Your fondest Bon Jovi memory

Same feeling.


In the nineties, I was already a fan, only I wasn't aware. I listened the albums non-stop. At that time going to a Bon Jovi show was not an option for me, but I watched them on TV and a lot. When the Crush tour came they didn't come to my country. So the big moment was in Bounce tour.

Barcelona 2003 was the first. And although it was a standard show of the Bounce tour, for me it was much more. The place was small, but the sound was badass. I experienced it very intensely. Many moments marked to fire. Keep The Faith performance and listening to Richie sing I'll Be There For You was crazy.



Setlist: Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi, May 20, 2003.
Bounce / You Give Love A Bad Name / Wild In The Streets / Livin' On A Prayer / Everyday / Undivided / Keep The Faith / Wanted Dead Or Alive / The Distance /It's My Life / Misunderstood / Someday I'll Be Saturday Night / Right Side Of Wrong / I'll Be There For You ( Richie ) / Blaze Of Glory / Born To Be My Baby / Runaway/ I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Raise Your Hands / Encore: In These Arms / Captain Crash / Bad Medicine-Shout

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The second time I saw them was in 2008. HAND Tour did not go through my country. And although I had plans to attend the Milton Keynes 2006 shows, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so it wasn't the time as we were all devastated.

About the second show, was in Estadi Olimpic of Barcelona 2008. Was my first time in a stadium, simply magical. All night. I Can't Help Falling In Love as Intro with Bed of Roses and Hey God performance were impressive, goosebumps.




Set List: Estadi Olimpic, Barcelona, June 1, 2008.
Lost Highway /Born to Be My Baby /You Give Love a Bad Name / Raise Your Hands / Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars / I'll / Sleep When I'm Dead (w/Rockin' All Over The World ) /Runaway / Blaze of Glory / Whole Lot of Leavin' / In These Arms / I Can't Help Falling In Love as Intro - Bed of Roses / We Got It Goin' On / It's My Life / Keep the Faith /I'll Be There for You / Hey God / Have a Nice Day / Who Says You Can't Go Home / Livin' on a Prayer / Encore: Always / Wanted Dead or Alive / Someday I'll Be Saturday Night / Bad Medicine (w/Shout )


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The third was Barcelona 2011, the best of all. The company of my best friends, the atmosphere of the crowd, the big screen and the stage, knowing that it was the final stretch of the tour, and that they were doing 3 hours of shows along with the some surprises on the setlist... made the night perfect. Jon sang with passion, the band was tight. This exceeded all my expectations and beyond. Even stuff like We Goit Going On sounded great where we were. I just have the thorn in my side that I haven't been able to listen to Dry County live.



Setlist. Estadi Olimpic, Barcelona, July 27, 2011.
Raise Your Hands / You Give Love A Bad Name / Born To Be My Baby / We Weren't Born To Follow / I Believe/ It's My Life / In These Arms (David Bryan singing part of the song) / Just Older / We Got It Going On / Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars / Bad Medicine (Bad Case Of Loving You - Not Fade Away - Vertigo - Shout) / Bed Of Roses / Cama De Rosas / Santa Fe (acoustic) / Diamond Ring / I'll Be There For You / Who Says You Can't Go Home / I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Someday I'll Be Saturday Night / Have A Nice Day / Keep The Faith / Encore 1: Something To Believe In / Hey God / Wanted Dead Or / Alive / Livin' On A Prayer / Encore 2: Always Encore 3: I Love This Town


When we left the stadium, I knew that I was not going to experience something like this again in future shows. This was the last BJ show I attended. Without Sambora, I would never more a Bon Jovi show.



Aside from these shows that I've been to, I also have a lot of great memories about hear fantastic bootlegs from different tours. Other special moments are the months before the release of a new album, and the discovery of the first singles.


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how much of a nervous breakdown you had when they started Hey God? I would explode, i'm sure

Either my first show in Jan 1990 or MK Bowl in 93.


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That moment was great, but I had heard Hey God before (in Munich 200. The real shock was the greatness of the performance itself. I think Seb described it as a "freight train running over you" after the concert and he couldn't have been more right.

Yes- being able to attend the run of shows across Europe in 2011 was incredible. Duesseldorf was also my first Bon Jovi Europe show and yeah it felt like European shows weren't as special as everyone said.

Then Mannheim was next, and damn. Then we did Brudges... then the final three in Barcelona, San Sebastian and Lisbon. Those shows were the best concerts from any band I had ever seen in my life, and I doubt they'll be topped.

It's probably why it stings so much to see how awful this band sounds today. It was only ten years ago that they were nearly the best damn live band on the planet, and I would easily argue they are one of the worst arena touring acts today now.

I've got a few.

The PBPs from 2008-2011 made me a much bigger fan of the band that I already was. Following rare songs, setlist changes, YouTube clips etc... Unbelievable time to be a fan.

Seeing the band for the first time in 2003. I remember it so clearly. The whole day of leaving school at dinner time, going home to change into clothes for the show, with my Bon Jovi pendant and flag draped around me

The palladium show is another highlight for me, weirdly. I didn't know what to expect but seeing the band in an intimate setting, hearing a new album in full, seeing Jon still look good and looking back, sounding a lot better than he does now.

Then individually there are songs I remember watching for the first time. Always when it got played electric again, It's Hard Letting You Go from o2 etc...

What a band. It's definitely near the end in my opinion but I've absolutely loved following this band. I can't tolerate the live performances right now, I'll be honest, but I still check the set list as soon as I wake up. No other band makes me do that.



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My dearest Bon Jovi memories are the two times I witnessed them on the NJ Tour, back in 1988 and then the next year on the rebound.

Seeing them for the first time was of course mind blowing but the second time was even better…Of all the concerts I’ve ever seen, Helsinki 1989 is my absolute favorite. They were a bit tired and world weary and the set was very short (14 songs only), yet the overall performance was Bon Jovi at their absolute peak. There’s no video recording of that concert but the videos filmed in Rotterdam the same autumn come very close to what I witnessed in Helsinki. That’s what I call heavy weight champions. No one can ever top that.


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My first live experience on the OWN tour, the KTF/Sympathy medley... best Bon Jovi live moment.

Back to back nights on Soldier Field, Chicago in 2010, my favorite shows. Seeing Always (incredible performance) for the first time and Damned, Dry County the next night.

Last, seeing Jon come on stage at a Springsteen show in Dallas for Glory Days was definitely a highlight of my life.

Great time to be a fan! I miss those days.

[QUOTE=liljovi93;1279202]I've got a few.

The PBPs from 2008-2011 made me a much bigger fan of the band that I already was. Following rare songs, setlist changes, YouTube clips etc... Unbelievable time to be a fan.


Great time to be a fan