BON JOVI rocks Manchester

It didn't live up to my expectations; it far exceeded them. I haven't found myself anywhere near as excited lately as I was tonight and I'm very glad to have been.

See, this is why David needs more fans. So Jon remembers he exists.

Sonds like a great show and a much more varied setlist than in Glasgow , I would too love to hear Dry county, and I don't for one minute think we will get it in Hull

I know this review is already in another thread but I just thought it would echo Mr Andersons review. A brilliant night and not just for me it seems. The GC queue was a shambles and it took hours to get out of the car park but none of that matters now after that performance.

What an amazing show, this has to be my favourite Bon Jovi show ever just an unforgettable night. Jon sounds better than he has in many years and put on an absolutely awesome performance. One of the truly great frontmen of his or any other generation, I was beginning to think he'd lost it after the Bounce tour but this couldn't have been a more different show.

The Sambora was out of this world, though when Jon introduced him as The Heavyweight Champion Of The World I wasn't sure if he was referring to his playing or his waistline. Who cares though the guy was absolutely on fire all night, just stunning playing and as always his version of I'll Be There For You with extended solos was just magical. On the point of guitar playing by the way they should never let Bandiera near a Sambora solo ever again, he absolutely murdered the solo In These Arms.

If I had to pick fault Last Man Standing was pretty lame as an opener, it was pretty lame full stop although Jon sang it on the catwalk about 5 ft away from me so that was pretty special to see him that close. I'm not a huge fan of Captain Crah or Just Older either but they were performed with a verve and hunger missing from the Bounce show and they got away with. It was the best I've seen them play It's My Life the crowd were really going for it and Prayer was amazing as ever. It's always much better later in the set when it's dark and the crowd is really warmed up.

At the end of the first part of the set I turned to my mate and said that even though they hadn't yet played some of my favourites it had still been an amazing show so far. They seem to have their hunger back and as I mentioned Jon (I'm not always his biggest fan) was really up for it. Another minor criticism was the It's Alright's in Who says went on a little too long but the song went down well.

When they came out for the first encores I said that if they're going to do Dry County it will be now as this seemed to be its place in the set when they have played it. When they started Welcome I have to admit my heart did sink a little bit although by this stage I had already decided that Dry County or not this was a great show. When they then came out for the second encores and I heard the little windswept sounds I was like "Oh my god, it's Dry County!" I nearly had to change my underpants there and then, I've waited so long to hear it (Since Keep The Faith tour). Jon did struggle with the vocals but who cares it was just a magic moment, Richie played his ass off, Jon gave it his all despite struggling to hit the notes. Shamefully it did not get a massive reaction, I don't know if people were just stood in awe or if many just don't know the song. I do truly believe though that we got this into the set, I think fan pressure did it because Jon obviously had trouble singing it and it is not a live favourite with the masses on this evidence. The only reason he could have done it therefore is as a gift to the hardcore fans who've been flooding the boards with requests that the song be played. It may be another 14 years before we hear it again but I'll be eternally grateful he decided to play it tonight. It just topped off a magical evening.

We then got Wanted which was great with Richie singing the second verse and I was just about to say the one song I've missed tonight is Keep The Faith when the bass line came in. I think I actually punched the air in delight. What a brilliant finish DC, Wanted and KTF, I know this is a long review but unless you were there you'll never know how good this was. Bon Jovi are back as one of the best live acts on the planet, get in!!

Great gig. We had a few pearls.. I don't believe they have been playing the likes of 'Raise Your Hands', 'Dry County', 'Welcome To Wherever You Are', 'Rockin All Over The World' a great deal over this tour. Dry County is obviously one they don't do often at all. Highlight for me was still In These Arms as it's my favourite song and he used the walkway. Did anyone see me from here? I was wearing a load of cowboy stuff and a union jack with 'Stick To Your Guns' on the back.

Aloha !

Raise Your Hands has been almost every night this tour, no rare song at all ever since it was re-introduced in the set back in 2001. So no rare song there, but you did get Rocking All Over The World, first time this tour and a nice surprise!

I think it is you who keeps going about Stick To Your Guns, but the song has probably been played live only 1 time, so don't expect it back in the set. They however did rehearse it once in 1995 during the UK tour, but Jon couldn't remember the chords, so the plan was cancelled and they never tried it again. They'd need to rehearse that one heavily nowadays with a chord sheet and all of that.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

definately.. well they've got a week before i see them again at MK - so they best play it - I'm sure they saw my flag so lets hope they take notice of it. lol

To be fair, there was only four of them! The whole problem was there was no metal railings, save for the last 40 metres. I remember at Huddersfield the whole snake was controlled by railings, but that just didnt happen here. To be honest it worked out well for me since I ended up skipping about 7 lines, I can understand peoples issues though, especially this big fat guy who was going on about being there since 11 and people that had just come were in front of him, but once one or two people start to move across no-one is just going to stand there en mass and let them, its human nature :/ The whole situation was ridiculous, not enough staff and railings

Raise Your Hands has been in every single setlist since the start of the tour, and in the same slot bar one (they opened with it for some reason in Hessisch Lichtenau, Germany).......did you mean something else?

No I just hadn't noticed it in any of the other setlists.. perhaps because its such a regular you don't notice its there? I duno.. I'm glad they do it anyway.. Can't wait for next saturday - especially as england Vs paraguay is being screened.. does anyone know if thats in the vip area or on the main big screen?