[penlanspice]

Can someone let me know what time it started last night and finished? We nearly always miss the start.

Gutted to of missed tonight and last night, but the other half put his foot down after us going to Vegas in April and prague in 2 weeks!

[efpg0708]

Judging by the videos so far, Jon's voice seems to be better here !!

Bon Jovi - Always (Live - Etihad Stadium,...

That's wasn't bad, and much better than recent performances in Africa and Europe.

[Neurotica80]

Originally Posted by jessycardy

He doesn't "need" Bon Jovi. At this point in their career, all of them could do whatever the hell they'd like to, it's not like they would end up sleeping in the streets or being lazy on the couch, for that matter. They could all have a very active professional life aside from Bon Jovi. I think the question could be rather: do they want to be a part of Bon Jovi? I really hope they all wholeheartedly do.
Bon Jovi (the band), on the other hand, needs, or better yet, is also Richie Sambora. The band's doing quite well without him this tour, but it's pretty obvious it's a temporary fix. It just could never work in the long run.

I'm not talking in terms of money, I mean professionally. Richie can't sell out a telephone box in his own country. Clearly it's not Bon Jovi without Sambora, but the band has stood by him in the past when he's had issues. Don't know what's gone on but so far, Richie has not covered himself in glory how's he's handled it. Know quite a few massive Richie fans who have lost patience with him.

[Matrix15]

Well I was there and shall briefly offer my 2 cents;

- John was in a good mood and his voice held out but I wonder if there was some effect on his voice because he sounded higher pitched than usual.
- Phil X did a fine job, Richies absence is probably more noticeable to diehards than casual fans.
- Great set, lots of energy, loved the encore (These Days! ) and thought the new songs and let me entertain you went down well, didn't consider it butchered tbh. Nice to see garageland too.
- Only minor criticisms would be the same old ones; songs like captain crash need replacing every so often with something else (maybe an album cut from another post-2000 album?), Bobby is a big floppy cock on guitar and there was some steroid twisted monster stood in front of us (but that can't be helped i suppose!)

Tl:dr - Great show, Richie not being there not too noticable, sack Bobby.

[jessycardy]

Originally Posted by Neurotica80

I'm not talking in terms of money, I mean professionally. Richie can't sell out a telephone box in his own country. Clearly it's not Bon Jovi without Sambora, but the band has stood by him in the past when he's had issues. Don't know what's gone on but so far, Richie has not covered himself in glory how's he's handled it. Know quite a few massive Richie fans who have lost patience with him.

I meant professionally as well. The fact that they've got tons of money give them the freedom to choose what they want to do rather than what will bring them more money.
And I'm not arguing that the band has stood by him in the past (I actually think they're still standing by him) or that he doesn't appear to be handling this well. But it still doesn't change the fact that Bon Jovi without Richie is not Bon Jovi, all other considerations aside.

[Chris_Newton]

Originally Posted by samboraisgodUK

About as much as It's My Life is a butchered version of The Animals song.

Go on say something nice about bon jovi... I dare you. Good god if I hated someone as clearly as you hate bon jovi, no way would I waste my time on forums.

[KeepTheFaith2211]

Originally Posted by Chris_Newton

Go on say something nice about bon jovi... I dare you. Good god if I hated someone as clearly as you hate bon jovi, no way would I waste my time on forums.

I don't think that was what he was saying mate.

[Chris_Newton]

Originally Posted by KeepTheFaith2211

I don't think that was what he was saying mate.

Your right and maybe not... Apologies to the bloke it was not aimed at him, just a bit sick of people taking pot shots at the band. I was there last night and they totally give it there all. Yes I might be bon jovi biased., but some people on here do enjoy knocking the band at any given opportunity.

[liljovi93]

Only just got the chance to type a review about this show.

I must admit, I am blown away. I went into this show not being that excited and thinking I would get a good show, but not a great show. How wrong was I? As soon as Jon came out for 'That's What The Water Made Me', I just knew we would get a great show. I thought that was a very good opener, but the crowd were dead for it, I thought. Well, in the seats anyway...

Bad Name really got the crowd going and I genuinely thought that the crowd would sit down after that but thankfully, the majority stayed up. I was surprised to hear 'I'd Die For You', was a nice surprise even though I have heard it before.

'Because We Can' was awesome. I really enjoyed hearing this live. 'What About Now' absolutely killed the crowd off, though. The amount of people walking out while it was getting played was madness. I totally forgot about Hugh until 'Keep The Faith' got played. Shame but I did, he just seems non-existent. As always though, Faith was immense and I loved hearing 'Let Me Entertain You' get played in the middle of it. It was meant to be fun and it was and I wouldn't say Jon butchered it at all. Only time he gave a stinkeye through the whole show as far as I'm aware, though.

I was glad to hear '(You Want To) Make A Memory' but this was another crowd killer. Toilet break, beer break etc... It really did kill the crowd off. Especially after the epic 'Keep The Faith.'

'I'll Be There For You' was really good but it did miss Richie but that is a topic I will go on after I have done a review on the concert itself. Don't like the order of Capt Crash to Who Says but I enjoyed them still. Nothing special, but fun.

'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead' was something I didn't think I would enjoy as much as I did last night. It was fun and I'm not the biggest fan of this song at all whether it be studio or live, but it done something for me last night and I didn't expect that. 'Bad Medicine' is always a highlight for me. I can never understand why people dislike it live but I really love it and I was made up that Jon done the 'CAN YOU HEAR ME NOWWWW?!' part again. Always liked that

Okay, so the main set was done and I was still wanting a rarity just to make this night even better. 'In These Arms' started and I was a bit letdown but my girlfriend really wanted to hear this so was happy for her that it got played. That finished and I was wondering what would be next. I, like everyone else, had no thought about 'Garageland' and I couldn't it when Jon announced it. It has always been one of my favorites from the boxset and I never thought I would hear it! Absolutely made up with it. Jon done a good job on it too. Not many people seemed to know it but I wasn't surprised.

I thought 'Wanted' was another time when I really missed Richie and it seems like Jon does. I hate it when he puts his guitar up in the end on his own. 'Have A Nice Day' was unbelievable. Mainly because of the stage, it looks fantastic for that. song. 'Prayer' was great as usual. A song I will never get bored of live and I love how loud the crowd are for it every time. Really is a brilliant few minutes.

First encore over and I was delighted to get 'Garageland.' I knew I wouldn't get 'Hey God' because I don't think Jon would play it at the end just yet so I was wondering what else they have left. 'Someday I'll Be Saturday Night' started and it was a good performance but still not the song I wanted. That finished and I heard the tiniest bit of 'These Days' before Jon even announced it and said to my girlfriend, 'IT'S THESE DAYS!' and it was! First time I have heard it, and it didn't let me down. Brilliant.

'Always' will be my favorite song by Bon Jovi until the day I die I think and I will take it every show without fail if I have too, so when I heard them drums kick in, I went mental again. Jon was brilliant on it, had the odd hiccup, but that was it. I couldn't believe the set list I got.


It really was a brilliant concert from the first minute. Like I said, I went into this with no expectations at all and wasn't that excited. I was looking forward to it but it still was lacking something. I got to the venue and that was when it kicked in and stuff.

Jon sounded absolutely brilliant all night. I was really expecting his voice to be terrible but it genuinely was brilliant. Had the odd moments where he struggled but nothing major. He was back to being the front man we all know too. Was using the stage a lot and looked like he was really having fun out there. I wish he used the circle a bit more but ah well. If he carries on like this, we will all begin to enjoy this tour a bit more.

Onto the whole Richie & Phil X thing. I missed Richie A LOT last night. As good as a guitar player Phil X is, he just isn't Richie. The songs sound so much different at times when Phil X does a solo and not for the better and that isn't any fault of his own, it just doesn't sound anywhere near as good. I know it looks like he is enjoying himself out there, and probably does more than Richie, but I just wish that Richie was there last night because it would of been an even better show. Phil just doesn't have the charisma that Richie has up there and he may have been told to keep out of the show in those types of terms, I don't know, but I really hope Richie comes back. It misses his vocals too.

Tico was immense as always. He really does steal the show at times. Unbelievable drummer. David was great too. Bobby was poor. Bad Name solo was horrific as was In These Arms.

I think again that this has proven that if Jon is like the way he was last night, sometimes it doesn't have to have rarities. Of course, it's a bonus and people who have been to many more shows than me will want them, but they could of played 'I love this town' and I wouldn't have been bothered because it was really that good. It's made me really excited for Slane now.

Merchandise is pretty poor. Rip off for most stuff and has the odd thing that is nice.

Apart from that, couldn't fault last night. Fantastic.

Edit: I forgot to mention my opinion on the stage. Wow. It blew me away when I walked up the stairs when I seen it but when it's dark and it really comes to live, it really is something else. By far the best stage they have had. So many different things on it and it just looks great on every song. Great job on it.

[Iceman]

Originally Posted by GabrielC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnlbnTo4XbY

Garageland.

One of my favourite songs and Jon actually managed to sing pretty good. He only dodged the highest note in the chorus, otherwise pretty good for 2013.

Ice