'They say that no man is an island, and good things come to those who wait….'

…and to those who Keep the Faith too I am a living proof of that. This is not going to be just a review of the last 2 shows at the o2. I guess it is going to be some kind of confession, a ride into the deepest parts of my soul. It’s going to be a story about dreams of a little boy coming true. Feel free to join me if you want…

For the record, I shouldn’t have even been there. I was only going to see the show in Paris and that was it. Nothing else. And still something that was supposed to be a trip for show only turned out to be the greatest family trip of my life. But if you want to read about it more go and check my review of the Paris show. Anyway, after the Paris show, on our way back home, we stayed at our relatives and I have checked JT as usual and I found a thread about promotion ‘2 for 1’ at the O2. I clicked on the link and just out of pure curiosity I checked how much the tickets would cost. I checked best available and it showed Block A2 for 56GBP/pp. That was cheaper than tickets to Paris show. But first I thought so what, I still ain’t going. But then something told me to check the flights from my hometown to London and it turned out to be really cheap too. So from that moment I couldn’t stop thinking about it. One last dance with BJ. The last 2 shows at the o2. That would be great. I went to bed trying to get some sleep but I just couldn’t sleep at all. Those damn shows were in my mind. Should I go, should I stay?...Finally at some point I fall asleep but the first thing in the morning was a thought – I gotta go! So without any hesitation I have bought tickets for the 26th June show and plane tickets. Then my wife wanted to go shopping so I had to take a break for few hours with that thought in my mind that I still have to buy tickets for the 25th June. Just because of that thought I have bought my wife everything she wanted so she came back from shopping very happy. And she also decided to go with me to London. So just to make it clear. We were half way home, in the middle of Germany and I already knew that next weekend I am going away again, but this time to London. So here starts the real story. London, here we come…

We arrived to our hotel on Friday at about 2pm. I booked a nice 2-star Ibis hotel on the web very close to the o2, just one stop away by tube. And we had a nice surprise from the very beginning. It turned out that some pipe broke down at night before our arrival and our room was flooded. And they moved us to a 4-star hotel next building. An upgrade without any extra charge That was cool for the start. We were a little bit tired after the flight and went to sleep for few hours before the show. So at about 6.30 we left our room and went to the o2 arena.

We reached arena in about 20 minutes, so that was also great and it turned out that my hotel selection was perfect. When we reached our seats Kid Rock was already playing. Our seats were in the last row of Block A2. But still the view was great, and closer to stage than in Paris. When Kid Rock finished and the break started I went to buy us some water. On the way back I noticed that Obie was standing near the sound consoles (at the end of floor, behind our blocks, I don’t know how it’s called in English but I am sure you know what I am talking about). And I decided to take my chances and go talk to him and maybe take a photo with him. And it turned out he is a very very nice person with a great sense of humor. And he was very opened for short chat. I told him that we were also in Paris and how great it was, how I love his jokes etc. Then I asked him about the chances for the show in Poland next year and he said that in fact they are thinking about it and it may happen, more than ever before. I also asked if he’s ever been to Poland and he said that he’s been here a few times and that he liked our country. So that was a good start. Then I asked him about the chances of hearing DC, TD or BPL in the next 2 shows and he answered that for sure not tonight (25th) and maybe tomorrow. All in all a short but a nice talk and at the end my wife took a photo of us and we shook our hands. I was very happy about it and it was great feeling to meet personally someone related with the band. It meant a lot to me. So we went back to our seats waiting for the start of the show.

I will not write about the set lists because you all know how it looked like. I will just focus on the parts that made this night big for me. First SOML was a nice surprise, I like this song a lot and it was nice to hear it live. But of course I waited for something much bigger. ST was also great for me because I just love the new album and the more songs I hear from it the better. We didn’t have it in Paris so was glad it was played. Then was LYHOM by Jon which was very cool to hear, I think Jon was on lead vocals on this one for the first time this tour. But first huge track was Richie on HT He is just simply phenomenal on this one. His voice is just amazing. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even better than Jon’s. It was great to hear him singing that after LYHOM in Paris. Right after that we had Hallelujah. And let me tell you something. This was the most spiritual BJ experience I have ever had. I love this version but hearing it live just takes you on a totally different level. It is just magical. I closed my eyes at times and had literally shivers down my spine. And you can clearly see that Jon gets into that song so much, he’s a part of that song, with his whole heart and soul. It was brilliant. I am very happy that I got the chance to hear it live. Then we had Blood Money which was nice but not my favourite of YG. But right after that we had an absolute bomb. SANTA FE!!! And that is my favourite one from YG. Just before this one Jon said something like ‘this is something for the biggest die-hards in the world, it’s called Sante Fe’… and I went nuts This is a song that would never come to my mind as a request. I don’t think any of us would think it would be played ever again. And obviously it was an absolute highlight of the night for me. Sure, Jon did not hit the high notes, he did not even try. But I totally understand it and don’t have any hard feelings for that. This was magic, this was perfect. YT videos, no matter how great, will not give you even a glimpse what it was like to be there and hear it live. This is a song that probably will not be played ever again. And those of us who have witnessed that are the luckiest men on earth. And I am really happy I am among those people. This moment will stay in my memory forever. No matter what. Thank you Jon for this one, this already made a trip to London worth it After that we had a rather strange choice of Last Night. It was Ok but definitely not my favourite song. I knew that DC wouldn’t be played that night so I just waited for my all time fav KTF and it was a killer as always. I always pass the camera to my wife for this one so I could jump, scream and let it all out. The rest of the show was very good but without any big surprises as you know. But still a very solid show with 3 highlights – SF, HT, and Hallelujah.

So we got back to the hotel in about 20 min again…and then I realized something. I talked to my wife that meeting Obie today was the closest that I could ever be to the band. I mean ever. He is Jon’s best friend. He is there with the band since the very beginning. And then I thought about something really crazy. As a die-hard since KTF album was released one of my biggest dreams ever was to thank Jon for his music, because for sure BJ changed my life, it changed me, I grew up with it, it made me a man I am today, was with me through the good and the bad times, always, a soundtrack to my life. And I thought: ‘what if I write a letter to Jon and will try to pass it to Jon through Obie, my one and only chance and opportunity to do so?’ Fist I thought ‘yeah right, go back to earth, Kuba’ but then after a second I thought “it’s now or never, you’ve got nothing to lose, you talked to him once so you can do it again, KTF and it will work out’ And with that thought in my mind we went to bed.

to be continued...