A review by Captain Crash / captain.crash@ngi.de

It was my 2nd Bon Jovi gig and truly one of the best days of my life. I tell you I would cancel 3 weeks of vacation for hours like that. I’ve been a fan for 10 years but I never took the chance to see the guys live. Maybe I was too young. I first saw them during the Crush Tour 2000 and I was just blown away. So it was without question that I would see them again this year. I am very glad that it was the last gig in Europe: the guys played in front of one of the biggest crowds on this tour (so far), I guess. 72000 maniacs had a hot party in the Olympic Stadium. I don’t want to repeat all what my pre-reviewers have already said. But it was really phenomenal when it started to rain at the end of “Something To Believe In” and when it was pouring down during “Wanted Dead Or Alive”. The crowd just got louder and wilder and the guys on stage could not believe it, it seemed to me. They were grinning and head shaking all the time. They were amazed, too. And that’s why I love them: they are so normal and everyone can see that they really enjoy what they do (Ok, they make lots of money with it, so what? No one can tell me that the money is the main reason for their happy faces. All those who saw them know what I’m talking about.)
What else? The stage was great, already the intro on the big video screen and how they came to stage made me look like a kid in amazement.
The support acts, well, Gotthard were pretty cool and the crowd woke up with them. But just to fall asleep again with the Stereophonics. Their music is not bad but they were so arrogant and they didn’t make any effort to put the heating on. However, nobody cares. The longest applause was when they told us that the next would be their last song…

But back to the biggest band in the world and something no one mentioned before: After “You Give Love A Bad Name” I was worried about Jon’s voice ‘cause it became a little weak and he had to drink so much, but … fortunately …, it was getting better and better (thank you, whoever is responsible). “Shout” at the latest convinced me that everything was ok.
And so we all rocked the house and had a great Saturday night. The final was just overwhelming. After “Tequila” and “Twist And Shout” the guys really wanted to go. The pyro was already burned down (very short but probably because of the stadium roof) and Tico had thrown his sticks in the rows. But although wet to the bones the crowd was … just unbelievable. So the band added a last encore. They played the final stunning song that night: “I’ll Be There For You”.
Whenever I’ll be sad in the future I will think of June 30th 2001 and everything will be alright with me.
I’m really looking forward to their next album and I’m glad that Jon and Richie are not feeling ballads at the moment ‘cause I want more of those “I Got The Girl”’s and “Captain Crash”’s, more of those simple and optimistic rock songs.
Thank you Jon, Richie, David, Tico and Hugh and keep on rockin’ in the free world!
See you down on the road! CC

back to tour information page