Bon Jovi | Bell Centre | Montreal Concert Photographer

bon jovi montreal 2018

Montreal has a certain love affair with Bon Jovi.  And I honestly believe that the band has one with the city as well, dating back to the 80s.  Fans were sad when the two early April shows were put off until a later date when the crew got sick.  And this was after other artists such as P!nk and Lady Gaga also put off their shows due to illness.  But that did not stop the band from coming back a month later for 2 almost (or totally, I don’t have the numbers) sold out show at the Bell Centre.

Original members Jon, David and Tico are still in the lineup.  The band still put out new music and their nightly setlists are a mix of old and new songs.  While many long time fans would love to hear the hits of yesteryear, the band insists on playing songs from the newer albums as well.  Which is fine by me, a mix of old and new is perfect.  I prefer a band trying to stay fresh and pushing out new tunes than ones who just rest on the laurels of the past.

bon jovi montreal 2018

There is a reason these guys are in the RnR Hall of Fame.  Not only their mega hits of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, but seeing Jon Bon Jovi on stage is a treat.  The man has so much charisma and is an amazing frontman.  Sure, there are the reports of him not having the same voice as he did early on.  But he still goes 110% on stage and the fans love it!!

Time for nerdy photo talk!  Our restrictions were 2 songs.  The second of which being Raise Your Hands, which makes photographers shooting from the soundboard in the back cringe.  The last thing we want are hands (which are then topped with cell phones) in all our photos.  But it is what it is.  The song is one that gets the crowd into the show.

For big show shoots, I typically rent a Canon 300mm to get that extra reach.  On a whim, I decided to rent a Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8.  I was curious about the image quality for a zoom lens from a third party manufacturer.  I was blown away when I got home and looked at the images on my screen.  The lens is pretty much on par with the Canon 300 prime.  Maybe slightly lower in terms of quality, but when you compare the price ($4400 for the Sigma vs $8000 for the Canon), I have a hard time justifying the 2x price tag.

Here are a few shots to give you an idea of the sharpness, and also the distance we work with from back at the soundboard.  Specs of the shot are 300mm, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 2000.

bon jovi montreal 2018

Here are some select shots of the show!  You can see the full gallery up on multiple medias, as my entire media family was in on this one…. CHOM 97.7, Virgin Radio, iHeartradio… I guess everyone loves Bon Jovi. 🙂

bon jovi montreal 2018
bon jovi montreal 2018
bon jovi montreal 2018