About an hour ago I pulled up to near Eakins Oval and walked over to the front of the Live 8 Philadelphia stage. Myself and a about a thousand locals were treated to live soundchecks from Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. Bon Jovi ran through Livin' On a Prayer and Its My Life and sounded absolutely great.

Def Lep was up next and performed crowd favorites Rock of Ages and Pour Some Sugar On Me (if that song doesn't scream for global debt relief, I don't know what does). The boys sounded pretty good with new guitarist Vivian Campbell, although Joe Elliot's voice sounded a little scratchy.

All in all, the stage and sound guys have this thing ready to go. And, the City of Philadelphia looks quite ready to handle the growing crowds. Things looked organized from a crowd control perspective as the police have a system of fences set up to herd the crowds into permitted areas. Mother Nature looks like she may cooperate too as today's high humidity is supposed to push out of town making for a great summer day to hold a historical rock and roll event.