BON JOVI FAN CENTRAL

home
bon jovi news
world tour
songs & albums
photo archives
fan community
downloads
dry county archives
bon jovi web guide
14 December 2002 - Sydney, Australia Concert Review 15 December 2002
Bon Jovi on Fire

A review by Brooce


The Rumba circus moved to Stadium Australia with a much healthier crowd in, probably about 45,000.

Richie made it on stage with Pink tonight, after threatening to do so in Melbourne to perform Misery, and had his new Flying V pumping out the blues lines sweetly. Many a jaw was dropping amongst the crowd....Nothing new to these eyes. I know how good he is!

The Rock and Roll intro tape is back, and certainly set the mood for the show, opening with a rocking Bounce...

Jon had a point to prove tonight with Shaggy closing the show instead of Bon Jovi. Jon made numerous references to time contsraints and not playing last, with the "are you still with me out there??!" count high, a definite reference to who owned the stage, with Jon actually stating during Sleep "this is my house tonight!"

Highlight of the night was certainly the very rare occurence of Jon cursing on stage, demonstrating how much a good show meant to him....Surely Jon and the band could of dismissed the headlining slight put on them and played their 45 mins and got outta there...But Jon wasn't letting go that easy. Just before the solo in Wanted he let it be known that "I may not be on last, but I'm still here MOTHERF$%KERS!" Very intense for those who saw it. Also intense was the amount of throat clearing by Jon. Either the wine out back was dry, or Jon was making a point. I certainly got the point he was making, but did the promoter?

The hits flowed like wine, with many in attendance reminded just how many classics the boys have in the juke box these days....without tapping the ballad button or reverting to Blaze or Baby etc...A guy on Sydney radio even suggested younger "Rumba" pop fans were talking up exactly how 'cool' Jon and the boys were after the show, a big postive for the Rumba experience....

Its my Life was at its rocking best "You should know this one...Schools in session!", and is surely in the set forever now. It is always going over well. Prayer was awesome, with last years voice problems long gone (Jon is sounding better than ever) and Misunderstood was much tighter than in Melbourne last week. Everyday saw a rare mistake by Hughy, going to the 'hit the gas' section a verse too early, but it was a minor problem. I'm sure only Jon noticed....(he pointed down to Hugh, and Hugh nodded and went down to the A...JBJ does not miss a trick!)

Sleep was great tonight with Jon showing he is slowly surpassing Southside in the dancing stakes, with even his guitar tech wanting to dance with him! I've thought the song was a bit tired, but it does its job well when it rocks along like tonight. The female contingent of the crowd were getting their money's worth with Jon dripping wet in the 30 degree heat, but obviously loving it!

Medicine gang banged the crowd, and Twist and Shout ensured that none of the three Aussie sets were the same. Jon looked to be taking the piss at the promoters and his frustration with the time constraints by rolling it along for a couple of extra choruses. Surely he could do as he pleased, with many of the ticket sales for this festival riding on Bon Jovi's back, a point sorely missed by the time allocation of each act by the promoter.

The Rumba experience has turned out much better than it looked last week. The band gained a heap of publicity (The point of the tour??), and gained a whole new bunch of fans enlightened by their Bon Jovi experience. With this new fan base and the consolidation of their existing base, the previous 7 years of neglect has been forgiven and forgotten. Surely the boys are capable of selling out stadiums in Oz if they use an opening act such as Pink, and keep the tickets to around $80. Perhaps, and hopefully, this was the point of the tour....maybe a sign of things to come elsewhere? South Africa, South east Asia, et al.

Sydney definately loved the show, and I must say forgetting the time constraints it was one of the best shows I have seen for intensity, atmosphere and crowd impression.

back to tour information page

home news music info center tour photo archives fan community archives web guide
Design & site concept © 1995-2015 PWCR. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.    Cookie Policy.