I’ll leave it to you to decide who is writing what… I hate writing in the 3rd person about myself, but it’s very funny to read back! Hopefully more people than just me, Mike, Laura and Taija will understand this though! (I’ll add pictures at a later date)

Ostend Review 08.06.03 : 7th-9th June – letitrock and Mike

Arrived in Birmingham at about half nine (9:30 to you crazy Europeans). Took about half an hour to actually find each other, and another half an hour to find the coach station. Coach then turned up an hour late – 11:45am. Journey to Dover took about 4 hours – had to put up with Johnny English on the coach at the end of a Jim Carrey Truman Show rip-off. Made the journey seem like 8 hours! Got to Calais at about 7pm Belgian time. We were told the journey would take between 1 and 5 hours… took about 1:30 hours. Also we were told the hotel was 15 minutes drive from the stadium, aka 1 hours walk, aka 15 minutes walk… aka we recommend Gold Crest Holidays for a hassle-free and accurately estimated journey, and it only cost £500… I mean £89.

Got to the queue at about 9:30 pm. We were panicking as 10 people were already there at midday, but still got numbers 21 and 22 in the fan club queue. Next priority was food, and thus ensued a 1 hour walk… I mean, 20 minute walk to Pizza hut and an attempt to explain what we wanted followed by a half hour wait. After eating (some of) the pizza, the finest food Belgium had to offer, Laura woke up and was convinced to go to Manchester (a difficult task). Taija woke up just in time to correct one of Laura’s stories and to agree to going to Manchester (selective sleeping). Taija, Laura and Tom tried to get some sleep. Mike was kept up by a drunk, neo-Nazi, racist, football mad, Hitler-supporting, Celtic-supporting, but well-versed in 5 different translations of Mein Kampf, unstable Belgian guy who kept bringing beers. Finally Mike got some sleep. Got up about 6:30-7am, just in time to put our stuff in the car before it thundered, lightning filled the skies, and basically threw it down with rain. Mike and Tom took the sensible option, which involved a half hour walk in the rain to find some more local cuisine to rival that of Pizza Hut… which lead them to Iris’ Café, where everybody knows your name and drinks Stella at 9 in the morning. Taija and Laura thought it would be more fun to sit in the rain trying to set fire to their hair with a lighter. After that we met Valerie and Isabella and friends. They were going GA and ended up with 2nd row! Anyway, soon after this we were moved to a separate FC entrance, all of us lined up in number order (many thanks again to Inge [‘mum’], Carola, Fleur and Marijke) – sorry if spelt wrong.

So there’s Tom, Laura, Taija and Mike waiting in Ostend Belgium for fan club wristbands or else Yngwie wouldn’t get in the fan club pit that night… J At about 1:25 Laura hears from Marijke that wristbands will be handed out at 1:30. Mike and Tom went to a 4* hotel, feigning interest in a 185E room after finding the toilet doors locked… available to guests only! After finding a toilet (and not paying) a call from Laura resulted in a 200 metre sprint back to the queue. Everything ran smoothly though. We were let in in number order. No sign of Sara, Thierry, Seb and co., but fortunately they turned up with minutes to spare, and proved that you don’t need to arrive at 10am the day before to get excellent positions in the FC pit. Security led us into the pit – no pushing, everyone behaved… but everywhere was covered in mud and smelt like a farm. Laura and Taija got their traditional position in front row centre, Mike and Tom just behind them: Tom in between, Mike behind the “hooker” – coincidence we hear you ask? J

Then the new level of excitement began; a game of cards using Viking Airlines playing cards (I think) – “let’s play cards” Since neither Tom nor Mike had had a real meal since Friday (Thurs for Tom) it was time for some lunch… which, incidentally, took the same shape and form as the previous evening’s ‘real’ meal, and breakfast, dinner and tea for the next two days… yes! That’s right… “goomee bearrrs” (though Mike had a hamburger). But to make things interesting the odd wine gum was thrown in there. Fortunately Richie’s improvisational skills later that evening were just as good as Tom’s eating habits. Talking of improvisation the lesson Laura and Taija should learn from us is that perseverance works better than improvisation… and despite sharing a “Youth” hostel room with Gerard Depardieu and Santa Klaus we managed about 7 hours sleep… dependent on the low-battery mobile phone alarm clocks. While for Mike this serves the purpose of a never-ending “10 minutes extra kip” on sleep mode, the fact that Tom’s phone fell onto the floor at 8:30 with echoes of… “Oh ****”, under the bed and wouldn’t stop ringing encouraged him to actually wake, and most importantly, get up. But back to the stadium! J

Mike was quite blatantly disturbed and upset by his card-playing performances, but continued to remain a rock, firmly-rooted to the ground during both support acts’ performances. First up we had Belgium’s answer to Gareth Gates… a slightly tubby roadie in a previous life time who showed us all his pop star skills: random jumping in the air and ninja-like kicks… and sitting on the front of the stage for his more intimate performances. Not exactly what you’d expect from a Pearl Jam/Nirvana-Grunge tribute … I mean, ‘support’ act. However, the pre-adolescent, helium-intoxicated act that was to follow made this seem like a performance to rival that of a Led Zeppelin reunion concert.

Arrid hit the stage at about 7pm (?) as Tom, Laura and Taija hit the floor… joining Mike, after an incessant choir of “hih” from the two members of the front row. Someone should write a book on the on-the-ground culture during a Bon Jovi support act J a lot more interesting than the performance itself. Unfortunately 10+ songs about unrequited love and the high-pitched vocalist’s inability to get friends or a girlfriend in a cruel social environment could not rise us to our feet more than temporarily, and that was out of curiosity… and in search of comfort. Fortunately the discomfort of cramp and muscle-strain outweighed the discomfort of having to watch the Toploader-hairdo wannabes… and so this remained until the main act.

Cue then, numerous banners requesting Tico to sing, for I’d Die for You, Livin’ in Sin and some just to advertise some fan’s residence in America (the latter, a wasted opportunity to truly communicate with the band). A little pushing from numbers 80-200 getting to the 2nd and 3rd rows, but a quick push to one side and Mike has his place back (Laura: “elbow her to one side” J).

As per normal, it seems, with the stage we could see the band through the netting entering the stage for Bounce. The sound of the band was a little muddy (as was the ground below our feet) and the vocals were way too low in the mix. Perhaps Jon acknowledged as much when later tapping his microphone… “is this thing on?” A decent song I suppose but perhaps not the best choice for an opener. Bad name next and of course live it feels as powerful as ever with Richie riffing away, but pretty standard nowadays. Wild in the Streets/Prayer next – great songs though badly ordered in the set list – Prayer should close the show really. The first real highlight though was the reintroduction of Lay Your Hands On Me, with Richie on the Flying V Gibson guitar, and Jon forgetting the lyrics, constantly consulting his lyric sheet. We knew from the start that something special was going to come that night after seeing the lyrics sheet being taped down by the microphone stand before the show. LYHOM was not this surprise though, and the real surprise was especially for two Finnish girls (coming up shortly).

Keep the Faith and Saturday Night came after LYHOM (order uncertain). KTF was good: no screams, or anything extra from Jon, but Richie nailed the solo (Richie was on another level tonight, improvising left, right and centre, and just basically kicking ass!). Incidentally this song had the only scream in the concert (before the solo).

Saturday Night - high expectations from Tom (thanks Thierry) – but alas, no screams or high notes at the end (Jon was struggling with holding the notes and the tricky bits last night – a complete contrast to Mannheim). “The extra verse is still worth it” (Mike)

In These Arms – Tom: “most boring version I’ve ever seen or heard since Huddersfield 2001.” Jon obviously had problems with his voice and was backing off from the demanding parts. “Despite Jon’s voice tonight I still really enjoy this song live and it is always a highlight for me.” (Mike)

Then came the moment that made the whole trip worthwhile (the trouble we had gone through it needed something good!). Jon: “Now we are going to play something we’ve not played for 6-7 years [in fact 8 electric like this]… off Slippery… this is for these two down here [pointing]” Of course those who knew Laura and Taija didn’t even need to hear the opening chords to know what was coming up. I’d had all the warnings about standing directly behind Laura and Taija, but nothing could have saved my feet, toes and body as I was transformed into a human trampoline [slight exaggeration I know, but you get the idea! J]. Jon “****ed it up” at one point, forgetting the lyrics, checking near the drum riser, but most of us appreciated just how rare this performance was. Great guitar solo from Richie, fairly true to the original with some improvisation. It really couldn’t have been any better other than if we heard the ending scream. Rapturous applause from the front rows though, and tears* flowed as Jon asked for approval from Laura and Taija. It really was a great moment though and we were very happy for them [Editor’s note: they’d have been, and still would be, in Paris if it wasn’t for us!] But a hug later they were ready to go on, but not quite the same for the whole evening afterwards. They were so shocked they even forgot to take pictures I think during I’d Die for You… but I got a couple for them. Even though the dedication wasn’t for me though, there was such an atmosphere in those first 2 rows that it was hard not to get emotional (though see the * for reassurance ).

* “not from us” – Tom and Mike

Richie took the stage for I’ll Be There For You; an amazing version with a lot more guitar than the band band performances. The crowd continued the backing vocals, though Jon ignored this and continued into Undivided – still one of the best live off Bounce, though with a different chorus this would probably be The Distance, having one of the best riffs on Bounce. Mike: “this is one of the most powerful songs off this tour. It creates a lot of feeling”. Bounce was probably the vest received Bounce song at the show though.

The Distance made its appearance at consecutive shows for the first time. I really enjoy this one (Mike) and the solo at the end by Richie was out of this world. I’ve heard this song 3 times, and each time the solo has been different, and just as awesome!

As Born To Be My Baby started, we both stepped backwards to escape injury from Laura and Taija – but they were slightly subdued (slightly! ), still in shock! A pretty solid version. However the highlight was a totally improvised solo by Richie – which again was great! Tom: it restored my faith that he is a) a phenomenal guitarist b) on a par with Tico Torres for coolest man in the world… possibly cooler last night!

Another tour debut for Mike was Blood on Blood. This is one of my favourites live and was good with the long-awaited electric opening. Probably the second best highlight of the show. Solo rocked (again… as did every single solo that night). Tom: genuinely, I’ve never known Richie to improvise quite so much… I think only everyday, prayer, wanted and a couple of other solos were nearly the same as the studio versions.

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead – Thierry: “I didn’t like this song at all”. But Richie was kicking ass and kissed his guitar at the end (Mike). Also at the end Dave was playing his Hammond with his right hand and soloing on the piano with his left. Always a nice way to end the song (Tom) despite it overstaying its welcome in the bands’ set lists these days.

Captain Crash – during this song someone was throwing tons of confetti which caught the breeze and covered us all. “It’s snowing?” Jon says. As usual everyone (except for Tom who crossed his arms in protest until the final chorus [Tom: “peer pressure!”]) was throwing their arms from side to side.

A little mention of Runaway from Tom – one of the best received songs of the night. Superb RS solo, heavy ending – good old days, but in the year 2003. Would have been the highlight but for hearing I’d Die For You. If ever I get rich I’ll pay for Laura and Taija to come to other concerts with me requesting songs, but just not I’m very happy.

After Bad Medicine the show finished quite suddenly – there was no shout and Jon hastily introduced the band members – Richie getting a particularly loud applause. Still, it was a great show and even though it was only 2hours 15 we’d had our fill!*

* Tom: I could have taken another 2 hours if they were ready and willing and able to offer it!

We sauntered out of the ground meeting Valerie, Isabella, Marijke, Carola, Thierry, Kieets, Sara etc… etc… walked and talked about the show and split up and went our separate ways. People were coming up to Laura and Taija, hugging them and saying “well done”, apart from some guy who hates the song and had to be restrained! (actually no, that didn’t happen! )

At the train station Laura and Taija rushed off and ended up sleeping outside a station in Brussels. Mike and Tom persevered and found a cheap hostel (15E) for the night!! (Thank God!)

So in Conclusion

Met up with (or at least saw) about 16 Jovitalkers… tour debut of LYHOM… I’d Die For You electric and rocking for first time in 8 years. A great atmosphere before and during the show (maybe not afterwards unfortunately but everyone was tired, it was cold, and nowhere to go/stay).

I joked after the show: “Normally I praise the performance and criticise the set list. Tonight I liked the set but not all of the performance.” The band was great, but Jon was quite mild all night, but because of the set this really didn’t and doesn’t matter to me.