A review by Spratley

Setlist (courtesy of bonjovi.com)
LAST MAN STANDING
ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD (the John Fogerty classic made famous also by Status Quo)
YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
CAPTAIN CRASH & THE BEAUTY QUEEN FROM MARS
I'D DIE FOR YOU
BORN TO BE MY BABY
STORY OF MY LIFE
BLOOD ON BLOOD
RUNAWAY
THE RADIO SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT
IN THESE ARMS
HAVE A NICE DAY
WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME
IT'S MY LIFE
EVERYDAY
I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU (electric version - Richie Sambora on lead vox)
COMPLICATED
BAD MEDICINE
RAISE YOUR HANDS
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER

ENCORE:
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD
KEEP THE FAITH

Well as far as we were concerned, the Hull KC Stadium gig was jinxed from the start.
Bought Manchester Golden Circle tickets last September due to it being the nearest gig to Hull. Bought Golden Circle tickets here in April when this gig was announced and then foolishly sold the Manchester ones.
The Manchester tickets were £15 each cheaper for an identical area, yet in Hull we were deprived of Nickelback as support and instead were provided with unknowns.
We won't mention the rain either !!
The stewarding at the KC was poor to say the least. Apparently our £60+ Golden Circle tickets only guaranteed us random entry to the 'Them & Us' sections, with the lucky ones who picked the right steward getting into the front Gold wristband area with the rest of us unlucky ones getting Orange wristbands for the 'other' Golden Circle. We arrived at 5pm but were sent straight to the 'orange band' outer area.
They'd do well to go and learn from some of the other more established venues in places like Manchester and Sheffield who've been running events like this for years. Wish we'd waited and bought some of the £25 tickets.

Despite this, we got into a quite decent position, that was until the crew swung the hideous metal monstrosity of a stage bridge right in front of us (the one that never got used in the end !).
Guaranteed perfect view whatever time you arrive ? I don't think so. This area should never have had spectator provision made. Of course, by that time it was too late to move.

Then there were the ignorant, arrogant people in front of us, pouring down the bottles of lager like there was no tomorrow which resulted in them having to barge past us to the toilet every 20 mins, totally devoid of any manners whatsoever.

Aside from this, Bon Jovi themselves were obviously first class a lot of the time in my opinion despite the distinct lack of enthusiasm from most of the crowd. I don't think there are many other bands who perform live like they can. JBJ and the guys maybe did look slightly devoid of enthusiasm at times, but wouldn't you be if you'd sold out all the other venues on the tour but couldn't fill one which only holds around 24,000 people !
It was quite disappointing that their set was only two hours long....much shorter than at other gigs. It's a big shame that the last night of their European Tour wasn't a bit more special both for the guys themselves and their loyal fans.

My verdict on the KC gig ? Wish we'd gone to Manchester !!!

back to tour information page