A review by bonoman / cmi@gofree.indigo.ie

I'm a U2 fan who's normally used to travelling to see Bono & the lads do their thing & had never seen Bon Jovi live before. My wife has been an avid fan of Jon & the guys for many years & although I'd missed last year's show in Dublin I had the opportunity to go with her this time. I like being up front & so we queued from apprx 10am that morning. There were many already ahead of us even then - on a Sunday!

The weather was kind to us & it turned out to be the best day over the weekend. I feel it was well organised with respect to the first people in line (several hundred I think) being given wristbands which ensured entry into the 'front enclosure' near the stage. It took some of the worry & pressure of having to rush to try get up front when the main gates were opened.

The support acts were quite good & I was impressed with Matchbox 20. They got on well with the crowd & played a tight set. They're very good musically & have some strong songs.

Bon Jovi's performance blew me away. Jon's an excellent showman & musician, knowing exactly how to 'work the crowd'. It looked like the guys had the 30,000 or so people in the stadium 'eating from the palms of their hands'. I didn't see a single face in the crowd that didn't look like they were happy & enjoying the show. I couldn't believe how hard the band played for their fans - they could have done a lot less & still had the fans happy but they seemed to play for ages - not sure of the exact time but I think it was over 2.5 hours. Excellent value for money & a real quality show. The stage looked well, particularly as it darkened & the lights became more effective. The pyrotechnics were a great touch, real 'icing on the cake' stuff.

I was impressed with their rendition of U2's One - they performed it really well. Jon's voice seemed to be a good match for the song.

I'd thoroughly recommend this concert to anyone who hasn't seen it yet & would love to see another show. Based on what I saw yesterday evening - I'd thoroughly recommend anyone who's even half thinking of seeing Bon Jovi perform live - just go see them & be prepared to be 'won over'!!

Nice job lads, looking forward to seeing you again sometime in the not too distant future. Keep up the good work.

Trev.

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