A review by Rampton / stacey_blinkhorn@hotmail.com

THE LONG WAIT-
Well, what can I say? The concert was spectacular with an awesome set list and when they came on the crowd went wild. The day was blisteringly hot. Me and my boyfriend arrived at about 10:30 and went to find the concert. The stage rose above the barriers impressively and we knew we were in for a good show. On our tickets was our gate number so we decided to find it, we walked all the way to the back and there was our gate, at the furthest possible point from the stage!!!! At least the closed gate of X11 provided shade while we giggled at all those sweltering on the sand in the heat. Then at about 11:30 we were told they weren't gonna open our gate, boy were we mad, so we went and queued at X15. Hours and hours in the heat began to break our huge smiles and as the water ran out pounding headaches made us forget why we'd come. Then a Glaswegian (is that how you spell it?) bloke with a megaphone opened the 'lanes' so we could sit crammed against the railings for another 2 hours. Luckily, a nearby ice cream van and some nice security men helped to put smiles back on everyone's faces.

FINALLY INSIDE- As the gates opened, all of the people at our gate rushed inside and it was a mad rush to see who could reach the front first (unfortunately I stopped for a program and later was yelled at by my bf for 'dawdling') Eventually we were about 6 rows of people from the first barrier. We could just see the stage if you lined up peoples heads just right. We were still ages back from the stage but could see it every now and again. The lack of water and heat began to take it's toll. The support band LIVE were ok but they were a bit too 'promotey' "HI! THE BAND IS LIVE" after every song was tedious but they weren't bad. Shortly after the band left stage, I fainted and was lifted to the first aid tent.

ONE WILD NIGHT- After a short spell in the first aid tent we managed to sneak into the front section and when Bon Jovi started up with BOUNCE we were only about 20m from the band. The atmosphere was definately better in the big crowd but being so close to Bon Jovi I wasn't complaining. The set list was awesome. The classics that everyone knew and a few that some people seemed to not be aware of such as 'Captain Crash and the beauty queen from mars'. Some songs got a really good reaction from the crowd such as 'Lay your hands on me' Jons preacher talk and condemning of glastonbury was hilarious and I think that every single person in that 92,000 crowd had their hands in the air. There were a few surprises such as the soft acoustic start to 'UNDIVIDED' which thumped in with a massive response from the crowd. The stage was really impressive with six sliding screens that kept moving around. The first chunk of the concert was a mix of old and new which all could appreciate.
Encore 1 - When Jon yelled 'Goodnight' I think we all knew they'd be back. 'Got the girl' was wonderful. 'Blood on blood' was also perfect and I really loved it all. The surprise of 'Lola' was really amazing and Jon's voice rang clear as a bell. Of course 'Bad Medicine' was a sure fire success and everyone screamed the lyrics.
ENCORE 2 - Jon introduced all the band members and it seemed that it was all over, but boy was I wrong! 'These days' was a real gem as they hardly ever do it live and I saw a few tears as this song was beautifully performed. I loved 'Captain Crash' and of course 'Twist and shout' was a real crowd pleaser.
Encore 3 - surely it had to be the end? but no! They returned with a beautiful rendition of 'Never say goodbye', a video if the tour antics and a beautiful fireworks display.
The show was wonderful as I could see jons smile from where I was standing and he pointed at my boyfriend which brightened up the night. Ritchie's skillful singing of 'I'll be there for you' was really unexpected and I loved every second of it!!!!!! What can I say? The show was perfect in everyway and I got to see a perfect set list performed by the best band ever really close up. BON JOVI ROCK!!!!

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