Which was the BEST Bon Jovi show you have been to?

Birmingham nec Dec 89: Expecting LYHOM and starting with RYH instead(no intro, just houselights went down and a silhouetted RS blasting out the riff),plus IBTFY and LOAP both acoustically done on a really special night. (No mention of this in any archives btw but they played 4 nights there in Dec 89).

Donington 87!!! Just great, JBJs voice knackered but he still gave it all including standing on the roof of the stage singing We will rock you during Let It Rock. Paul Stanley, Dee Snider and Bruce Dickinson joined them on stage for the encores. Plus got to see Cinderella for the first time.

MK Bowl 2001. Great show and best post 2000 one imo as JBJ was in a great mood all the way through.

Honourary mentions must go to Manchester 08/ MK Bowl 1989.

Although I've only seen 3 shows but I think Dublin night 1 for me. Dublin night 2 was great in terms of rarities but the band just seemed on top form night 1 for me. Seeing the crowd sing wanted before Jon had even opened his mouth was just amazing. Never seen anything like it.

I've been to about 30 shows in many different cities and states. The first was in Jackson, Mississippi in 1989 and the most recent was in Memphis, TN this year. It's very hard to narrow down to three best shows, but here they are:

1994 Christmas Show, Atlanta, Georgia
It was amazing to see the band in a smaller venue. There was great set list with classics, covers, and new songs too. It was a very special show and one I got to share with my friend Ursula and my parents.

2000 St. Louis
This was the first show where I heard I'll Be There for You, Born to Be My Baby (I was excited about it way back then), and Never Say Goodbye. The audience was great and the band really fed off their energy. I knew Jon thought it was just as good of a night as I did when he came back out by himself and started Never Say Goodbye.

2005 Omaha
It has nothing to do with the setlist and everything to do with the performance. When my father died, I drifted away from Bon Jovi because I had so many memories of him attached to Bon Jovi. It was at that time that I got into Keith Urban because his music really spoke to me and helped me get through the grief. I started following him around and had seen him many times and was struck by what an amazing performer he was. The way he played guitar opened a whole new world to me and he's a fantastic frontman/showman too. So part of me feared that Bon Jovi wouldn't seem as good as they used to when compared to him. I feared that a Bon Jovi show wouldn't make me feel what it used to. Well, Jon came out and showed me that he was still the best frontman/showman I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. This show renewed my love for Bon Jovi and my faith in them. And since Keith's music had helped me put some of my grief behind me, this show helped me start making new memories of Bon Jovi separate from my father. Sometimes how good a show is has to do with a lot more than just the songs being played. Incidentally, both of my signature pix were take in Omaha about two weeks apart.

1. Lisbon 2011
2. Barcelona 2011
3. Calgary 2007
4. Mannheim 2011
5. Calgary 2010

Lisbon is number 1 because Jon was on fire for the entire setlist. On top of that, the surprises just didn't stop so I was always wondering what was happening next. I went into the show expecing not much... a good show with a Dry County/Wanted/These Days/Prayer kind of encore. While still a good encore, nothing truly special from what the rest of the European tour got. I was blown away by the amount of surprises, and I still remember my disbelief when Get Ready started to play.

I used to think Lisbon was number 2, and Barcelona number 1, but I really think now (thinking back) that Lisbon may have been the better show. I got to hear an amazing new version of Letting You Go, Get Ready, Love Song and the best I Believe since the early 90s.

Calgary was 3rd because there was just such raw emotion in the show. Jon got rid of the setlist during the acoustic section and turned what was supposed to be BOR & IBTFY (both TLFR) turned into Mystery Train/Diamond Ring/Never Say Goodbye/acoustic Blood On Blood. It was the show that got me hooked on them and was just fanastic in gerneral.

Mannheim comes next because of an absolutely fantastic Hey God and a setlist full of boxset surprises. Jon was also indeed on fire and it was such a welcome change from the band that played such a horrible, shitty night in Dusseldorf a few nights before. Comparing these two shows, I can't even say it's the same band.

Calgary 2010 was next because we got a really solid show and Jon on fire for the entire show. This show was proof that Jon can still completely rock an average setlist. The atmosphere was great, vocals were great, and I was just happy to see the band after 3 years of not seeing them, and as a proper diehard.

Other honourable mentions:

6. Vancouver 1 (2011)
7. Vancouver 2 (2011)
8. Toronto 2 (2010)

Best show has to go to Helsinki 1996. What a night, for reasons we already know everything about. A close second must be Stockholm on April 17th, 1993.

Honorary mentions undoubtedly go to the Wembley shows 1995 and also Stockholm 1995.

Truth to be told, any show from the 2000's can never beat the performances during the 90's. It was just a completely different ball-game back then.

Vienna 2003, 2011
Udine 2011

I really don't know if I should have put Barcelona 2011 and Mannheim 2011 on
that list as well as Hamburg 2008...It is a really tight decision. Also Hamburg 2001 was a nice concert with Prayer acoustic and Faith with Sympathy and Wild is The Wind. The last o2 show was special too and Edinburgh 2011 had a great atmosphere too.....ahhh,. I can't make up my mind. And I don't know why I keep forgetting it: Düsseldorf 2006.

I've only seen 2 "bad shows" and was very lucky with the rest


1. Munich 2008
2. O2 night 2 / Barcelona 2011/ Bremen 2000/ Hamburg 2008
3. Mannheim 2011/ O2 night 12/ Kiel 2003
4. Düsseldorf 2006
5. Edinburgh 2011/ Hamburg 2001
6. Twickenham 2008
7. Munich 2011
8. O2 night 1
9. Bremen 2003
10. Gelsenkirchen 2003

Well sort of....

By the way, has anyone here been to Hamburg 2001 or Bremen 2000? My memory is kind of blurry regarding these two dates.

1. Barcelona 2011
This show was fantastic. Easily one of the best setlists after 1996, the crowd was unbelievable, as well as the whole band. I Believe, Just Older, Santa Fe, Diamond Ring, Something to Believe in, Hey God, Always ... AMEN !!

2. São Paulo 2010
The set wasn´t even close to Barcelona, but it had been 15 years since the boys last visited Brazil. The atmosphere was awesome, and the band delivered a hell of a show. And it was the first time I heard These Days Live.

3. Lisboa 2011
Once again a fantastic crowd, a band on fire and a spetacular setlist. Get ready, Hard Letting You Go, Any Other Day, These Days, I Believe, This Ain´t a Love Song, Always ...

4. Chicago 2010 (night 2)
The best HAND and Prayer from this tour IMO. And the first Dry County is unforgettable !!

5. Mannheim 2011
This show was top notch. The band was on fire, as well as the crowd. And besides the surprises in the main set, it had the best version of Hey God I´ve heard from this band.

San Sebastian was also spetacular setlist-wise, but the performance was just OK, Jon was on autopilot. Vienna 2011 was also very good.

Fargo 2010.

I've only been to two shows, so it's either this or Fargo 08, but I prefered the one from 2010. I wanted to hear Blood on Blood badly at that point, so hearing that opening riff at the beginning was magical. Plus, I got the goodies that were standards at the beginning of the tour, like Homebound Train (Richie rocks ), Something for the Pain, and Love's the Only Rule as a main set closer. Plus the first ever performance of Happy Now.

This is a difficult question - there are really so many and for different reasons.

Nov 16, 2000 (Continental Arena) - the show I never thought I would see. After 5 years they are back in Jersey. I'm figuring that they will not move me the way they used to - instead I walked out of the show converted all over again.

One Last Wild Night 2001 - Giants Stadium - just a hell of a good show from start to finish and one of the best KTF performances on record.

Giants 2006-07-29 Night 3. What a setlist - but Jon's voice was pretty well gone.

Fanclub show at Starland 2009-02-23. An incredible setlist of the Roots of Rock. Not the entire band but one of the best I've seen.

And then (since I can't keep going) the recent shows I just saw on the European tour. Udine, San Sebastian, Barcelona and Lisbon. I saw more rarities in those 4 shows than in years here in NJ. Jon sounded terrific for the most part and the shows were great.

Ask me again why I'm a fan? LOL