The Sofia show should never have happened

Exactly - and Prayer84, that is precisely what I think is 'stupid' in your post. To think Jon would cut a show short just because it's Bulgaria or whatever is absolutely ridiculous thinking. It reminds me of football commentators in Romania, always blaming the referees when the national team loses: 'Ohh, they always favour the Scandinavians!' bullshit!! I've seen this band so many times, in so many countries that I know it's all about Jon's mood & health. And if that's bad, it doesn't matter where the show is - it will be sub-standard.

In 2003, the only Italian date was at a heavy metal festival. They played for 1.5 hours, the set was shit, Jon didn't speak a word other than 'It's ****in' hot here' and they left the stage almost like running away. That was a sub-standard show. In ITALY. With FABULOUS fans. So really, once again, your post is just silly. Get to grips with it and stop finding silly arguments where there is just a simple, straight-forward explanation.

Ι'd call it retarded. I had a great time in Sofia, but Milan was from another dimension. Though the Italians proved that they deserved a concert like this. The atmosphere they provided was UNIQUE and stunning. It's just about the mood of the band. The band in Milan was on fire, same in Sofia. Don't complain for the small details...

That's the way it is with Bon Jovi. You don't know what to expect. I'll take inconsistency over the same setlist getting played every night, like most other bands do.

Do I like it when I see other shows getting the songs I wanted to hear? No, I get jealous and sometimes whine for a few minutes, but then I remember all the great moments and memories I got at my shows and I get over it. You can't have it all, unless you've got tons of money and a lot of time and you can afford to see all the shows. (And even some of those people are complaining.)

There are so many people who love them and will never get to see them for various reasons. Can you imagine how they feel?

It sucks the set was shorter than others, it sucks that Jon was ill, but there's nothing you can do to change that now. Having a great time at that moment should be all that matters. Comparing your show to others will just drive you crazy.

I can understand how you feel let down that the concert in your city did not measure up to the band's usual standards. This is because in 1993 and 1995 Bon Jovi came to Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). Both shows were 2 hours long, almost to the minute.

In pre-internet 1993 I thoroughly enjoyed the show and had no idea how long/what songs were played in other cities. It was just great to see them after being a fan for 7 years. I later heard the show was cut short due to logistics of catching the ferry to the next show in Newfoundland.

1995 was different. The internet gave the opportunity to know the band's every move and concert set list and length. Therefore when our show ended just short of 2 hours, after reading Montreal had gotten a 2 1/2+ hour show a couple days earlier, I knew we'd gotten a concert with the minimal standards. Not to mention Bon Jovi came on stage just before 5:00 and was gone by 7:00. No light show for us! Again I heard it was a logistics issue with needing to travel/set up the next show.

But the fact remains, they came to my city. And Jon was in a great mood both times. I've just always felt, somewhat as you do and unfortunately probably always will, that we didn't get to see all the band could do.

Wasn't that italian festival show in 2001 (not 2003, I think) cut short due to Jon being sick? If I remember correctly, Richie did a song (which wasn't as usual then) to make up for it.

I was at the concert in Hessisch Lichtenau, Germany in 2006. It was a bloody cold day in may. The band rushed through the set, Jon didn't talk much except complaining about the temperature ("this is what you call a german summer, huh?") and they left the stage after a 3-song encore without a proper bow after exactly 2 hours. And that in Germany!

Was it because it was so freaking cold? Because there were only about 30.000 people? Was it because Jon was pissed that they weren't allowed to take the helicopter to the venue?
I guess it wasn't too hard to play at least 3 songs more. 2 weeks later I went to Munich and got a setlist, that was one full hour longer.
But strangely, I didn't leave too disappointed. The setlist had "These Days" and "Garageland" and the show opened with "Raise Your Hands" with Jon on the catwalk, while "Last Man Standing" worked quite fine later in the set. It was short, but it rocked.

It is just how it is with this band, and I'm too am not always happy with it. As long as the setlist is fine, it's ok with me. But when I see setlists like Zurich 2011 or Stuttgart 2013 I know I didn't miss much...

Padova 2001, wasn't a festival show. That's what happened, yes. I think it was about hour and a half... At that time I didn't know there was such thing as three hour shows.

But in 1993, shows weren't as long as today. I think the average show was about 2 hours long. They were even shorter in the 80s. It wasn't until 1995 that Bon Jovi started playing "longer" shows on a regular basis. You were really early with the internet on 1995, btw.

On a sidenote:
I was in Halifax a couple of years back, and I remembered the name of the city from the tour schedule that was delivered with the "Lie To Me"-single. It said they played the citadell hill. When I was walking around it, I remember wondering where a concert could take place on that thing... it looked so small. But for some reason, I didn't actually go up that hill... Halifax is a lovely city, and it's funny to read from someone who actually was at the shows there... I was always hoping they'd return to the city and I could catch them there. I also bought some nice BJ bootleg in a 2nd hand shop in Halifax around 2002.

That was Padova, 2001 - and people still consider it one of the most memorable gigs of the tour. I am talking about Bologna (Imola) - 2003. The other 2 headliners were Metallica and Iron Maiden and Bon Jovi were definitely the most underwhelming of the three. I would even dare say that Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) who was playing straight beforehand kicked their asses solidly.

FRONT ROW baby. I loved that show (Munich, obviously!)

Your spot on though. Whoever has seen the band at least 2-3 times knows that the 'quality' difference between Bon Jovi shows can be gigantic. It is what it is. You either take it or leave it, but it's not like you don't know beforehand that the gig might be anything between shit - ok and overwhelming.

I've seen Bon Jovi three times and I'd say they range from very disappointing, to good, to brilliant. Hopefully my next show on Wednesday will improve that ratio!

Couple of things to know:

-Avoid going to first shows of a tour / leg: they are always shorter cause the band is out their routine and things still need to improve. Also for bon jovi, even after 30 years.

-2 hours is a rather long show by any band's standards, only bj fans are spoiled with longer shows. So are fans by a few other bands or artists: springsteen, metallica, greenday, cure, prince.

- setlist / show lengths do differ by all above artists, depending on various factors. It is human and sometimes it is due to restrictions. Bruce has played marathons up to 4 hours, so does prince, but i ve been at prince shows that did last only 90 minutes. I have never attended a bruce show going over 3 hours either.

- if due to medical issues an artist is not feeling 100 percent, that is bad luck but again human. If stopping your show after 2 hours due to hayfever, that is not exactly what you can call short.

- if you live in belgium like i do, you will also get shorter and mediocre shows from jovi cause the crowds over here just tend to be dull. You and i just need to accept that there are places where a band just likes to play better. That is why i went to see them over the years in hyde park, munich, slane, ... you just know in advance that these shows will get the little extras.

- in italy jovi never used to play special shows, but that changed in 2011 since the crowd managed to set up this incredible human banner that made the bands mouth fall wide open. I guess as a sort of thank you the band just played a couple songs more.

And that's all i have to say about this really

Cheers.