The Official July 21 Piața Constituției, Bucharest, Romania Thread

I saw the band live for the first time soon after Richie Sambora "didn't show up." It was ok, I was glad I went but Richie was missed. I was "one and done." I am glad that they are still packing in crowds and that people enjoy the shows but it is a mystery to me that they are--the new songs aren't great and the singer suffers too much. I do like the fact that these days the band members are featured on the screens--the concert I went to was 100% the Jon show and as a fan of the BAND, it annoyed me a lot that the others were not shown. Who knows, if they need to explore markets they haven't done before, they might eventually show up where I live and I might go but no more flights, hotels, etc. as it wouldn't be worth my time or money.

Out of respect to everyone who traveled to Bucharest, they knew people all over the Balkans and from other parts of Europe were coming in and as I mentioned the crowd was on fire, I don’t know how they did it but there were about 60.000 people according to local news at the concert anyway, Jon apologized cause of those factors. Other than that I’m pretty sure as it was also the last concert for European Leg they would break the 2:30H of show barrier. Everyone was enjoying the show, even Shanks.

And you thought the concert would be undersold, remember? Anyway, I also went to this show and enjoyed it for what it was. Jon's vocals aside, the band sounded brilliant. I jumped, I screamed my lungs out and genuinely enjoyed every single song, including Whole Lot of Leavin and Captain Crash. When they started playing Amen, I was thrilled because I was sure Bed of Roses would follow, and I REALLY wanted to hear this song again. Plus, if memory serves me right, if they play Amen, it is always followed by Roses, at least for this European tour. While I don't mind Roller Coaster, seeing it take Roses' place was the first HUGE bummer for me. Anyway, I still hoped to see I'll Be There For You opening the encore, but alas. As soon as I heard the first notes of Prayer at the start of the encore, I realized we were probably in for a Werchter part 2 set, yet said to myself 'f*** it, I'll enjoy every second remaining nonetheless'. And that's what I did. Truth be told, it was obvious that Jon was struggling mightily throughout the night and I think he'd had many better nights in the weeks prior. When Prayer ended, Jon's face expression revealed, at least in my opinion, that he wanted to give the crowd more than that 19-song vanilla set because the whole band gathered in a circle and started talking to each other, probably discussing what else they could play that would sound at least half-decent vocally. I'd Die For You was the DIAMOND of the night for me as I never expected to see such a gem in the first place. Jon announced they'd play two songs and since I'd Die For You was pretty much a treat for us die-hards, I thought the second song would either be a well-known hit such as I'll Be There For You ( I still had hope for that one), or a cover song just as popular. It turned out to be the latter. As a matter of fact, Twist and Shout was the show closer in 2011 at the same venue, as well. I didn't mind hearing it again but I really wanted a band song instead. If I have to be honest, the setlist suffered GREATLY from the absence of Bed of Roses and I'll Be There For You because they are both monstrous songs. It hurt all the more after I learned that they had originally been printed on the set but eventually crossed out with the infamous black marker.



Altogether, I'm glad I went to this show and did my best to enjoy it for what it was. It will probably be the last time I see my favorite band live not because I won't go to any future shows, but because I doubt Jon would go out on tour again with the current state of his voice. I'll always cherish my memories from the 2011 Bucharest show as it was the best and most epic concert I have ever seen and WILL ever see in my lifetime and no band or artist will ever top it.

Wait till you see Springsteen but imo the concert in Athens and based on band’s opinion Athens 2011 was one of their greatest live shows in recent years and also the greatest concert I’ve been too , if I don’t take in consideration the Boss.

Yeah the show didn’t move tickets at all and suddenly everything changes in the last few days, that was great actually and I was happy to be part of a full house. I enjoyed every second of it despite the ending early, it was another night to remember.

Hopefully Jon will manage to improve the vocals and get rid of the issues, it’s a pity cause he was full of energy in the beginning as I said already!

Glad you had a great concert experience too bad we didn’t get to meet each other and argue face to face, just kidding

See you further down the road hopefully!

People still talk about those 2011 shows as if they were truly great. I've seen them in a few countries on that tour including that much talked about Hard Rock Calling appearance in London, Munich, Istanbul, Athens and Bucharest. The Bucharest one was probably the best one and to this date, I haven't seen a crowd as wild at a Jovi concert. But even then, the band was broken, Bandiera was playing lead on some songs, Sambora sounded thin as ****, Jon and Richie had about as much chemistry as Axl and Slash on their reunion tour, we were being treated to masterpieces such as Work for the Working Man or I Love This Town. Those shows were only good in comparison to the 2008-10 shows (and compared with whatever trainwreck came after). But they weren't great shows in the history of Bon Jovi. Not even close.

In terms of Bucharest two days ago, Jon said before Twist and Shout "I'm sorry I wasn't quite up to speed". It was an embarrassing performance and apologizing doesn't change the fact that most people left feeling disappointed, even before the last song. When Meat Loaf was struggling with his voice, he got a replacement singer. Maybe Jon should consider this too. Even better, if he wants to give die hard performances, keep them small and focussed, but not sell 60 000 tickets for people and have 1000 die hards 'happy to have seen them live' and the rest wondering why they spent their hard earned cash on such a joke of a performance. And Phil X running around headbanging doesn't change a thing.

The reason why I regard Bucharest 2011 as the greatest show I'll ever see is that it was the first time I had had the chance to see my favorite band live. I know from the bootlegs on Youtube that 2011 wasn't a patch on, say 1993 or even 95/96, and I wish I were born in a different decade and a different country to be able to see the band in their absolute heyday. Alas, it's what it is. So, having the opportunity to see them in Bucharest 8 years ago was the best possible scenario for me. The performance, the crowd and the setlist - oh my Lord, what a setlist we got!!! (Dry County, Always, These Days, Saturday Night, Blood on Blood, There for You and Bed of Roses to name a few) - everything felt surreal, and feels surreal to this day. I am just happy I got to see the band I've loved dearly since 1997. I never knew that it would later turn out to be their last moment of greatness...

Hyde Park 2011 was a good gig.

Great post and your last line was the cherry on top.

I’d Die For you was played to death on previous tours but is now revered and considered a rarity that saves an entire show?! That shows how easily pleased the majority of the fans are these days.

When you get a set as vanilla as the one we got in Bucharest two days ago, getting I'D Die For You when you thought it was all over DOES save the show. And no, that does NOT show how easily pleased we've become. Rather, it's an indication as to how much we have lowered our expectations. I'd rather have Dry County, I Believe, Wild Is The Wind, These Days, Hey God, Stick to Your Guns and Let it Rock in EVERY single show. Now THAT would please me for sure, but there's no point in hoping for the impossible, is there?