were possible to see her camera more closely to compare it. The woman was very nice, she started talking to us about her camera. We learned that she was from New Orleans in the United States. She went to see Bon Jovi in several cities, such as Vancouver, New Orleans and she was directly behind Sandra on February 19, 2011. (Small world, she now had the seat that Sandra had in February...) With the company she works for, she had a conference in Montreal at the beginning of May and she had combined business with pleasure by buying a ticket for that night's show! What a nice idea! She told us a few anecdotes, such as one that involved her 11-year-old daughter who had gone with her at a Bon Jovi show. Jon supposedly wore a jersey (I think it was a hockey jersey...) that her daughter had brought and she had freaked out (with reason)!
She also told us about the latest adventures of Dawn, a devoted fan who follows the band as well and who was there at the show that night; she had a seat a little in front of us, in the third row of the circle if I remember correctly. She started by telling us that she received Jon's pants. When I heard that, I told her: "Jon's pants??!!" She then explained to us that for a reason I don't remember anymore, a tour crew member brought one of Jon's pair of pants one night by telling her: "Jon wanted you to have these..." MY GOD! haha I would like to know what brought Jon to give away his pants like that! Dawn also experienced a whole turnaround on the previous night in Ottawa when she showed a carton sign to Jon during Keep The Faith (I think that the sign said "It's a jungle out there baby", a thing that Jon sometimes says in concert after the solo if I'm not mistaken). Jon then threw his maracas at her at that moment. OK, I was less impressed by this than by the pants story, but well, she is still lucky!
Sandra also told the same woman that I was 35 weeks pregnant and she was really surprised to see that I was there! She asked me if it were a boy or a girl and if it were my first child. She told me: "If it makes you feel better, if your water breaks, you know you have 24 hours to go to the hospital if you don't have contractions!" I found her comment so funny! Sandra told her that she had suggested to me to leave my hospital bag at home when I left that day, because she didn't quite want to have to drive me to the hospital during the show! I simply answered: "That's exactly what I told myself this morning when I woke up. If I go into labor during the show, I might be able to enjoy it until the end!" We quite laughed!
Before turning around to face the stage, because it was now 8hpm, the woman told Sandra to tap her on the shoulder during the show if she blocked her view with her camera. I found it was so nice of her, she is a good fan who cares about others and I like it like that! Speaking of respectful fan, I asked Sandra if she allowed me to go in the aisle to show my banner to Jon at the beginning of the show so he would be aware of the message written on it. I didn't want to have to hold it at arm's length and hide people behind me! She accepted by telling me that she would step back in the aisle to let me pass. I indicated to her that I would give her a sign during a song such as Lost Highway and not during You Give Love A Bad Name (for example) not to disturb her too much in her excitement during the big classics!
At 8h05pm, I had the feeling that the band would come on stage very soon and when the lights went off in the Bell Centre a little before 8h10pm, the tension was at its peak in the arena. People started screaming and the giant screen started showing the introduction video of the tour while it went down slowly above the stage. I could see what the giant screen was showing a little more, because we were a little further than in February. I took this opportunity to take a few pictures of the screen. I then focused by telling myself: "Hey, it's my 18th Bon Jovi show in 18 years, my last of the tour, I have to enjoy it fully!" Despite the years that have passed since my first concert, I feel exactly the same thing when the show starts before seeing the band come on stage... The band members arrived behind the giant screen which was now hiding the stage and when the first notes of the first song were heard, I was very surprised!
The list of songs played was:
We Weren't Born To Follow
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
Superman Tonight
The More Things Change
We Got It Going On
Bad Medicine with Roadhouse Blues of The Doors and Old Time Rock And Roll
Lay Your Hands On Me
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead with Rockin' All Over The World of John Fogerty
In These Arms
Encores:
Dry County
Livin' On A Prayer
Blood On Blood
Before resuming my story, I would like to state that the media reported the next day that we were 20 026 people at the show that night and that more than 200 000 people saw Bon Jovi in Montreal in the last 10 years. The band's popularity in Montreal in not to doubt anymore, that's for sure! The show lasted from 8h10pm to 10h45pm, I took 4101 pictures of Bon Jovi only (I don't count the pictures that I took before and after the show) and I made 16 videos in all. I, who didn't want to take as many pictures as usual, lamentably failed! Well, after all, I had to make the most of it in order to have other pictures and I really have the feeling that I enjoyed it anyway. I don't know how I do it, my brain has to divide in two during a Bon Jovi show, that's the only explanation I could give...
OK, let's get back to the show story... When I heard the first notes of Lost Highway, I told myself: "OK... Already??!! I will show my banner to Jon right away then!" Usually, they don't start with Lost Highway! I waited a little, I took my banner in my hands and I made a sign to Sandra after a chorus (it seems to me like it was just before the solo). She got out of the row and stepped back to give me space in the aisle beside her seat. Jon was then playing guitar and he was looking in my direction enough to catch his attention. I then stretched my arms on each side of my body to unveil my banner; he saw it in a fraction of a second and he started reading it. He didn't even read it completely (I think that he had just seen "I'm 35 wks pregnant" based on his eyes movement) when he opened his eyes very wide. We could have said that they would come out of their socket, it was really funny. He started shaking his head like he meant to say "no" while looking at me in the eyes with his eyes wide open as if he meant to say: "My god, you are crazy!!" It was the first time that he interacted as much and as vividly to one of my banners, I was very happy to have caught his attention so early in the show! He then looked at the banner to continue reading it (I clearly saw that he was reading from the way his eyes were moving). I was then grinning from ear to ear. I then told myself: "OK, the seed is sowed, it's not in my hands anymore!" I then turned towards Sandra, she was freaking out, because she saw Jon's reaction as well. I then went back in the row, my message had now reached its destination! A security guard then got closer to me and told me: "Your banner is too big, you cannot have one that big!" I looked at him very surprised and I told myself: "Come on, what has gotten into you?" He clearly saw that I had hidden absolutely nobody, I had held it at the level of my chest the whole time! I just told him: "That's ok, he saw it, I will not show it again!" Security was stricter than usual about banners, I found it strange... I then put my banner back on my seat, my mission had been filled!
I was so happy when I turned towards the stage, I was now looking at Jon differently! Another thing that made me happy was the fact that absolutely nobody was blocking my view in front of me! There were no tall people in front of me, it was great; I was under the impression to be one of the tallest ones! I really loved spending a show without having to stretch and twist myself to see what was happening on stage! Moreover, Jon could see where I was during the show from what I looked like and what I was wearing! I then realized that Jon had very much reacted to my banner and I told myself: "OK, whatever happens, my night is already done and the first song of the show is not even finished!" I became really emotional while thinking that Jon now knew what I had wanted to tell him. I told myself that all the evenings during which I had made my banner in the last weeks were entirely worth it! I almost started crying while remembering this moment when he had opened his eyes wide while seeing my banner and his reaction kept on playing over and over again in my head! After the show, Maryse told me that she had turned around after seeing Jon do his face, because she was quite wondering what was happening. She had a huge smile while telling me: "And then, I saw that you were showing your banner and I understood why he was doing that!"
I was still on a cloud when We Weren't Born To Follow started; it's as if it took me a few minutes before gaining back full control over my attention towards the band. I was so close to the stage, I was distracted not because of the distance that separated me from the stage, but rather by Jon's reaction!
Just before You Give Love A Bad Name, Jon didn't greet us officially, a thing that I found weird. He just said: "So, let the fun begin!!" He seemed already satisfied with the fact that he was in Montreal and was receiving the same welcome as for the four other shows of the tour in Montreal. Phil X, Richie's replacement, seemed very impressed at the beginning as well by the crowd's screams; he made weird faces and he smiled a few times at the beginning of the concert while looking at us. I told myself when I saw him do that: "That's it, we will show you what a crowd that loves Bon Jovi is!"
During the solo of You Give Love A Bad Name, Jon usually points his microphone hooked to its stand towards Richie. That night, I was expecting him to do the same thing with Phil, but to my great surprise, he rather turned towards Bob Bandiera! I noticed at that moment that Bob seemed to do the solo instead of Phil! It's true that chemistry between Jon and Bob or Phil was missing a little bit, but overall and honestly, apart from the chemistry, I didn't notice too much that Richie was not there. I quite like Richie, but the music we heard was very faithful to what we are used to hear. Phil did Bon Jovi's specific sounds with the talk box and he was able to replace Richie in a very efficient way. He doesn't look like Richie physically with his long hair all over his face and his smiling bad boy look and he was not using the same guitars, but I am happy that Jon convinced him to replace Richie during a little while until Richie gets better.
Born To Be My Baby had a nice significance for me once again; I thought about the baby a lot at that moment. By the way, the baby stayed very calm throughout the show, to my nice surprise! It's true that the vibrations triggered by the power of the music could make vibrations in my belly, but well, I didn't feel the baby kick as long as Bon Jovi was on stage. However, he restarted right away afterwards!
I don't remember when exactly anymore during the show, but I started thinking about the delivery that was coming up in the next weeks by putting my hands on my belly (a thing that I did quite often by reflex). I remembered that the best way to go through the pain of contractions, if I judge by the readings I have done about it, is to think about something pleasant which distracts from the pain. I told myself at that moment: "The moment of being at a Bon Jovi show is exactly what I want to think about to help me go through it." Being at a Bon Jovi show has always been a great source of joy, peace and serenity for me and in my head, it's normal to think about Jon to help me go through ordeals and appreciate even more the nice moments of my life.
It took me a moment before realizing that the band was starting Superman Tonight. When my brain made the link between the music and the song title and I really recognized it, I told myself: "Woohoo, I wanted to hear it so much before the end of the tour!" In fact, I adore this song, but mostly, I wanted to have the opportunity to make a video of the giant screen when supermen are shown one after the other and that their accomplishment is written right after on the giant screen. However, everything occurred on the giant screen at the back of the stage at Tico's and David's level, so I had a hard time reading the displayed accomplishments. I know that there is a fireman, someone who gave a kidney to a complete stranger, someone who volunteers, but unfortunately, I don't have the complete accomplishment sentences. It's not too bad, the song was quite excellent and filled with emotion!
Before The More Things Change, Jon made a little speech on the new music stars, such as Justin Bieber and he said that Bon Jovi was there even before these kids were born. I don't know if the ironic message made its way in the crowd correctly, but well, judging by the approving screams and the age average of people around me, the irony passed well in the circle! During the song, I thought about the fact that it was my 18th Bon Jovi show in 18 years once again and I told myself: "Yeah, the more things change, the more they stay the same!" I attended my first Bon Jovi show a little more than 17 years ago and I was still looking at my idols in show with the same teenager's heart as in 1993... If there is something that I don't want to see change, is really my state of mind when I am at a Bon Jovi show!! I also told myself that the time had changed a lot since my first concert when I had needed binoculars to see Jon's facial expressions! I then had him in the face and with the zoom of my digital camera, I could catch Jon's facial imperfections!! I prefer by far being in the situation of the last years regarding the tickets that I was able to get rather than the 1990's one when I had to settle for the white seats at the Montreal Forum! Speaking about catching the details on Jon's face, I decided to share with you a few of my best pictures that I was able to find rapidly among the 4000 that I took that night.
It's My Life triggered the crowd to go crazy in the Bell Centre once again. This song will never be able to grow old with such a reaction more than 10 years after being written! I remember that it already made people go crazy in 2001, it was an instant success which will surely still last for several years!
I don't remember when exactly (I remember that it was at the beginning of the concert), but I saw that the woman beside me dropped a plastic glass of beer at my feet. I quickly took a look to see if she had spilled it on my jeans, but the glass seemed empty. I wondered why she had let the glass fall on the side like that without bending over to pick it up! I saw her squash the glass with her right foot when she saw that I knew that the glass had fallen on the ground... An even weirder behavior. I didn't want to trip over the glass, so I bent over to get it out of the way correctly away from my feet. Wow, she was really weird or she was starting to get drunk...
Since security seemed a lot stricter regarding banners, I told myself at some point that the guards might be stricter regarding videos as well... With my thumbs, I then decided to hide the two blinking pictograms that appeared in red on the LCD screen of my digital camera when I made videos. I looked at the woman in front of Sandra a few times during the show and let's say that her 24X zoom was making awesome pictures from the way I could see the previews on the LCD screen! I also noticed that she was putting two fingers on top of the pictograms that appeared in red when she was making videos! It's funny, we had the same reflex!!
Sandra freaked out once again when she heard the first notes of Runaway right after It's My Life. I then took the opportunity to crouch to take my bottle of water and drink a little. I was so thirsty during the whole concert, it was crazy! I didn't want to drink too much to avoid having to go to the restroom and do like the woman beside me. In effect, she seemed to regret having drunk a little bit all the beers that she had bought, because she got out of the row at least three times and she didn't come back with something to drink, which makes me believe that she had to go to the restroom from time to time! At some point, I told myself: "Well, I'm the one who is 35 weeks pregnant, I'm the one who should have a good reason to go to the restroom because of the baby pressing on my bladder!" It was out of the question for me to sit down each time she wanted to pass, so I was leaning forward on the seat in front of me and I was waiting for her to pass. I told myself that I wouldn't do the same mistake as in Foxborough when I got tired of sitting down to let people pass. If you want to go out, you have to settle for the space that I really want to give you!
In short, Jon didn't have the intention of decreasing the pace of the show after Runaway, because the band continued with We Got It Going On! I adore this part of the show, it seems like they want to kill us with all these songs with a very high beat! Jon went on the panels of the giant screen again at the back of the stage to be closer to the ones who had tickets behind the stage. The woman beside me was out of the row at that moment if I remember correctly and when she came back, she wanted to tell me something. I made her repeat, she was speaking English. I understood: "I just talked to security and Jon is coming here..." I looked at her, incredulous, and I told myself: "Yeah right, I don't believe that Jon will come in the circle during We Got It Going On!" I gathered that the woman was not too used to Bon Jovi shows... She probably mixed up the circle and the catwalk... She was so convinced of what she had "heard"... I'm not sure she wouldn't have tried pushing me if Jon had come down in the circle... Drunk people at a concert are the ones whose gestures are the most difficult to predict! I still looked quickly towards the front of the circle. I saw that a security guard was sitting down on a chair in the empty space where a staircase is located when Jon has the intention of passing through in the circle, that there was still a metal chain in this empty space and that the staircase which would allow Jon to come down from the stage to the circle was not there. I told myself that the woman had too much hope in her; nothing indicated that Jon would pass by there! It's funny, I was right, Jon didn't even go around on the catwalk during We Got It Going On!
When Bad Medicine started, I surprised myself singing really loudly, as if my life depended on it! Usually, Bad Medicine doesn't have such a big effect on me, I really don't know what had gotten into me! Two women up front in the circle (in the first or second row) put on a little nurse hat on their head. I found it was an original idea since the song is often associated with nurses, but not necessarily the kind who works in the health domain...
Jon took the time to introduce Phil officially to the crowd before the mix during Bad Medicine. People gave him a warm round of applause and he seemed touched by the crowd's reaction. When Jon said: "And he's Canadian no less...", the crowd reacted even more! Phil, on his side, was now smiling sincerely! Jon then said that he needed an appropriate mix to sweat and raise the temperature in the room. He then decided to use his usual charms; he took out his vest that he was wearing since the beginning of the show, completely showing his sleeveless black shirt that he was wearing under the vest. The girls strongly reacted by screaming and I must admit that he took out his vest so slowly, triggering hotter thoughts in my head! But nothing to trigger contractions, fortunately!
After having played a part of Roadhouse Blues, I stopped filming (I always make a video of the mix during Bad Medicine, because it's rarely the same song and it's always a classic rock song). What a surprise for me to see the band do a few notes of Bad Medicine and stop right after to better start another part of a song, namely Old Time Rock And Roll! Wow, two songs for the mix, this is rarer!! It brought me back to my memories of Foxborough in July 2010 when I had heard this song during which Kid Rock had joined Bon Jovi on stage to sing it with Jon! In fact, it was weird not seeing Kid Rock arrive to sing it! This song is really lively in concert! The people in the circle seemed really happy to hear it anyway!
When Lay Your Hands On Me started, Sandra looked at me and I then noticed that the security guards were getting busy at the back of the circle. A short while after, I saw a guard bring black ropes that they placed on the ground on each side along the main aisle during the song. The security guards asked a few women near the aisle to put away their personal belongings which were too close to the ropes, probably to avoid making anything swing in the air once they would pull on the ropes.
A few women tried to make their way to the back of the circle, I don't know if they were able to stay there, because security seemed to want to return them back to their seats... It was weird seeing Jon sing this song while I was used to seeing Richie do it! I looked at the crowd beyond the circle several times during the song, as amazed as always to see the entire Bell Centre sing! At the end of the song, the band started playing a musical extension to Lay Your Hands On Me (which was very lively by the way...) and Jon disappeared at the back of the stage. I didn't see him leave, I was looking at the crowd and when I turned around, he was no longer there! The guards had then started pulling on the ropes to stretch them. We were informed earlier by the security guards not to try pushing on the ropes, because it was hard for them to pull on them safely while keeping people from making their way and invading the space that Jon would use to go to the catwalk. The woman beside me seemed to want to pass to go to the catwalk, but with the rope at the level of our hips, I was wondering how she would do it!
When the lights went off in the Bell Centre, Sandra was able to make her way towards the back by getting the rope out of the way slightly with her hips and to my great surprise, I was able to do the same, even with my belly! While doing that, I took my banner which was still on my seat and I tried to hide it a little not to catch security's attention. Jon appeared in the shadow at the same time as I was moving. Even before I could realize how close he was to us who were really close to the staircase at the back of the circle, Sandra had had the time to hold his hand. I then looked up and I saw that he was there, but I was not fast enough to touch his hand or his arm. Sandra was already freaking out, I told her: "Ah shoot, I missed him, I was too busy grabbing my banner!" Women quickly gathered en masse at the catwalk and I realized that the woman in front of Sandra was now behind me. I think that the woman beside me was also able to make her way through, but I'm not sure... I was leaning against the black rope, but I wasn't afraid of hurting the baby, because I had it right below the biggest part of my belly and I only had to pivot slightly to put the rope at the level of my hips on the side of my body.
I noticed that Jon didn't change his shirt before arriving to the catwalk! Usually, he comes to the catwalk with a dry shirt, but he was still wearing his sleeveless black shirt! Anyway, without great surprise, the band started playing Hallelujah. I was still too much in shock of missing Jon while he had been so close to me! The security guard who was holding the rope on our side was near the catwalk, there was a woman on the right of Sandra and Sandra before me, so I was even closer to the catwalk than in February. I was also packed in more tightly with the other women. I was afraid of suffocating, since I had a slightly shorter breath than usual during the concert (and with good reason!).
I felt a finger tapping me on the shoulder a short while after Jon arrived at the catwalk. I turned around to see that it was the woman who was in front of Sandra since the beginning of the concert who had done that. When she saw that I was looking at her, she told me: "Oops sorry! Never mind, it's ok!" She did it again a few times and I don't know why, because each time, she would apologize when I turned around!
Hallelujah was excellent once again; I thought about Martin who still had not had the chance of hearing this song in concert. It's the song that carries the most emotions in show and hearing Jon sing it is an event on its own. I was then swooned, so close to the catwalk. I took a few pictures, but I was so close that I couldn't get satisfying results when I was trying to take a picture of Jon's whole body, even without using the zoom! What a nice problem, I didn't complain!
After Hallelujah, someone on the other side of the catwalk handed a guitar to Jon. This is when I told myself that he would probably do the same thing as the previous night in Ottawa, from what I had heard about, that is do a few songs at the catwalk without asking the other band members to come join him... When I heard the first notes of Diamond Ring, I told myself: "Oh boy, it will be weird without Richie!" The song was again filled with emotion and I remember singing at the top of my lungs during this one. I told myself that I would not hear Bed Of Roses if Jon had already taken his guitar, so I tried to put my banner in my maternity jeans. (It was not an easy thing to do with the particular elastic band of maternity pants!) Anyway, we were so packed in one against the others that nobody could see that my tank top was now lifted up and my banner was sticking out of my jeans on the side!
At the end of Diamond Ring, I saw that Gilda was directly at the catwalk on the other side of the staircase and she seemed a little stuck in fact... Jon saw her and he discreetly gave her his guitar pick directly in her hands. This is what we call service! Jon then got rid of his guitar, something that I found strange... My heart stopped beating and I stopped breathing when I heard the first piano notes of Bed Of Roses right after! My hands were trembling so much, I had a hard time reaching for my banner in my jeans! Jon absolutely needed to see my banner at the beginning of the song to know where I was located!
Jon then turned around towards us; a woman on the other side of the aisle tried to make him understand that she was there, she even tried to scream something at him. I barely had the time to stretch my arms to show him the banner, I'm quite sure that he saw it, but he didn't make a fuss over it. I surprised myself by saying: "Oh please!" when he got closer to us. He bent over (towards us), maybe he went down one step of the staircase at the back of the circle where we were, I don't remember anymore. I don't remember anymore where I put my banner during this time neither. Sandra was then holding his hand, I reached forward as far as I could and I put my hand near Sandra's. When I laid my hand, I told myself: "My god, Sandra has cold and damp hands!" before realizing that Sandra's hand was hot and I was rather touching Jon's hand on the side! Woohoo, I was touching Jon during Bed Of Roses!! I remember that I was smiling and my heart was racing at a 100 miles an hour! Jon let go of our hands, he headed towards the microphone at the catwalk and he started singing Bed Of Roses. I told myself: "I don't even take pictures or make videos, I'm trembling too much anyway and I have to focus now!"
Honestly, I don't remember hearing the song (even if I remember singing it...), I was too focused on a single objective: try to make telepathy with Jon so he would be close enough to me when the solo would start! I admit that even if I were hoping for it in my heart, it seemed to me like I didn't believe that the dance would happen to me that night... I got my answer when Jon started moving on my right (on the left side of the catwalk when looking at the stage) during the second verse. Jon started touching hands with people in the circle who were packed in near the catwalk and he was still too far away when the solo started, ruining my chances of seeing my dream of dancing with him become reality. I admit that it would have been awesome (the cherry on top of the sundae of my tour), but well, it will be for another time! It's some consolation to me to know that he didn't dance with anybody...
After the solo, Jon came back in the middle of the catwalk, he turned around and he sat down straight out on the catwalk right beside Gilda. I could see it in her face that she was flabbergasted that Jon was doing that! He started singing the part of the song after the solo directly to her and before the last chorus, he gave her a nice kiss on the mouth before standing up and continuing his way on the other side of the catwalk! Gilda was really freaking out and honestly, I don't think that she was realizing what had just happened. I saw her a few minutes later, I think that she had tears in her eyes... Anyway, she had her face on the catwalk and she still seemed speechless! It's really her tour after all that she obtained from Jon, but at this point, I don't know what is left for her to get from Jon in show... Let's hope that one day, it will be my turn!
To my great surprise, after the last notes of Bed Of Roses, Jon said that he liked being there, at the catwalk, he then turned around towards the stage and he invited Tico and David to come join him. I didn't expect this at all, since he had not done it on the previous night in Ottawa with Richie not being there. I looked on the right and I saw that Tico was almost beside Jon and he was grabbing hands with people in the circle. I didn't see David arrive, because he was already there with his accordion when I turned around towards Jon and I saw him on his left. A short woman suddenly arrived beside us at the beginning of Someday I'll Be Saturday Night and she was quite pushing, and we were so packed in to begin with... I didn't quite appreciate having her trying to forge ahead like that! I turned around and I told her: "Hey, no pushing!" She looked at me, she saw my belly and she told me: "Oh I am so sorry!" It seemed like she came to disrupt the balance that the other women and I had up until this moment, it got on my nerves a little. Throughout the song, the same woman kept on pushing, so I got tired of it. My legs were still strong, so I decided to take the means to make her stop pushing. I put my back against her and I started pushing back as strongly as possible with the help of my legs and my back so she would get out of the way. I let go of the push a few seconds to see if she would start again and when I saw that she was pushing again, I told myself: "Oh, sorry, but now, I'm really tired!" and I restarted pushing her back with my back, by pressing as much as possible with my legs. I was ready to do anything to protect my belly from being squashed a little too strongly on the rope if the woman decided to push more strongly. Anyway, she must not have seen a lot, because she seemed smaller than 5 feet tall and there were a few women and a security guard before the catwalk!
I saw David go hurtling off to the stage towards the end of Someday I'll Be Saturday Night and Jon stayed a few moments afterwards to start Who Says You Can't Go Home before running back to the main stage. We then went back to our seats like big girls. Sandra then asked me if I had been able to touch Jon. She seemed happy when I answered positively. Honestly, I don't remember much of Who Says You Can't Go Home. In fact, I don't know what I do during this song, because I never remember hearing it! I guess that I need time to recuperate from my experience near the catwalk...
I was happy to hear I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, because I love taking pictures of Jon during this song, I don't quite know why! The band surprised us nicely by starting Rockin' All Over The World during the song! I didn't notice, but Maryse told us after the show that David seemed to really wonder which song Jon had started playing. Fortunately, it didn't show too much, because during the solo, David had figured it out and he had started playing the song!
We got a nice surprise right after I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. When I heard the first notes of In These Arms, it took me a few seconds before realizing that it was this song... And I then told myself: "Oh my god, they have already played two of the four songs that I asked for on the fan club message board today!" I was really happy to hear it for the last time of the tour, it is really good in concert! As if I were not delighted enough to hear this song, after the first chorus, Jon turned around to David and he said: "And now, David Bryan singing the verse!" And David sang the second verse! Woohoo, it had been a long time since he had done that! While David was singing, Jon sat down on the stage beside him to give way to him completely! WOW!
At some point during the show, my legs started to be tired. My hands were also very hot and I could see that my veins were sticking out a lot on top of my hands... I told myself at that moment: "Hey, it seems like they will explode!!" My hands were hurting as well; I was clapping my hands so much on top of screaming often and dancing, it was normal for me to start being tired! I noticed that the skin of my hands was very dry and I even saw that an area of my right hand was red. I told myself: "It's like in the good old days when I attended Bon Jovi shows in the 1990's and my hands hurt for a few days after the show!" I noticed the next day that my skin had cracked a little in my right hand! Oops! Let's say that I have had skin problems since the beginning of my pregnancy; my hands are always very dry and the skin still cracks easily even in the spring!
I was also hotter than usual during the show, but still nothing to make my hair become wet from sweating. I touched my hair a few times during the show and I remember telling myself: "Hey wow, they don't become frizzy!! Long live gel!" I had decided to put a little bit of gel in my hair before leaving the house in the afternoon in order to contain the damage caused by the outside humidity. I wanted to avoid having frizzy hair when I would arrive at the Bell Centre after spending several minutes straightening them at home. I will need to remember this trick, it's also so easy!!
While looking in the bleachers of the Bell Centre, I noticed that there didn't seem to be empty seats, even in the upper sections and people were raising their arms in the air when Jon was asking for it. What fascinated me was to see people in the white, grey and blue seats behind the stage do the same. I don't think that I will get used to see this one day! We could see that there were empty seats in the upper sections behind the stage, but it's also normal, there were 1000 less people than two months ago!
Towards the end of the part of the show before the encores, even if my legs were hurting, I told myself, while looking at the band members one after the other: "See? I am tough, aren't I? Look at that, I'm 35 weeks pregnant and I'm still standing!" I was quite proud of myself, but at the same time, I was telling myself that despite my workout sessions, I would have probably not been able to do that two nights in a row! The best scenario about my physical fitness was coming true and I was really happy to be still standing on my legs! I also told myself: "It's not bad if I'm not able to walk or move tomorrow, it's my last show of the tour, I don't care!"
Another one who seemed in great shape was Jon. His voice was a lot stronger than in February, it showed that no viruses were affecting him that night! He was jumping everywhere and he had a lot of energy on stage, as we love him!
We witnessed a little funny moment during Have A Nice Day. (In fact, I should not find it funny, but well...) I noticed throughout the years that Richie sometimes gives the finger during Have A Nice Day, something that is still "appropriate" based on the message carried by the song... Since Richie was not there, it's Jon who did it that night! I was taking pictures at that moment and when I saw his gesture, I told myself: "Did I see right, or Jon just gave us the finger??" Do not start any rumors, it was not intended for us at all, Have A Nice Day is not a song which intention is to wish us a good day, far from it!!
I took an enormous amount of pictures during Keep The Faith to continue the tradition of hoping to have a clear picture with Jon's hands and his maracas. I think that I succeeded once again...
After Keep The Faith, the band left the stage, announcing the encores. The Montreal's crowd was faithful to its reputation of screams, hand clapping and cheers and the "ole ole ole ole". While the lights were off, I also noticed that a great number of women were sitting down on their seat in front of me to drink a little bit of water or simply to rest. It's the first time that I was seeing so many women do this at the same time, it was special!
The band came back on stage and I had mixed feelings about the first song of the encores, Dry County. Yes, I was happy to hear it once again, but at the same time, we heard it in February 2011 and I would have probably liked to hear another one. Jon was very handsome and photogenic in his baby blue sleeveless shirt when he came back on stage... Phew, blue is a very nice color on him... I thought that the choice of playing Dry County was a very bold move from the band, because the song includes a guitar solo that lasts for several minutes. Phil managed it very very well! Jon also seemed happy by the result, because at the end of the solo, he pointed at Phil with both his arms to encourage us to congratulate him. The crowd gave him a warm round of applause and even Phil seemed proud of him! It was also strange to hear Dry County with all the rain that was coming down at that moment in the south portion of the province of Quebec and which was causing so much flooding!
I saw two women in the second row of the circle in front of us holding an enormous fabric banner on which it seemed to be written: "I'll Be There For You". I told myself at that moment that indeed, it would have been fun to hear this one one last time. I also saw a fabric banner in the bleachers behind the stage. From where I was, it was impossible to see what was written on it, I don't know what the authors of the banner had thought of...
Before starting Wanted Dead Or Alive, Jon had a nice thought for Richie and he promised us at the same time that he would get better soon. What Jon was saying was very touching and he seemed so sincere, it was nice to see! He told us that he was counting on us to sing Richie's parts on the following song, something that we agreed to with pleasure. I was disappointed to see that Jon had decided to sing the first verse without asking us to do it! I missed Richie the most during Wanted Dead Or Alive, because Phil didn't have a double neck acoustic guitar, a guitar that is typical of this part of the show! I was fascinated to see that Phil was able to change his guitar on time for the electric guitar solo! What a pro!
I don't remember if it's during Wanted Dead Or Alive or Livin' On A Prayer anymore, but I clearly saw myself on the giant screen above the stage. I saw Sandra on the screen and I then saw myself with my pink tank top. I was singing at the top of my lungs and I had the time to raise both my arms in the air to see me correctly! It had been a long time since I had been on the giant screen that long!!
Jon didn't do his a cappella introduction at the beginning of Livin' On A Prayer! It had been an extremely long time since I had seen this! So long ago that when the song started, I told myself: "Well, is it really Livin' On A Prayer?? But hold on, they haven't played You Give Love A Bad Name yet!!" Then, I remembered quite quickly that the band had played You Give Love A Bad Name at the beginning of the show! I was really mixed up in my thoughts or I had a huge brain fart! haha
Jon seemed to want to do a last round on the catwalk during Livin' On A Prayer when he headed to the left of the stage and he made a few steps on the little bridge that allowed him to go from the main stage to the catwalk. I looked at Sandra, she understood like me that we had nothing to lose and she left for the back of the circle and I followed her by walking fast afterwards. The woman beside me seemed to wait only for me to get out of the row as well! Security let us alone and I quickly made it to a spot at the catwalk where nobody was so far. I was on the left of a security guard or a photographer, I don't remember anymore. I told myself that I had more chances to touch Jon if I had someone who didn't care beside me! I tested the stiffness of the material forming the vertical part of the catwalk on which I was now leaning against to make sure that I would not hurt myself if someone pushed me against the catwalk. There were no very hard parts, so I waited patiently for Jon to arrive near us. I really wondered how I had done it to have an incredible chance of arriving first at that spot while women were already gathering en masse in several rows a little further where Jon was currently located. I was convinced that he would do another full round on the catwalk at that moment... It was as easy to go to the catwalk as it had been in New Jersey when I had gone to the catwalk during We Got It Going On...
Jon came closer and the song was at a part where he didn't need to sing for a few seconds. I stretched both my arms upward, my hands wide open and Jon saw me. He then leaned forward, he took both my hands in his and he really looked at me. The moment probably lasted for a second based on a video I saw on YouTube, but in my head, he looked at me for a few seconds. He was leaning so much forward towards me that his face was in the shadow, but I remember how intensely he looked at me. The big fan in me dares thinking that he did this because of my banner at the beginning, but the chances that he made the connection are quite slim, so I'm not fooling myself... The way he looked at me was so intense, it was the first time that he was looking at me like that, I will never forget it! It's stupid, I thought about a million things during this second; it surprises me that my brain didn't overheat! In a second during which Jon looked at me, I had the time to think about how much I love him, how I was happy to be there, I saw my 18 years of passion for the band pass in front of my eyes, I was under the impression that he wanted to tell me: "Good luck baby for the delivery, don't give up, you are almost there!" and I was under the impression that he knew what he means to me. I then knew at that moment that I would have another moment to think about while giving birth to cope with the pain of contractions! When he let go of my hands, I instinctively put one hand on his foot and at the same time, I told myself: "Oh, but what am I doing there?! I could make him trip over and hurt him!!" Jon took a step forward to free himself of my hand, I was relieved to know that I had not made him trip over and I swore to myself that I had to stop doing that! I felt a little better when I saw a woman not far away from me do the same thing...
I looked on the other side of the catwalk and I saw Matt Bongiovi, Jon's brother, who I had a hard time recognizing! He was in the empty space between the first row of the floor and the catwalk and he was keeping a close eye on Jon. I don't know what was different about him (a new hairdo or changes to his facial hairiness?), but it took time for me to figure out that it was really him!
Shortly after, I returned to my seat, like every other woman who had gone to the catwalk. When I got back to my seat, I started singing really loudly to celebrate my last Bon Jovi concert of the tour. When Livin' On A Prayer finished, people applauded and screamed so much, it was really deafening! I thought that the roof of the Bell Centre would collapse! The band took their final bow and I could clearly see that Jon didn't seem to want to leave at all.
The band members started leaving the stage when Jon looked at us and he signalled the other band members with his arm to come back on stage as soon as possible for another song. The band members seemed to wonder what they would play. The crowd had started singing the "ole ole ole ole" again while the band members were on stage; Jon seemed really flabbergasted to hear that! It's the first time that I saw that as well! Jon made a sign to Phil to tell him the song title, but he didn't seem to understand what Jon was trying to make him understand. Jon had an acoustic guitar on his shoulder, so he showed a guitar chord to Phil while telling him: "Blood On Blood".
The members then started playing Blood On Blood. It was weird hearing this song at the end of the concert, because it is usually played at the beginning. In effect, it was ending my tour pretty well, because the first song that I had heard in March 2010 during my first concert of the tour was Blood On Blood. The tour had come full circle for me in a perfect way and I was now at peace with my tour, despite the little pinch in the heart to think that I was now hearing the last song of the show!
After the song, it was clear that the show was finished, I could see it clearly just by the way Jon took his final bow. However, we could see that Jon hesitated before he left, as if he still wanted to savor the crowd's energy who was still crazy. He put his right hand on his heart for a long time while looking at us and he finally went down the stairs at the back of the stage. The lights turned on in the Bell Centre a few moments later.
I started gathering my things, Sandra went quickly towards the front of the circle and she came back a few moments later with a hard copy of the official set list. I took the opportunity to take a picture of the sheet for me to have a souvenir as well. Finally, Blood On Blood was not planned, but it was part of the audible songs which can be added to the set list as the band pleases during the show.
We had to leave the circle quickly, because security guards made us understand that we couldn't stay there for long. Anyway, people were already busy removing the chairs and breaking down the stage! Sandra had the time to say goodbye to Lucy and Mary one last time, they wished me good luck and congratulated me for the baby's upcoming birth. I thought it was really nice of them to say these beautiful words!
We got together with Maryse, Geneviève and her friend (in fact, I think that Maryse came to join us when we were still not out of the circle yet, but I don't remember anymore!) outside the circle. We talked a little, until security guards came to tell us that it was time for us to leave.
When we headed towards the back of the floor to go up the stairs of a section in the red seats to reach the Bell Centre main hallway, the woman who had been in front of Sandra was close to us and she also wished me good luck with the baby. It's really too bad that I didn't think of asking her for her name, she was so nice! Let's hope that she is a fan club member and that our paths will cross again one day. (I don't even doubt it!) I had a hard time going up the stairs to reach the Bell Centre main hallway, my legs were so stiff!! But well, that's life!
Right before leaving the Bell Centre, I heard a man behind me tell the woman he was with: "Anyway, floor tickets must cost a leg and an arm!" His comment made me smile, I had to keep me from turning around and telling him: "Yes, you have no idea!" After coming out of the Bell Centre, I told Sandra that we had paid a lot of money for the tickets, but that everything that had happened with these tickets was really worth it. She really agreed with me. I would like to see the ticket price go down a little in a future tour (even if I doubt it), but the circle idea was excellent. The tickets in the circle allowed me to touch Jon so many times in the past year that I hope that a similar design will be used next time!
Sandra and I walked quickly to go to the parking lot where her car was. It was still raining outside, but we didn't care anymore. The show was finished, my hair was not too frizzy and I would go to sleep soon! When we got to the car, the baby started having the hiccups, it reassured me to know that he was OK (even if I don't particularly like his repetitive hiccups episodes!), because I didn't feel him all evening!
We got stuck in traffic going back to the South Shore, we didn't quite understand why there was so much traffic in fact! I came back home, very tired and with my ears ringing a little, but I was also very delighted. I was able to go to bed around 1ham after taking the time to drink water and relax a little.
We are now two days after the show. Yesterday, the day following the show, I had a kind of hangover feeling. I was a little dehydrated and I had very mild nausea, I was tired, but so delighted. My legs were sore (and they still are a little...), the upper part of my body was a little sore as well. Today, I feel better, but I feel like the adrenaline is fading away and I fear the next days a little when I'll realize that I don't have other concerts coming up...
For those who wonder, I made a little compilation in numbers about my tour... It's crazy to think that in the last 14 months:
I wrote 128 pages worth of Bon Jovi show reviews in French;
I wrote 121 pages worth of Bon Jovi show reviews in English;
I took a little more than 21 000 Bon Jovi pictures (I'm not kidding...);
I made 136 Bon Jovi videos;
I paid a little more than 2480$ for my tickets only;
I was with Bon Jovi for about 19 hours.
Finally, I end this review with a heavy heart, because my tour is finished... I had a lot more fun during the last year than I could have imagined and this is what I need to remember instead of getting overwhelmed with nostalgia! It's now time for me to focus on taking care of creating at least another Bon Jovi fan... At least, if I don't succeed in creating a Bon Jovi fan, I hope to teach my child that it's extraordinary to have such an alive passion like mine and encourage him to pursue and reach for the happiness that I have the chance of knowing for 18 years now!
Copyright © May 6, 2011 Marie-Hélène Cyr
Orthodontics - Orthognathic surgery
Surgical patient's guide
OCTOBER 20, 2006 - The installation of my first braces
DECEMBER 8, 2006 - The installation of my lower braces
DECEMBER 13, 2007 - The removal of my wisdom teeth
MARCH 15, 2008 - My surgery (2 days before my first surgery)
MARCH 17, 2008 - News about Marie-Hélène (email sent by my husband)
MARCH 19, 2008 - Update (email sent by my husband)
MARCH 19, 2008 - Update (Take 2) (email sent by my husband)
MARCH 21, 2008 - News from the surgical patient!
MARCH 25, 2008 - Other news and first new pictures
APRIL 1, 2008 - Nothing but good news
APRIL 8, 2008 - Latest news
APRIL 14, 2008 - Not so good news
APRIL 15, 2008 - RE: ** UPDATE ** Not so good news
APRIL 15, 2008 - News from the second surgery (email sent by my husband)
APRIL 18, 2008 - News from the one that is slowly recuperating from her second surgery
APRIL 22, 2008 - News... again!
MAY 1, 2008 - After 6 weeks of appointments...
JUNE 6, 2008 - On the right track
AUGUST 27, 2008 - News!
NOVEMBER 17, 2008 - Another ordeal
DECEMBER 17, 2008 - Good news before Christmas
FEBRUARY 10, 2009 - The ugly duckling turned into a swan
FEBRUARY 9, 2012 - My teeth are acting up again!
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 - Appointment with my surgeon for my jaws
MARCH 20, 2012 - I will probably get out of it without braces!
Pictures & X-rays
Before/after the treatments
Before the braces/surgeries
After the surgeries
After the braces
DECEMBER 10, 1993 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
AUGUST 3, 1995 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NOVEMBER 28, 2000 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MAY 19, 2001 - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
JULY 19, 2001 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
FEBRUARY 21, 2003 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DECEMBER 14 & 15, 2005 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NOVEMBER 14 & 15, 2007 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MARCH 19 & 20, 2010 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
MAY 27, 2010 - East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
JULY 24, 2010 - Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA
FEBRUARY 18 & 19, 2011 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
JULY 9, 2012 - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
APRIL 20, 2013 - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
NOVEMBER 1 & 2, 2013 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NOVEMBER 8, 2013 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
APRIL 7, 2018 - Newark, New Jersey, USA
MAY 17 & 18, 2018 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
My Bon Jovi pictures
MARCH 19, 2010 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NOVEMBER 1, 2013 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
MAY 17, 2018 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
My Bon Jovi videos
My texts and poetry
That Power Called Love (1997)
For My 5 Years of Devotion (1998)
6 Years (1999)
I Love You Because (2000)
10 Years - One Decade (2003)
Already 10 Years of Love (2003)
Deception of a Fan (2003)
Living In a Dream (2003)
You and I (2003)
Time Goes By Fast... When You're in Love (2004)
For Half My Life... (2005)
Have a Nice Day Farewell (2006)
15 Years Ago ... on February 21, 1993... (2008)
My Love Celebrates Its Sweet 16 (2009)
What You Mean to Me (2011)
My dental articles
My miscallenous texts
My professional achievements
My meetings with Canadian astronauts
Site map | Conditions of use
Copyright © 2008-2021 Marie-Hélène Cyr. Version 4.8.1. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Kot is the surname of a Polish szlachta (nobility) family.

The surname derives from the nickname with the literal meaning "cat".

The first mention of the name was in the 13th century.  describes the surname in his Herbarz polski as belonging to Piława coat of arms. The Kot family uses the Doliwa, Pilawa, Rola, or Kot Morski coat of arms.

Notable persons with Kot surname
Andrzej Kot (1946–2015), Polish designer
Antoni Kot, Polish footballer
Eric Kot (born 1966), Hong Kong singer and actor
Igor Kot (born 1980), Russian footballer
Jakub Kot (born 1990), Polish ski jumper
Karol Kot (1946–1968), Polish serial killer
Maciej Kot (born 1991), Polish ski jumper
Myroslava Kot (1933–2014), Ukrainian embroider
Natalia Kot (born 1938), Polish artistic gymnast
Serhiy Kot (1958–2022), Ukrainian historian
Stanisław Kot (1885–1975), Polish scientist and politician, member of the Polish Government in Exile
Tomasz Kot (born 1977), Polish actor
Wincenty Kot (c. 1395 – 1448) Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland, vice-cancellarius regni Poloniae.

References

Surnames
Polish noble families
Polish-language surnames

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Identifying plagiarized jokes? I'd like to be able to identify duplicate jokes posted on a website. I can build up a reasonably large database of previously-posted jokes, and then I'd like to look at each new joke as it comes in and pick out the most "similar" jokes from the database and spit them out, in order, if my confidence that the new joke is a duplicate is above some threshold.
I could look for exact character-by-character matches but that's not very interesting, and it would fail to catch "near duplicates." For example, I'd like the following two jokes to be considered the same:

Three men walk into a bar. The first one says "ouch!", the second one says "ouch!" The third one ducks.
Three men go to the bar. The first one says "ow!!!!", the second one says "OWW!!!!!", the third one ducks.

I imagine that many duplicate jokes involve names of characters being swapped out (i.e. a story about "Little Suzy" rather than "Little Johnny", or a joke about the president with "Barack Obama" swapped for "George Bush"), and I'd like those to be counted as the same joke, too.
I've been reading about plagiarism detection algorithms and none of them seem to quite fit, since they're geared towards much larger texts (the average joke is probably only a few dozen words), or they rely on some special property of academic work (i.e. citation analysis).
I found a paper at one point that I haven't been able to find again that I thought was an interesting that went something like this: collapse each text into a vector v such that if the ith word of your vocabulary appears n times, then the value of v_i is n. Then when you get a new joke, compute the distance between it and all of the other vectors you've built; the closest vector is the most likely source text. It explored a few different variations on the idea and compared their effectiveness.
This seems like a sensible idea to me, but I wonder if it won't be too sensitive to things like swapping out names, and I can't find the paper again to check the exact details of how they handled it.
I'm not sure how I could apply other machine learning techniques to this, like an SVM or neural net, since it's basically a classification problem over a few thousand different classes with no more than a handful of examples for each class. And there's no nicely-labeled dataset out there of duplicate jokes, as far as I know.
What's a reasonable strategy for this? Can anyone point me in the direction of useful literature?
(This project is purely for fun, and I'm just looking for some semi-reasonable approximation. I know that NLP in general is very hard to do and that a real, accurate answer to this would be virtually impossible.)
EDIT (in response to the dupe flag): as I've sketched out in some comments, I don't think that string edit distance is a great approach to this because:

*

*it places inappropriate weight on swapping out things consisting of multiple characters that shouldn't change the meaning (names, for example)

*it requires me manually figuring out a good threshold for a positive match; there's no dataset for me to test it on

*it cares about order: I'd rather have something like a bag-of-word approach because a joke can be substantively the same while flipping around sentences

*it's potentially expensive: whenever I see a new entry, I need to recompute its string edit distance against every single joke I've seen

*it's not very interesting (I'm doing this for fun, after all) and I'm not convinced that there isn't an algorithm that better captures the notion of "joke similarity" than straight character-by-character comparison; if someone has evidence that string edit distance is the best tool for this job, I'm open to hearing that --- but that's not an argument provided by the answer linked in the dupe flag

A: The simplest, naive algorithm to account for name changes skewing your edit-distance results would be to filter out proper names.
English is relatively easy to identify proper names and there are probably established algorithms and libraries out there for it. We used something similar using a Part Of Speech tagger a few years ago, but we were using (expensive) commercial packages. Again, there are probably other alternatives out there. Then, just identify proper names like Johnny or Suzy or Barack Obama, strip them out, and run an edit distance between what's left.
There are many ways to improve results based on that basic idea - try to identify common variations in duplicates and remove them as noise from your edit distance. For example, you can match and replace known synonyms with canonical representations so that "bar/pub" or "enter/go in/walk into" would be collapsed to one representation. Assuming typos and spelling mistakes are an option, a "Did you mean..." tagger could also help.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Oliver – Cerebral Palsy
Three-year-old Oliver has cerebral palsy. Thanks to his specialist tricycle, he now has the confidence to play outside with his friends.
Oliver is a bright and active boy, mum, Abby says his disability makes him unable to stand or walk without support. As she explained: "Oliver's condition affects his posture, movement and mobility. He is weaker than other children his age and he has low muscle tone and control. As a result he is unable to ride a standard bicycle, something that he desperately wanted to do. As his mum it's been heart-breaking to see Oliver watching his friends enjoying themselves on their bikes when he's been unable to join in."
Oliver has finally been given the chance of playing outside with his friends.
Abby says that the tricycle hasn't just helped Oliver, it's had a positive impact on the whole family. She said: "The trike has made Oliver so happy, he absolutely loves it. It's bright red, his favourite colour, and he enjoys being taken up to Cannock Chase where he can cycle, with his friends, on the tarmac bike tracks there.
It's given him so much more confidence. Other children, teenagers and adults are all interested in the trike because it looks so sporty and they ask him about it, which means he's talking to lots of new people. You can't imagine how happy this has made me feel. I can't thank Caudwell Children enough for making this happen."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Old Town Alexandria Boutique Gets New Owners
Two local retail sisters to own Mint Condition.
Katie Coslov, Toni Henderson and Megan Podolsky. Photo contributed
Designer and luxury consignment boutique Mint Condition has new owners. Toni Henderson, who was the founder and opened the boutique 10 years ago in Old Town, sold the business to two sisters who have experience in the City. Megan Podolsky, owner of children's consignment store 529 Kids Consign and the president of the Old Town Boutique District, and Katie Coslov, director of operations at The Shoe Hive, purchased the store recently from Henderson. Henderson will be leaving the area and is relocating to be closer to loved ones.
When Henderson decided to relocate, she was looking for individuals who might be interested in purchasing the business, but most importantly, individuals who would understand Mint Condition, Old Town and have a successful background in the retail arena.
Henderson had been thinking of Podolsky with her consignment experience and ties to the Old Town community. The two have known each other since 2010, and Podolsky and Coslov are also long-time consignors at Mint Condition. Henderson had her broker reach out to Podolsky directly in early July. The three women scheduled a dinner the following week and "It couldn't have been a better fit," said Henderson.
Podolsky's career in retail/merchandising began in the mid-'90s standing in front of a woodsy Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F). After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, she managed multiple A&F stores before she moved on to an assistant buyer position in contemporary dresses at the local Arlington based retailer Hecht's (now Macy's). She moved onto different facets of the business at Calvin Klein Jeans (CKJ). Podolsky worked her way from retail coordinator to East-Coast regional manager helping to create the Calvin Klein aesthetic in department stores from Boston to Miami. After her first son Ethan was born, her position at CKJ was eliminated, due to the harsh economic conditions at the time and this is when she came up with the idea to launch a kids consignment business. 529 became a popular "pop-up" shop in the Alexandria area and once the following was big enough, a brick and mortar store in historic Old Town followed and has been a destination for kids clothing for 10 years.
Coslov has been the director of operations at The Shoe Hive for the past three years. Born and raised in Texas, she graduated from The University of Arizona with a major in Retail & Consumer sciences and has worked for numerous other retail brands, such as Banana Republic and Louis Vuitton. Wanting something family-oriented, with a close tie to its community and its customers brought her looking for work in Old Town. Prior to getting back into the retail world, Coslov was the vice president of sales for her family's company in the scrap metal recycling industry. Trading her hardhat and boots for boutique threads, she found a fit at The Shoe Hive & The Hive. Coslov and her husband Ryan moved to the Alexandria area in 2016 and have a nine-month-old baby girl.
"I am proud and grateful to have owned and operated Mint Condition for the last ten years," said Henderson. "I've learned invaluable lessons about business, community, friendship and beyond. I love the store and am thrilled and humbled to reflect back on how it has grown, it has been a wonderful experience, but it was time for my next chapter. Mint Condition has become an Old Town staple and the consignors, customers, and staff make up a unique family. Megan and Katie were already part of that family. I couldn't be happier to pass the torch to this fantastic team and am confident they will only continue to do great things for this special business in this special community."
"When Toni reached out to me about this opportunity, I was not only honored but extremely excited," said Podolsky. "I called Katie immediately, as I knew this was our chance to put our love of fashion and passion for our community together in one special place. Katie and I are thrilled to take over the reins at Mint Condition and honor Toni's legacy while continuing to grow a successful and flourishing business."
Podolsky and Coslov — who are sister-in-laws — plan to shadow Henderson over the next month during the transition period and will keep things business as usual. They also plan to create additional store events and partner with other area small businesses on community collaborations.
Mint Condition is located at 103 S. Saint Asaph St.
Spotlight on Alexandria Businesses
From Old Town Boutique District: How to Consign Clothes
Alexandria Commentary: A Father/Daughter Bond
Boutique Week is Oct. 10-18


Personalized flasks are a great engraved gift or promotional item for bars, parties, wedding favors, adult events and much more. Anyone who drinks can use one and chances are a good majority of your target market drinks! This is a unique and rare type of drinkware that is also found in many souvenir shops around the world.
Printed flasks with your logo are an excellent way for people to remember the place they travelled, the company event they had a good time at or the party they attended. If you are throwing a big party or having a large get together than you want to make sure people have a great time. You have to plan for food, entertainment, drinks and more. A custom flask with your phrase or saying is a great way for people to remember the awesome time they had at your event. This is true for both personal and corporate parties. Some of our clients even serve their drinks in flasks!
Flasks are increasingly popular as a wedding gift / favor. Since they can be engraved with both the bride and grooms name, it makes them a fun choice for weddings. The great thing about an engraved design is that it will not wear off like a printed one. You may be thinking, isn't this a gift more suited for the groom? Not necessarily as some of our clients have bought flasks for the bride as well. Whether a wedding or not, a flask is a unisex promotional item and can be made for a dad, brother or boyfriend just as easily as it can for a mom, sister or girlfriend.
Our personalized engraved flasks can be ordered easily on our website and are available at bulk wholesale pricing. Ordering is as simple as uploading your logo and filling out a few details. Once we receive your request we will make you a free digital image proof to approve. As soon as we get your approval we will send your flasks off to production!


The workshop on Stochastic Models and Control (SMC) 2019 in Cottbus is the 12th edition in the series of these conferences where the last were held in Trier 2017, Kaiserslautern 2015, and Berlin 2013. At SMC experts from different fields of stochastic control and optimization meet to exchange ideas and to discuss recent developments. The workshop aims to connect theory with applications which can be found in various areas like stochastic networks, game theory, statistics, operations research, finance and insurance, energy economics, molecular dynamics, robotics, communication technology. The goal is to foster existing collaborations and to identify and explore directions for future research.
Besides the invited talks there will also be the opportunity to give a contributed talk.
The workshop will start Tuesday, March 19, 9:15 am and will end on Friday, March 22, after lunch.
Cottbus is a university city and modern centre of the Lusatia region of around 100,000 inhabitants. It is situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the southern edge of the famous Spreewald Forest and north of the developing man-made Lusatian Lake District. Spreewald Forest is a biosphere reserve of UNESCO where the river Spree branches out into hundreds of smaller streams making up a unique and mystical water maze in Central Europe. Cottbus is also one of the cultural centers of the Wends and Sorbs, a Slavic ethnic minority in Germany. So do not wonder at the bilingual street signs.
The workshop is hold at the campus of the BTU in Cottbus. BTU was founded in 1991 and as technical university of the federal state of Brandenburg with campuses in Cottbus and Senftenberg.
The venue for all lectures is Zentrales Hörsaalgebäude (ZHG), Lecture Room (Hörsaal) C, for a campus map see here.
For directions and maps of the city center and the vicinity of the campus see here.
The registration prices below include the conference registration fee, conference bag, coffee breaks, the conference dinner and the excursion. We have discount prices for students, and there is also an option to have further tickets for the dinner including the excursion. The registration fee does not include lunch and accommodation. You have to book your accommodation yourself, but we have special rates at a hotel until February 15 (for further information see below). Lunch is offered e.g. by the university canteen where you can pay in cash.
We offer registration via bank transfer. The details are given to you after your registration.
There is a contingent of rooms with special prices reserved for the participants of SMC at Lindner Congress Hotel until February 15. If you wish to book a room at this hotel, then please register to the conference first. After your successful registration, you will receive further information about the booking of one of the reserved rooms. Please note that the reserved rooms cannot be booked through the hotels web interface! The hotel offers single and double rooms and the breakfast buffet is included in the prices. The conference dinner will also take place in this hotel.
There are also some rooms available at the hostel Gästehaus of the BTU. The rooms have a small kitchen but no breakfast buffet is included in the prices.
Berlin Schönefeld Airport (SXF) and Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL) are the best options to reach Cottbus by plane. From that airports you reach Cottbus train station in at most 2 hours by combination of bus and train.
Other airports in the nearby area are Airport Leipzig/Halle (LEJ) and Airport Dresden (DRS).
It is almost 2 km or 25 minutes to walk from the train station of Cottbus to BTU. You find Hotel Lindner along the way after 1.5 km. Alternatively, you also can go by bus line Nr.16 or tram line Nr. 4. The tram line will take you to the 'Stadthalle'. Hotel Lindner is close to 'Stadthalle' and you will only need to walk approximately five minutes to the BTU.
Here you can find further information. Please be aware of reconstructions in front of the train station, see here.


For any company that wishes to use maritime transport as a mode of distributing goods, choosing a port is an important strategic decision. The port's location, the quality of its facilities, its warehousing options, versatility, and the know-how of its workforce are but a few of the criteria one should consider when making this critical decision.
- Count on a qualified and dedicated team of workers.
Valport is the perfect partner for your next maritime transport project!
First off, Valport offers one of the best price/quality ratios in the maritime industry. With energy costs constantly on the rise, managing transportation costs poses a huge challenge for the entire industry. Faced with this constraint in their everyday realities, executives are forced to come up with low-cost investment strategies for their warehousing and distribution needs. Doing business with Valport gives you the best of both worlds—all of the advantages of a larger port, but at a lower cost.
Valport has built a solid reputation as a result of its extensive versatility and ability to offer services of the highest added value. For several years, Valport has set itself apart by serving Quebec and Canada's Far North and supplying Inuit communities, as well as through its customized turnkey projects.
- Certifications: Transport Canada (International Ship and Port Security or ISPS Code) and the Quebec Pallet and Container Manufacturers' Association (Canadian Wood Packaging Certification Program).


In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwe, chief of the Valar. Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo's desires and designs. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Turin, the instrument of Ulmo's designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon's daughter, and their son is Earendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo. At last comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Tuor and Idril, with the child Earendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Earendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources.Following his presentation of Beren and Luthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same 'history in sequence' mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was `the first real story of this imaginary world' and, together with Beren and Luthien and The Children of Hurin, he regarded it as one of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days.


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