LINZ Review (+ choccy appreciation!)

Once in a while- mostly once a year- i get out of my students life to bring me back to my teens. meaning i find myself nervously standing and waiting in front of the gates of some austrian football stadium in expectation of a band i've seen so many times before- playing the same stuff over and over. not only the sense of this action even the necessity of it keeps me wondering about myself. then- when the gates open i squeeze towards the place where mean ppl want to take away my water bottle so that i dehydrate during the following hours. but the fail cause they don't know that in my rucksack beneath all these clothes there's another bottle which they can't find cause i carefully prepared the rucksack (nerds!). when they've finished failing to do their job i aim towards the stage and run like a haunted beast- only 14 year old girls in the same situation but at a robbie williams show are even faster (and even madder) than me. the following hours pass like a deja-vu- the crowd, the support act and the blaming of the support act for them not being bon jovi. then they finally leave (thank heaven!) and after a short time bon jovi arrives- the crowd goes with them, jumps screams- me in the middle- amongst the loudest and most annoying for the normal folks who came just to have fun but they don't understand. i don't understand, too- it just happans. last night was one of these nights i'm just talking about. but first things first:

Jana, apple of my eye,
light of my day,
princess from jovitalk,
hottest of all chocolates,
best of all frauds,
german bon jovi queen,
personal favourite german of mine!
What you did yesterday i will never forget-
Thou hast three wishes free (i will stop now....*g*)

Little explanation: as you know there were 2 standing categories- the 58€ general admission and the 99€ gold circel or whatever it was called. Jana had the 99€ ticket- i had GA. i called her in the stadium- she left her spot in the third row to give me her ticket (she had the wristband and didn't need it anymore and btw: i was so pumped that i was really unfriendly to her- sorry again, jana!) i went to the wristband guy complaining that they've wripped off my 2nd rip off thing at the entrance- he hesitated and finally said: it's ok- go in! so i got my wristband got into the second barricaded area (behind the ramp) where i found my spot directly in the middle in the first row. great!!! it worked once- it will have to work twice: i went out handed the ticket to a friend and the same trick really worked again. we stole bon jovi 81€- it won't hurt them... this glorious deed appreciated i must say that the pit wasn't ful and the securities filled it up by letting GA ppl into the pit but thanks, hugs and kisses anyway!

So finally to the show. about nickelback: they're a very good band with an awesoe drummer but with only one song- their show is a continuing deja-vu... a fun thing were their t-shirt guns with which they shot t-shirts into the crowd. enough said about them. to bon jovi:
it won't be another these days tour. it was the same setlist as in düsseldorf with 2 changes or something. the good thing: jon sounded GREAT- didn't know that he can really sing that good- he gave full steam and the price was that he lost his voice towards the end of the concert.
It all started with LMS- a long and good live version. jon stood directly in front of us shaking hands with everybody but me cause i didn't wear a jovi shirt- he would do the same thing again during "in these lights" but i think i will survive it somehow- hope i don't get a PTSD.
Next came just like always Bad Name... imho cpt. crash came too early- the crowd wasn't warmed up and jon had real trouble to get all hands saying. First highlight was i'd die for you which i finally heard live the frist time- first big deep was that jon noodled the solo- terrible- i might get nightmares from this one. second highlight followed instantly: novocaine! this song should stay in the setlist forever and ever- it's not only one of maybe five out of all jovi songs with an actual meaning and (at least parts of) great lyrics- moreover it's topic is in this band is as evident as it can be. while i watched jon singing i knew that today i'll finally get the answer to why i think that the band has lost it. and btw: no- god is NOT a women!
My first disappointment was that the following songs turned out to be just like in düsseldorf and with every song my disappointment grew and grew and finally reached it's climax when he announced joey- despite my threats i didn't leave. and after joey it should get even worse. cause in these lights followed. in these LIGHTS?- yep- in these lights. as i told you, my dear reader, i was in the front row of the 2nd pit directly behind the ramp and... directly behind a big neon light which blinded me throughout the night- i actually should sue 'em for this pain i suffered... it was one of these moveable lights with different colors etc. and during in these arms - really, during the entire maybe 8 minutes, this goddamn thing never moved off my face so that i saw nothing but light and it really really hurt! i closed my eyes but it still was light as day- then i decided to jump so that i'd have a rhythm of taking off and feeling the relief that the torture has ended and landing directly in front of this hells instrument. so it went like 4 minutes. then- as if the w***** who made the lights wanted to take the piss out of me- put the lights about 20 cm up so that it was torture to jump and a relief to land- then i logically stopped jumping but this thing still blinded. after the song the light finally went away from me so that i could figure out that i don't see a thing....

"The wheel of fortune, round and round it goes- where it stops nobody knows- i thought this to be the dullest introduction in the history of this planet" (Frank Sinatra, Live at the Sands/ Las Vegas)

"Like Franky said i did it my way- caus it's.... my.... life....- this IS the dullest introduction ever made" (Martin Steinkogler, Live at Gugl-Stadium/ Linz)

But next came the highlight of the day and the best moment in a jovi concert for years: richie singin i'll be there for you. incredible, stunning, amazing- i lack of words. This man loves music, this man loves his guitar, he gently strikes it, treats it like a lover, and his singing is painful screaming whispers. the words are his- he is not singing a song- he is telling us what's on his mind, shares all his emotions and all his pain with 32,000 ppl. he isn't a rock star- he is just a man named richie sambora: a totally ****ed up guy from the states. he is what he does and he does what he is. that's him. that's intimate. that's true. he's true.
and then i realized why i started to think that they've lost it- it's all about jon. jon is a rock star. jon is an actor (and one of the worst!). jon is a society man. jon's more entertainer than musician. he is an actor even on stage. he's untrue- and that's it. his songs are what he thinks that sells- existentialistic and ever repeating crap; it's my life was the worst what could happan to this great band. but the show continued and i will, too

next came hit on hit on hit- you have to do this before leaving- gotta get the crowd going. no jungle voices during ktf cause jon's voice began to stumble. my biggest surprise: i enjoyed medicine/shout/medicine - it was fun and it made the crowd (which i thought to be a bit lame) wild. and jon killed his voice during medicine- as i said before: he sang better than ever- vocally, he did amazing!
prayer gave him the rest what i don't understand is why jon still shrieks up to the highest notes after the modulation- why not let an other guy sing it?

the encores- i was diappointed to hear bells- mostly cause i hoped that the changes will come in the encore- and paradoxly- my biggest fear was that they'd leave off dry county. but back to bells. spiritistic verse, martin luther king on the screen- i thought that i'm in a church somewhere in the southern states of the USA "can i hear an amen? AMEN!!! can i hear an amen?? AMEN!!!!" pathetic. but the music is somehow good and i think the crowd liked it. but my mind was set on a totally different thing: dry county! but jon took his guitar and runaway followed. man, they ROCKED!! they crowd was exhausted and not too much response came but i gave it a damn and like the biggest of all idiots and jumped and sang beneath all those ppl who did hardly anything.
next was sleep when i'm dead which i'm gonna defend to the bone. i love this song and it's the only song i wanna hear at every single bon jovi concert i visit. but during the song i only thought: c'mon guys- i know jons voice has suffered a lot but please please please play dry county!!! when jon said "i'm feeling just older" i thought a) all of your following movies should flop and the critics should destroy all your hopes of becoming an actor b) your stocks should sink dramatically and c) you should be denied good sex for the rest of your life!!!! taking dc out and playing OLDER instead??? and why the f**** is crowd so happy? why are they all dancing? am i the only sane guy here? the only one who knows that we've all been cheated? we're just facing the biggest scandale in rock history and they cheer???? WTF?????????? but this was finally over and david started these days i was in peace again. not in heaven cause they usually play TD in austria- but they wouldn't have to fear me coming to their hotel rooms. funny details: dave totally messed his intro- richie started too early and ****ed up his part of the intro, too!

all in all it was a good show- from tour to tour the boys get better and better - the biggest step ahead was jon who sang great- but his stage appearance is faked

dude... were you even there yesterday?

don't be a whiny bitch about every little detail you might not have liked about it.

and there's NO right for you to be pissed off because the left out DC - man, they played it saturday, for the first time in like 10 years and you come here and bitch like a little girl "weehh, düsseldorf got Dry County and we get Just Older instead, i'm such a poor little boy"...

i was dissapointet to hear just older instead of DC, but when you expect DC, what would make you not feel dissappointed, anyway?

DC is like the ****in million dollar jackpot, you dont expect to win when you play in the lottery, do you? so go there have a fun night and enjoy the show, and if something really great like DC happens, cum in your ****in pants, but dont expect it, and especially being a "hardcore" fan (i hope so), you should know better than EXPECT DC in like every set and be pissed off then...

we got These Days, and to me thats equal to Dry County, as it's my fave song... Yeah, they play it pretty often in austria, but why? becauese austrian shows ARE something special to the band... and i'm very thankful for that...

and for "in these lights" - IN THESE ARMS was totally smoking the ****in place, that was one of the highlights of the show, so dont be a pussy about blinding lights... ts...

not to be an asshole, i just found that the show was ****in awesome, one of the best i've ever seen.
also, i thought jon was very TRUE this time and much more himself than on past shows i've seen... he WAS into it, into being back in austria, anyone could see that, you cant fake emotions like that...

i've always thought like jon is jon and he's the best actor on stage, but he really suprised me yesterday, you could just tell he had a great time with us.

Just to clarify, does having gold circle tickets automatically mean you will be standing inside the catwalk?

interesting review. The parts that i could actually understand that is. And i'm sure if i had of been at that show i would be disagreeing with everything you said too.


I always assumed so, but from this guys review he implied that when he swapped for a GC ticket he only got to the outside of the elipse ramp..?

I thought GC=Inside the gold circle...

andi

let me add my two cents

first of all: thanks for the appreciation, martin (p.s. i deserve it hehehehe)

Now on to more important things:

I thought Nickelback were a great support act. I've been to many many concerts in my life, and they were easily among the best support acts ever. You may not like their music, but they got the crowd into a great mood, the singer was really sympathetic and the guitarrist was hot
Nuff' said - on to Bon Jovi!

LAST MAN STANDING - What I liked about it was that it was really long. What I didn't like: it seemed a little slow... Not too good an opener. Furthermore, nobody in the pit seemed to move... but then again that may have been because Jon was out of sight (in front of the second pit, so none of us in the first rows of the first pit were able to see him).

YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME - It rocked! I couldn't believe how great Jon's voice sounded. None of that nasal stuff he usually does. YAY

CANTAIN CRASH & THE BEAUTY QUEEN FROM MARS - Not a song I personally like too much, but it got people going, so I guess it's worth having it in the set.

I'D DIE FOR YOU - One of the highlights, didn't at all expect to hear that song. Found myself forgetting the lyrics halfway through. How embarressing


THE RADIO SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT - Can't remember too much about this one, but it was good.

NOVOCAINE - great, one of the best live songs!

BORN TO BE MY BABY - the usual: nananana didn't stop. the song was done much in the same way as 2003.

STORY OF MY LIFE - works great live! much more so than on the cd.

JOEY - i was hoping it wouldn't be played. on the positive side: they managed to make it rock a little bit

IN THESE ARMS - got the crowd boiling again. This song should be played at EVERY show imo.

HAVE A NICE DAY - Richie showed his middle finger several times. I wonder who it was directed to

WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME & IT'S MY LIFE - both done well, but Jon seemed to lack some energy. But at least the crowd made up for it!

I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU (electric/Richie Sambora on lead vocals) - Amazing as always!

SOMEDAY I'LL BE SATURDAY NIGHT - I was very happy they played it, great song. Although I could hear the audience more than Jon.

KEEP THE FAITH - Was a bit disappointing - no jungle screams Still good though.

BAD MEDICINE (SHOUT) - As Martin said: surprisingly I liked this one. The Shout was kept short and they quickly returned to Bad Medicine. Well done

RAISE YOUR HANDS - My energy left me at this point. But at least everyone else was still at it

LIVIN' ON A PRAYER - Richie sang the first part!! It was really great, he should do this more often.

ENCORE:
BELLS OF FREEDOM - Works really well live, i enjoyed it.

RUNAWAY - Rocked!!!!!!!!

JUST OLDER - I loved the fact that it was played! They may or may not have been acting, but I always love how Jon and Richie play this song together.

THESE DAYS - I couldn't believe it when I heard it. It was great, Jon's voice, the guitars, the keyboard - everything. The crowd in the pit went absolutely crazy.

I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD - Nice, but not really necessary. (I had hoped for Dry County)

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE - Best way to end a BJ concert imo. The only thing that got me was that the crowd didn't get the clapping hands part right. Argh.


All in all, a great and long concert (2 hrs 45 minutes) with a good setlist. And for those that have been saying it shows that Richie wasn't in a great mood: Not at all true in Linz. I was right in front of him and he was in a great mood, smiling a lot (with the exception of HAND and I'll be there for you). And no, I don't think it was fake.

Thanks for the reviews, Martin and Jana!!!! Sounds like you had a great time! I'm jealous that you heard These Days though

Let me get this straight Richie is true and honest because his life is all ****ed up at the moment, he's in pain both emotionally and physically and he lets it show, but Jon who was upbeat, happy and enjoying himself because well he doesn't have a broken shoulder and he isn't in the midst of a divorce is being fake??? Sorry not getting that but .........

Glad it was a good show, but how was These Days??? Did they do it well?

I agree to an extent.. yes he is going through shit at the moment, but when on stage he shouldn't let that show, he should be professional. When I'm in a bad mood, I can't show it at work and neither should he (and before I get slated - that goes for all of them!!)

I think your problem with the band is the internet and knowing the set list before the show even starts.
In 1995/96 nobody new what the band was playing 2 days before you saw them so you had no reasons to be disappointed that the it had hardly changed.
Unfortunately the internet has taken away so many aspects of excitement as far as music is concerned.
We know more or less everything there is to know about the musicians aswell as news about new albums/tours/set lists, everything. There is very little that comes as a surprise any more!

oh puh-lease

Now we're dictating the bands feelings?!

It would of been different if Richies 'mood' had effected his playing and the show but it clearly didnt. Give them ALL a break for christs sake.


andi