Judging by the amount of fans who had gathered at the cricket ground it was clear that the rain would not stop people from enjoying an evening of great music.
Once inside the venue, it was easy to see that the venue had split the audience into three categories. Right at the back of the venue were people who had spent their hard earned cash on a ticket, which would have cost around £45. For a close up view, there were gold circle tickets which were £90 each, but inside the gold circle was the VIP Circle where punters had been fleeced of £269 per ticket upwards.
To say this show was designed to rip off the fans would be an understatement. Overcharging was also evident on the event parking at £10, and at the merchandise stall where an official souvenir programme would set you back £15. No wonder Mr Bon Jovi always has a smile on his face knowing that he has fleeced his fans so that the band can buy private jets and all of the toys that go along with it.
As for the show itself, it was absolutely faultless.
There is no denying that Bon Jovi know how to press all of the right buttons when it comes to impressing audiences during their live performances. They are armed with infectious stadium anthems which are guaranteed to appeal to the masses.
The band opened with 'Blood On Blood' and the only real surprise was that Jon Bon Jovi appeared to have his leg all strapped up, apparently from an injury sustained in Helsinki. Credit to him for not cancelling the show, as at times throughout the performance you could see he was in absolute agony. 'You Give Love A Bad Name' instantly created a wave of energy through the drenched audience, and from that point on Jon Bon Jovi and the rest of the band had the audience eating out of the palm of his hands.
As always Mr Jovi always likes to speak to the crowd and with statements like "It feels like I'm having a shower with my friends", no wonder even after all of these years females still adore him.
He also mentioned that he doesn't need to be in a muddy field with other bands to sell out venues (a jibe at Glastonbury) and that this is not a re-union tour (Possibly a jibe at Take That) and that this is no nostalgia tour. Ironically it is the bands early material that gets the best reaction, so maybe it could be argued that Bon Jovi are a band to see live for nostalgic reasons??
It would be difficult for Bon Jovi to leave out there big hits, however once again 'Always' was absent from the set list (I think I've only heard it played live once in the UK), which is a very brave move to leave out one of their best selling singles. Although it is understandable considering the strain it puts on Mr Jovi's voice.
Over two hours had passed before the band waved goodbye to a fulfilled crowd. As per usual they left the audience shouting "More!", and sure enough they came back to do an encore which included 'Wanted Dead Or Alive' and 'Living On A Prayer', which judging by the age of the crowd must have brought all of those memories from the 80's flooding back, and you cant help remembering that Jon Bon Jovi used to have long hair back then.
So those boys from New Jersey once again proved that despite being in the business 27 years, they are still able to raise the benchmark when it comes to live music.
Exceptional music, Exceptional show!
Set list:
Blood on Blood
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
In These Arms
Lost Highway
It's My Life
Runaway
Raise Your Hands
We Got It Goin' On
Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars
Bad Medicine / Roadhouse Blues / Shout
When We Were Beautiful
Bed of Roses
I'll Be There For You
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Work for the Working Man
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Encore:
Dry County
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
article by: Luke Seagrave
photos by: Luke Seagrave
published: 29/06/2011 13:10
FUTURE GIGS
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