The band opened with "Livin' on a Prayer" and belted out songs including "Born to be my Baby," "Lost Highway," and "Runaway."Jon Bon Jovi, for one, was relieved that a long tour was winding down."It's good not to call room service. I can tell you that, you know?" the singer said before the concert. "It feels real good not to dial 9 to get a cup of coffee. For me that was very nice this morning. But what a way to end up."We started 10 nights in New Jersey and ended up with the biggest show of the year in New York at Central Park on the Great Lawn. It's very rarified air, you know? We know there are only a half a dozen shows that have ever been on this grass."New York City officials gave away 60,000 tickets for the concert. Some 50,000 people were expected to attend. The free tickets were reportedly being hawked by scalpers on eBay for as much as $1,500 a pair.Bon Jovi said that drama did not put a damper on the show."No. I mean look, it's all behind us at this point," he told The Associated Press. "So we did what we could for our fans and for the people of New York and wanted to share a beautiful Saturday summer night with them."Hundreds of fans lined up early - in some cases as many as six hours before the show's 8 p.m. start.This Week in Pop Culture July 14 - July 20
July 14, 2007: Jerry O'Connell, the fat kid from 'Stand By Me,' somehow grows up to marry former Victoria's Secret lingerie model Rebecca Romijn, giving hope to pudgy teens everywhere.
Everett Collection / Wire Image
July 18, 1989: 'My Sister Sam' star Rebecca Schaeffer is shot in the face by obsessed fan Robert John Bardo. Her murder will spur California to pass America's first anti-stalking law the next year.
CBS / Getty Images
July 18, 1992: Whitney Houston marries Bobby Brown in a ceremony at Houston's Mendham, N.J., home. Their union will slowly devolve into one of the most disastrous celebrity marriages ever, much of it chronicled on reality TV.
L. Cohen, Wire Image
July 18, 2006: 'Baywatch' babe Carmen Electra files for a divorce from rock guitarist Dave Navarro. He will find comfort in the arms of porn star Jenna Jameson, while the tabloids link her to Joan Jett, though she insists they're "just friends."
J. Strauss, Wire Image
July 18, 1936: The first Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, brainchild of the hot dog baron's nephew, Carl Mayer, hits the streets of Chicago.
Randy Tobias, Kraft Foods / AP
July 16, 2006: Heirhead Paris Hilton tells British newspaper The Sunday Times, "There's nobody in the world like me. I think every decade has an iconic blonde -- like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana -- and right now, I'm that icon."
Charley Gallay, Getty Images
July 17, 1968: The Lord Mayor of Pepperland sends Old Fred to Liverpool to enlist the Beatles' help in battling the Blue Meanies and regaining control of his kingdom 80,000 leagues below the sea in the premiere of the band's feature-length cartoon, 'Yellow Submarine.'
AP
July 20, 1984: Officials of the Miss America pageant ask recently crowned winner Vanessa Williams to quit after Penthouse magazine publishes nude photos of her.
Bettmann, Corbis
July 15, 2006: During a shopping spree at the Los Angeles boutique Kitson, Nicole Richie falls to the floor, having fainted. An onlooker says, "The staff helped her to a chair and offered her something to eat. She shot back, 'No!' and mumbled something about it being 'so hot.'"
Rose M. Prouser, CNN / AP
July 16, 2005: 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' the sixth installment in J.K. Rowling's absurdly popular series, is released. It will sell 287,564 copies per hour in the first 24 hours, making it the fastest selling book in history.
PRNewsFoto / AP
For some, it was a family affair. Josephine Ribaudo-McGrane, 34, of Queens, arrived at 1 p.m. wearing a well-worn Bon Jovi concert T-shirt she bought in 2006. She came with her mother, 12-year-old son, 8-year-old daughter, an adult sister and her best friend."They've gotten me through a lot of rough times," she said, adding that her iPod is stocked with 200 Bon Jovi songs. "I don't think there's a song that I don't like."The show was billed as a prelude to the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. The game on Tuesday will mark the final season at the Bronx ballpark. A new stadium is being built.The band joins other greats who have performed on the Great Lawn, including Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand and Pope John Paul II. Garth Brooks also performed at the park's North Meadow.Bon Jovi performs at Madison Square Garden on Monday and Tuesday as part of its "Lost Highway" tour. Those shows require paid admission.The quartet has been rocking for more than two decades and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. AP video producer Nicole Evatt contributed to this report.Bon Jovi ‘Free’ Show Tix Going for $1,500
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