Kuba's Dublin shows review - The story of a dream
 

“It's written in the scars where I fit in
It's going to hurt sometimes, you’ve got to lose to win…”

This time there will be no story about meeting Obie. No story about hand written letter to Jon either. But this trip was far more important for me and the most personal out of all my previous BJ trips. Far more emotional. Without a doubt this was one of the hardest fights I had to go through in my life, mentally not physically. Everything on the way seemed to show it won’t work, but I didn’t want to let that thought come to and through me. Positive thinking kept me alive and kept moving forward. The reward was huge like never before, but the sacrifice was the hardest too…This is the story of my life.

As some of you know, last year I have seen the band 3 times. Paris and last 2 shows at the O2. All of them were amazing. I got LIR in Paris and my fav ballad BOR for the first time ever. Then spontaneously I bought tickets to London one week before the shows, that turned out to be the best shows of them all. HT by Richie, Santa Fe! Hallelujah, Bullet, IHLYG and TD played in the very last moments of the residency, when I thought the hope is gone. Amazing memories. But still, one piece was missing all the time – Dry County. Song I wanted to hear the most. And never got that on any of my 4 shows. Along with KTF and TD, DC forms my absolutely untouchable TOP3 of BJ songs. And no matter how great all those shows were, without it my dream was not completed. So I was anxiously awaiting European leg of the tour in 2011 to finally get it, no matter the cost and circumstances. And as it turned out, money was not the issue this time, but other things were, those that were the most important for me personally.

When they announced the dates, I knew already that I have to look for greatest cities to get it. Munich, Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona or Dublin. Based on the set lists from LH tour, those were the cities that would probably give me the biggest chance of getting it. My first thoughts were for Munich, but quickly that option was out of question. My wife’s sister announced she’s getting married on the weekend of that show and my dream of seeing them at Olympic stadium was gone in seconds. Shit happens. And when they announced FC trip in Dublin I knew that was the city I have to go to. So far on all the FC trips they always played DC, so I concentrated all my thoughts on it. But there was one problem. Destination. Dublin – my cursed city of the past. Without getting into small details I will have to explain why I hated this town so much.

I spent two summer vacations over there, 2004 and 2005. Together almost 6 months of my life spent on Green Island. I was there with my ex-girlfriend. We decided to go there to earn good money and possibly stay there longer than only for the summer. I always thought that I will leave Poland permanently and will spent rest of life abroad, because economically Poland is extremely weak, while Western Europe was a synonym of luxury. And at the beginning it all was going in the right direction. We both found a really well paid job, where for example in one day we could earn as much as we could earn in Poland in one month. Literally. Promise land you might say. But the devil was hidden in the details. I didn’t feel good over there. In general people were great and really nice but still I felt like a total stranger over there. Moreover at work I felt like a slave, like a person of second category. And there were some people trying to make me feel like that. I was giving all my best at work and worked my ass off while at the same time I saw people doing nothing, even though we both had same job to do. They were Irish and no one told them to go back to work, but we “people from Eastern Europe” didn’t have that privilege. Of course not everybody was like that, and in general Irish people are great and very friendly, but there were a couple of people that made me feel like shit more and more with each day. Just because I wanted to get as much money as possible for my life of a student when I am back in Poland, I tried to avoid confrontation with them and somehow managed to get to the end of the summer. I earned lots of money (for Polish standards) and went back to Poland to finish my studies, because I only had one year left to graduate. But still those problems stayed in my mind. Apart from those problems, when I was there I was missing my family and friends very much and I knew after 3 months that life abroad is probably not a good option for me. Still, after I finished my university, my ex-girlfriend pushed me to go back to Dublin again. I was against it and I wanted to find a good job in Poland. But of course as “love is blind” I agreed and we went back to Dublin again in 2005. This time it was much harder to find a summer job. Finally I found a job in a warehouse while my girlfriend started working at the office of a big company. To shorten this whole part, eventually our paths started to go in the other directions and we couldn’t get along with each other very well. Eventually she dumped me and finished a 4-year relationship over there. I was devastated and at that point I felt that my life broke down to pieces. 3 weeks later she decided to go back to me, we even got engaged (again “love” is blind) in Dublin but one month after this she said again she doesn’t love me anymore and returned me the engagement ring. I felt like total shit. I lost what I thought was the love of my life back then. I lost faith in everything, literally everything. Definitely in love. And all of that happened in Dublin. Everything I loved the most (or what I should say I thought was “love”) was taken away from me in Dublin. And I hated that city for that. With passion.

But at the end of that summer HAND came out, that featured a song that pulled me out of the bottom of my depression. That was “Welcome To Wherever You Are”. Once again, BJ found a way to lift me up and be the soundtrack to my life, exactly when I needed it the most. It took me about one year to stand back on my feet again, but I made it. And then in November of 2006 I met my wife. She was the first girl that found the key to re-open my heart for love again. I don’t know how she did that but the more I think of it, the more I realize we were simply destined to be with each other. We met on the internet on one of the dating websites (I wouldn’t believe it too, I know), after 3 dates she went to UK to get a job, after 5 months she came back just for me, a month after her return she moved in to me, and in 2008 we got married and in 2009 our beautiful daughter was born. A story straight out of Hollywood script. As my wife loves music (she’s a singer that has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard) she went with me to all my BJ shows, including the first one in Bristol in 2008. Two weeks after the show I proposed to her and two months later we got married. Like never before I was so sure this is the right woman for me. We are like soul mates. We understand each other without words. And out of that love, our lovely daughter – Natalie showed up on this world.
Yes, the day Natalie was born my whole life has changed permanently. Those of you who are parents will know what I mean. I loved kids all my life and always wanted to have kids of my own. Her every smile makes me the happiest man alive, I know that everything I do now, I do for her. And nothing would stand between me and her. Never. But probably you’ve heard the saying “never say never”, huh? And as it turned out, just to try to make my dreams come true, I had to make one of the hardest decision as a parent. Well, to say it shortly. Natalie was born on 30th June 2009. So she has just turned 2 years old on Thursday. Right, Thursday 30th, which means the date of the second BJ show in Dublin. I don’t know how important your birthdays are for you, but for me mine was always one of the most important days of the year and I always had a family party to celebrate it. My daughter’s birthday is as important for me as mine or even more. And as it turned out eventually I was forced to choose between her and BJ shows, which was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. The thing is at the beginning it didn’t look that bad at all. When they announced the first date it was the 29th, but there was already info on their website about FC trip from 27-30.06 with 2 shows included, which suggested that the second one would be on 28th June. That would mean that I could go to both shows easily and get back on time for Natalie’s birthday. So without doubts I bought 2 tickets to the show on 29th for me and my wife, waiting patiently for official announcement of the date of the second show. And you can only imagine how surprised and sad I was when they changed the FC trip dates and changed the second show from 28th to 30th, so exactly on Natalie’s birthday. “Why?” I asked myself. Why do I have to choose between her and BJ? But still FC trip shows meant that I double my chances of getting DC on one of them. What if I go only to 29th and they play it on 30th? I felt I couldn’t take that risk and I needed to go to both shows, but still it meant that I won’t be with Natalie on her birthday. What kind of a father chooses his dreams above his daughter? My logic said – “she’ll be fine, she’s too young, she won’t even notice we are not there”. But my heart told me “don’t do it, she’s the most important thing in the world for you, even BJ can’t beat her”. But there was also the third voice of my soul, that said “You’ve got to hear DC. That’s your biggest dream since you were a little boy”. Shit. Believe me, I did not sleep well that night while I was making that decision.

And to make it even worse, my wife told me, that if it’s on Natalie’s birthday she will not go for sure. And I couldn’t blame her for that. I didn’t have any good reasons for her to go with me. Sure she loves BJ, but she’s not such a psycho like me that wants to go just to get one song. The one I did not get in 4 previous shows so there’s no guarantee I will get that in the next 1 or 2. But the thing is she was with me on all my previous BJ shows. Maybe I am old fashioned, I don’t know, but all my dreams taste best when I can share them with the people I love. First show ever without her would not taste the same. BOR in Paris without her would not taste the same. The joy of getting TD at the O2 would be the same without my wife right next to me too. So if I get DC in Dublin, it would mean I would have it on my own only. The loss was doubled. Missing Natalie’s birthday and missing my wife right next to me…At the end, only one decision could be made, and each one of them was the wrong one. Either leaving your dreams undone or leave your loved ones. And although my heart was broken, my soul won the fight. I bought another 2 tickets for the show on 30th, just in case my wife changes her mind. I tried to make her change her mind for months but it didn’t work. I even asked few people over here on JT, from Poland, if they want to join me for the shows, but none of them could afford the trip unfortunately. So there I was, with 4 tickets and only one person excited to go – myself.
And then, few months later a ray of light showed up on the horizon. My wife started to whisper about changing her mind and maybe going with me. And there was only one reason for that – “because I love you and I want to be with you, because it means so much for you” – that’s what she said. I really don’t need to comment that. She’s my angel and I have no idea what I have done in my life that I deserved to be with her, but I treasure her like nothing else in the world. Her and our little Natalie. And just when this horror seemed to be coming to an end, the announcement was made…

Richie…out for a rehab. That news struck me on my 31st birthday, 28th April. Can you believe it? Coincidence? Was it a punishment from up above for my decision of leaving Natalie on her birthday? That was the worst birthday present I have ever received. Without Richie, DC means nothing. For me this song is his work of art. Sure, Jon’s vocals are great in it, lyrics are perfect, but still for me it is his guitars and most importantly his main solo in it that makes it a masterpiece. I have said it here several times, this song is the definition of BJ for me. It was the reason I learned to play guitar, even though I never managed to nail that solo. That solo will always be the synonym of perfection I will never reach. That one song was the main reason I chose to go to Dublin. But without Richie it would be worthless. Quickly it turned out that they found Phil for replacement, but after his first shot at DC I knew what I will do if Richie’s not back. The answer was very simple and I have made it loud and clear over here in one of my posts. If Richie’s not there for Europe, I won’t go to Dublin too, even if I don’t find a person who would buy the tickets from me, which would mean I would lose loads of money (4 GC tickets + flights one way). With DC on the line I was ready to sacrifice my daughter’s birthday, but with probable DC with Phil I just knew it’s totally not worth it. That first ever DC in my life has to be done the right way. Phil was a great guy, really, but he was a no-match against my daughter.

So as the weeks went by, there was only one thing I could do - pray for Richie’s health. And I did that every single day. As always, in the most trying times of my life, there was only one song that kept my hopes alive – KTF. And it carried me now more than ever. That’s the only reason why it’s still my #1 and is just slightly higher in the ranking than DC. Positive message that became the motto of my life. “Don’t you know it’s never too late….” – that’s what I kept telling myself all the time. But even though I didn’t want to let that thought of missing Richie in my mind, I still did not buy my flights back to Poland yet. I waited for official confirmation that he’ll be back. And finally, I think it was Monday 6th June, I found a video over here of Richie himself at the airport telling he’s on his way to Europe. That was more than official for me and finally I could buy my return flights and look up in the sky with a big “Thank You” and a smile on my face again. At least now I can give it try. There was no guarantee I will get DC, but at least Richie was back. And that’s all I needed.

So just about 3 weeks before the trip, everything seemed to be back to normal. Richie’s back, my wife’s going with me and the only thing I had to deal with myself was Natalie’s birthday and my demons of the past, that were waiting for me in Dublin. But this time, I was well prepared to kick their asses. Not only mentally, but also with my best guardian on my side – my wife. She was the only person that could help me break that curse of Dublin. I was heading to Ireland with the thought of replacing all bad memories and tears of sadness into happy memories and tears of joy.

There was only one hard moment on the way - the day of departure and leaving our daughter for few days. To make our parting as short as possible, we were leaving on Tuesday afternoon from our home city, but our return flights were not heading home directly. We could go back home on Saturday evening, but there was a flight to other Polish city on Friday, about 180km away from our town. But that one day was like eternity for us. It not only enabled us to be with our daughter one day earlier, but also give us enough time to prepare her birthday party on Sunday, the one that should have been on Thursday.
But still that was the hardest moment of the trip for me. I had to look straight into my daughters beautiful brown eyes and kiss her goodbye. When the moment came, I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I am a typical family guy. I hate goodbyes. I always get emotional. I hate to leave people I love. You know, we left our daughter one year ago too, for the trip to O2 for 2 days, but she was only 1 year old back then. She could not communicate the way she does now. Every day when I come back from work in the evening, she runs toward me screaming “Daddyyyyyy” (in Polish “Tataaaaaa”) and hugs me as hard as she can. And you can easily see when she’s sad. She’s still a baby but can show her emotions very well. And on that day, she felt something was wrong and she was sad all day. When the moment of departure came, she started crying and I couldn’t stop crying too. My wife handled it much better than me. All I could think of was “It’s hard letting you go”. Strangely enough, the band played it the day before in Bristol. And no other song could describe better my feelings at that moment. I knew that I left my heart at home with her, but my soul kept pushing me toward my dream, and no force was able to stop it, not even me…

And so we reached Dublin. We were staying in my friend’s house, right next to Phoenix Park. We rented a car for 3 days to make all of the transport easier for us, and my friend was our private driver. He was taking us to RDS for the shows and was picking us after the shows too. Moreover on Wednesday morning we also went to Howth to have a walk there and took some great photos. I felt already that everything is going the right way. But I was extremely nervous on that day, because of the show. I could barely eat anything for dinner. The mental stress was just huge. I’ve done everything I could but the rest was totally out of my control. I knew that if they won’t play DC on Wednesday, I might not survive the show on Thursday waiting until the encore. Moreover Thursday was Natalie’s birthday so it would be hard enough for me anyway. And what if they won’t play DC at all? All that sacrifice would go for nothing. But still I had to stand face to face with that stress and those demons of the past in me. We left home at about 5pm and after getting through the traffic we reached RDS just before 6pm.

We had tickets in GC and we found a great spot, just about 3 m from the catwalk. I couldn’t believe it. I have never been so close to the band before, so I hoped they all walk out on the circle during the shows. By the way, there was only one GC in Dublin, unlike Munich for example. It was raining most of the afternoon in Dublin and it was cloudy in the evening. Those dark clouds were flying above our heads in RDS and light showers showed up during the support bands. I was prepared for this and we had poncho’s so we put them on in case it started to rain during the show. But surprisingly, right before the start of the show, the sun came out and all the dark clouds disappeared. It was unbelievable. I thought it was the first sign Heavens are on our side, giving me that rays of hope. And it all started under this great scenario in full sunlight, with RYH as an opener.

The band looked really happy and totally relaxed from the very beginning. You could feel right away they are having fun as much as the audience on every single song. I have never seen Jon as happy on any of my previous shows. He was throwing smiles all over the place. The show started with typical line up, with the first surprise being Just Older. I’ve never heard this one before and I love that song. The crowd was going crazy on all big hits. They were really amazing. Everybody sang and knew the lyrics. Maybe it was just like that in GC, I don’t know. But I was surrounded by true die-hards I think and it was a pleasure to be with them on those nights. First song of my request list was LTOR. I have said it million times over here that I love The Circle and finally I was able to hear this one live. It is such a great song with such a great message. The one some people seem to forget about nowadays or just pretend they don’t need it. This is by the way my wife’s fav song of TC so she got her reward really quickly.
And then Jon went out to the circle for WWWB. Another track of TC. I don’t care what others think, I love it, and even though I heard it before last year I didn’t mind getting that again. The best part of it is that we were so close to him. I could almost look straight in to his eyes. I took loads of close up photos during that song. And then he went into BOR, our fav ballad. Again, we heard it twice last year but I will never get bored with it. And then came one of the most magical moments for me. The one I defended so much over here during Richie’s absence. If there’s anything that made BJ such a huge band in the world, for sure it’s the bond between Jon and Richie. Those two are inseparable. They are like heart and soul of the band. You take out any of them and you don’t see the same band. And when Jon asked Richie to join him on the circle, the whole crowd went nuts. When Richie was on his way toward Jon, he was given such an amazing ovation, it was unbelievable. I know that they could get away with the shows without Richie in US, but in Europe Richie holds a huge part in fans’ hearts. He’s as important as Jon I think. And because of that whole issue with his absence, when they started IBTFY, it felt so special to me. I saw 2 brothers again on stage. Stronger than ever. Even though I have seen it last year too, this time it was special again. His absence made me and many of us realize how important his role is in this band. Magic between them is not ordinary and we should always enjoy every second of it.
Another amazing part of the show for me was SIBSN. I think it was Brian who said that and I have to admit, that people in Ireland just like in the UK go absolutely crazy on this one. Everyone was shouting the lyrics. It was unbelievable. And also it was the first time I got electric version of it which was truly amazing.
When they started HAND I knew we are getting closer to the end of the main set. My heart was beating like Kalashnikov at that point as we were getting closer and closer to the start of the encore. But there was one big song before that – my song of hope – KTF. As always, I handed the camera to my wife to film it and I just focused on the song itself. This is always a moment for me. And this particular performance was the one I needed the most. Richie was doing unbelievable things on the solos in it as always. There he was. The man who I waited to hear the most, playing those notes of hope for me, to soothe my pain and prepare myself for the most crucial part of the trip. During his solo I looked up in the sky I whispered in my mind “Hey God, let this be THE MOMENT. Please, don’t tease me with me anymore. You heard me when I called for Richie’s health, you heard me when I called for my wife to go with me, and you answered all my prayers. Please listen to this one last call, and don’t make me wait until tomorrow or longer. I need it now. I have kept that faith long enough, don’t you think?”…and that’s how the main set closed and the band went off stage.
And there I was again, waiting, like on all my previous shows at the beginning of the encores, waiting for that first chords played by David. The band started to go back on stage and I thought that I saw Richie with THE guitar in his hands. I looked at my wife and said to her “ Yes, that’s THE guitar…” but still it could be Always or anything else. And then it started….I was holding my camera just like with TD at the O2 and when David started playing the intro, when everyone was quiet waiting for the song, just like last year I shouted from the bottom of my soul – “YEEAAAHHH! THANK YOU! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!” Finally, after all those years I can finally hear it live. I handed the camera to my wife as I did for TD at the O2 and she recorded the whole song (I am eternally grateful for that to her). I needed to focus only on the song and forget about recording for those few minutes. And instantly tears started filling in my eyes. I realized the chase is over. The dream was in my hands. I paid a huge price to get this, mentally, but it all has paid off. “It was like my soul’s on fire and I had to watch the flames, All my dreams went up in ashes and my future blew away…” - that’s what I felt few years ago as I was leaving Dublin. But as the song moved forward, I felt like those demons of my Dublin past are being “washed from off my SOUL”. It was my catharsis. And ironically it was all happening in the same city that killed me once, now I started to raise up like Phoenix from the ashes. Every time I watched videos of DC on YT I wanted to hear those intro solo harmonies, I think they are absolutely amazing. If Bobby is there for any reason for sure that’s the one reason I would keep him on the tour. That intro on 2 guitars sounds brilliant and I am surprised that they didn’t put that on the record originally, but that’s the beauty of live performances, you can add something different into the songs and give them new life. Throughout the whole song my throat was blocked and I couldn’t sing at all, I was just silently whispering all the lyrics with tears in my eyes. But top of my emotional explosion came when the main solo started. The only thing I could do was to scream “Richie!” with my throat half blocked. And in a flashback I became that 12 year old kid again, the one with his KTF cassette in his walkman, with headphones on and volume set to the max, when track #7 was played, when the wind blows in the background and Tico’s drums are accelerating, leading to the main solo by Richie. That little boy dreamt about the moment of seeing that band one day and hearing that solo live someday. And there I was, almost 20 years later, listening how my guitar hero is playing it in front of my eyes. It was amazing. Of course Richie nailed it. It is only Richie that can do justice to this solo. I can’t find the words to describe the emotions that were in me. This was perfection. This was better than I imagined it. And of course there was one more thing that showed up in front of my eyes – our little Natalie. I saw those big brown eyes and that cute smile of hers, and I realized all of that sacrifice did not go for nothing. Her crazy father just caught his biggest dream that made him the happiest man on earth. And if there’s something I will pass to her, for sure that would be following her dreams no matter the cost. Set your goals and do everything that you can do to reach them. For sure there will be bumps on the way and people who will try to put you off course, but if you stick to your own beliefs, there’s no force in the world that will be able to stop you. And the harder that path will be, the sweeter satisfaction and reward will be. And I am a living proof for that. So here it is:

DRY COUNTY -
After DC, they played Wanted which again was magical just like IBTFY, with Jon and Richie standing there side by side, right where they both belong. And just when I thought it can’t get any better than that, they started playing TD. My BJ Trinity was complete. In one show I got to hear my all 3 fav songs. I was in Heaven here on earth. It was perfect. But I knew it can’t be over because there was no Prayer yet. And when they came back, Tico started the beat and there it was, another one from my all time TOP 10 I haven’t heard – Always. I love that song but when I saw on YT the solos Richie’s doing in it, I wanted to hear it live even more. And he nailed them perfectly, especially the outro solo was amazing. He was totally on fire that night. On one night I heard two songs where he shines the brightest with his amazing guitar solos – DC and Always. When Prayer went on the whole crowd went absolutely wild. Jon was amazed with crowd reaction. You could see it in his eyes he was truly touched. The show was almost 3 hours long and the band left their hearts out on the stage that night for sure. And so did the crowd. And me, well, I couldn’t feel my arms from holding up the camera all the time recording videos and taking photos above people’s hands, I couldn’t feel my throat from singing, I couldn’t feel my back, I couldn’t feel my legs, but my soul was healthier than ever before. That was without a doubt my fav show of them all. Nothing short of magic. A night I will remember for the rest of my life.

The next day in the morning we called home on Skype and sang Happy Birthday to Natalie. She couldn’t recognize our voices clearly but we needed to do this for her and for ourselves. That’s the least we could do, since we couldn’t be with her on the day of her birth. 2 years, time flies, I remember that day like it was yesterday. The day that changed my life forever. And I promised myself that for the first and the last time in my life we are not together on this day, unless she decides otherwise, maybe to chase her own dreams.

Later on we went out to the city centre for shopping, including birthday present for Natalie and some clothes for my wife. And I also bought a present for myself - Special Editions of the first 6 albums. They are not available in Poland at all so this was the best chance to get them and I just couldn’t resist it.

Unlike the day before, I was so relaxed before the second show. All the pressure was finally off me. The mission was completed already and they could play basically anything, although I felt the second night will be a treat for die-hards. And I wasn’t too far away from the truth. We reached RDS at about 7pm but still managed to get the spot as good as the day before, just few meters from the catwalk. There were only 3 songs left from my TOP10– BPL, STBI and HN and if they would play any of them I would be delighted. But anyway this was my first BJ show where I really had no high expectations and I went there just to enjoy it no matter what they play.
The weather on that day was great . There were no clouds above RDS at all. Again they started in full sunlight and when they started with Bounce I already knew we’re gonna have few more surprises. And even though we had amazing rarities during the show, for me the biggest reward of the night was Happy Now. This is my second fav song of TC, just right after BPL, and it’s the one I’ve been listening to the most for the last couple of weeks. Apart from being a great rocker, the lyrics are basically about my present life and keep reminding me that I have made the right decisions in the last couple of years that helped me become a person I am today. That includes decision about leaving Dublin and getting back to much poorer Poland, setting up my own company with 2 of my friends and taking that steering wheel into my hands. Sure the responsibility is great, but I am in a place where I feel good. And even though money would be better in Dublin, still I choose to stay here. I can’t afford everything, but still somehow I managed to afford to go to 6 BJ shows, which for Polish standards is expensive as hell. HN reminds me of it every single day. If I could compare KTF album to TC, BPL is my second DC, while HN is my second KTF. So when Jon said they will play it, I shouted just like I did for DC, only this time there were no tears, just pure joy, pure happiness. People behind me realized this song is important for me I think, as they gave me some more space to jump freely to it. I really appreciated that. My wife was recording the song for me. That song made the second show amazing already. Here it is:

HAPPY NOW -
Damned was great. At that point of the show it was my TD song No 6, that I managed to get on all of my shows. I can’t believe I was lucky to hear so many songs of that amazing album. Another highlight for me was MAM. I know some of you hate it, but I got this for the first time ever. The only bad note about it were 2 chicks that sat on shoulders of their boyfriends and blocked the view for some of the people, including us. You will be able to see it on the video. Thank God, security guy showed up in few minutes and told them either to go down or go out of the stadium. It worked. Of course Irish fans were given a huge surprise when they played Vertigo. Everybody went nuts. Never Say Goodbye was great too. It is not my fav but I am aware that it’s a huge rarity and I am glad I heard it live. Jon played few notes from it before IBTFY, while he was checking his guitar so I kind of felt it will go that night. And finally after NSG, we could see the whole band on the circle again. It was great. Maybe Squeezebox was not the best song selection but the band really had a great time and just wanted to have fun and it clearly showed. LFS was nice too, again with the famous finish by Tico. Again SIBSN electric went amazing with the crowd. And BOB was great too, with funny lines made by Jon in the lyrics making fun of themselves. I got it all taped so you will see it. With HG they gave me another song of TD – my No 7. Unbelievable. It was an amazing performance. Of course Jon would not be himself I he didn’t “reward” the crowd with ILTT, but honestly, even though I hate this song, I didn’t mind it, and actually the crowd loved it. Oh yes, the crowd again. They were absolutely out of this world for the second straight night. Now I know why Jon loves to play in Ireland so much. The crowd loves him and sings with him, so he loves them back. And they truly deserve it. And just when they rocked the house with Prayer again, people did not want it to be finished. They screamed “we want more, we want more…” And Jon was touched again by this reaction and decided to give us 2 more songs. First it was Always again, just like the night before. For the last time we could see Richie showing us what a great shape he’s in right now. He’s the master of guitar for me. And then for the last song of the night I personally think Jon has made the best choice by picking LTOR. Like I said before, the world today needs those kind of songs. With all that crap music we are being fed with on the radio and TV nowadays, this song actually says about the most important thing in the world. Some of you can take Jon as an arrogant evil money driven greedy CEO, but I see a father of a great family, that has seen and experienced everything in his life, to find out that in the end the only thing that matters in this world is love. No matter how cheesy this may sound, I personally fully agree with this statement. Out of all the songs, he chose the one of TC, the album which is so underrated by the fans and by the critics, while in my opinion is a true masterpiece, not only musically but also lyrically. And even though it seemed the band dropped it completely, with this decision it made me realize that Jon still believes in it, just as I do. When the song finished he just went off the stage without goodbyes. He just left everyone with that line “Love is the only rule” on the big screen. Perfect finish. I loved it and I wish he would do that more often. Here it is:

LOVE'S THE ONLY RULE -
Again, the show was almost 3 hours long. Unbelievable. In general the band was on fire in Dublin on both shows. Happy as little kids on the playground, enjoying every second of those shows. Richie was the man of both nights for me. Back in top form, the way we always want to see him. Jon’s vocals in top form as in 2010 and even though his knee was giving him a lot of pain he did not show it at all and gave us all that he had. I did not see CEO with his employees. I saw a group of close friends that love music and love to share it with their fans and sing about important things. “Have fun but also learn from it” kind of attitude. I saw a band I have fallen in love with almost 20 years ago. And when it comes to live shows, no one can beat them. No one.

Those were two most amazing performances of the European leg for sure, so far at least. I personally received 5 of the 10 songs I had on my request list before the shows, including the most important one, so I really can’t complain at all. There are only 2 songs left now from my TOP10 I haven’t heard live – BPL and STBI, which now I know was very close too (it was going to be either HG or STBI, and fans at Q&A chose HG). And still I hope to get TIMS, LTL and NA someday. But I have to keep some dreams left for me. Since my biggest dreams are done, I have to find myself a new goal. Maybe something like meeting any of the band members personally and having a picture with them? Maybe my show #7 will take place in Poland and maybe even in my hometown? Who knows? Only time will tell. But if I set a new goal, I will make sure to do everything to accomplish it. And if I make it again, I will let you all know about it for sure.

As our plane was leaving Dublin on Friday afternoon, I looked out of the window and thought: “ Well Dublin, for sure you paid back for all the things you screwed up years ago. All your sins are forgiven. Instead of being my personal Dry County or BrokenPromiseland, from now on I will remember you more like a Bed of Roses. Peace and see you next time”.

But there was only one more thing to make this whole trip complete - getting back safe to our little Natalie. We got home at about 1am at night so obviously she was sleeping so we just kissed her good night and anxiously were waiting for the morning when she wakes up. And when she did, at first she seemed to be confused who we are, but after few seconds she put a huge smile and hugged my wife really hard. She needed more time to get closer to me, but few moments later, she gave me a big kiss and screamed “Daddyyyyyy”, and that’s when my heart went back to its place for the first time since Tuesday afternoon. Today, on Sunday, we threw a birthday party for her and our whole family showed up. She was so happy , she received lots of presents and she had a cake with her fav Teletubbies. It was great. All the time she was calling either for me or my wife and was giving us hugs very often. It is the greatest feeling on earth. Finally we are back together – The Three Musketeers. I am in a place where I belong. With the people I care about and love the most. And where there’s love, there’s peace and happiness. There’s magic. And I wish that magic to all of you. Remember - Love’s the only rule :)

I’m truly happy now, I can let my breath out
Let me confirm, I’ve just caught my dream, you’ll never drag me down
I just want to scream out loud, I’m truly happy now
Been down on my knees, I learned how to bleed, I’ve just turned my world around
I’m truly happy now

THE END

You just made me cry - what a review. It's just incredible what people can do when they work hard at it.

I am so pleased that things worked out so well for you. It makes reading about it very satisfying.

I know that there are people out there that will laugh at doing so much "just" to get a song or two. The hell with them I say - those of us who need the music will understand how much this meant to you.

Absolutely beautiful, Kuba. People say a lot about this band, but you have perfectly summed up every reason I love this band.

And the beginning of your DC video warms my heart so much!!!!

That was such a great story and I'm so happy for you that you got to hear Dry County. I heard it for the first time in Vegas this past March and I was like you. It was very high up on my song-bucket-list and I couldn't believe when it started.

Kuba, I had to stop reading several times to wipe the tears from my eyes!! Amazing review. You poured your entire heart and soul into it and it was such a pleasure to read it all.

I'm so happy that you have replaced bad memories with good ones of Dublin. I can just see you taking Natalie to concerts when she's older!

Now I'm going to check out your vids:D

What a story, Kuba! I'm so glad that you got your reward for facing your demons and for making the difficult decision to miss Natalie's birthday. I'm especially glad that you got it on night 1 so that you could relax and fully enjoy night 2. Many thanks for the wonderful videos that you've been uploading. (I can't believe that you uploaded Hey God BEFORE Dry County!)

Wow what a review and what a story.
It is a great song and I do feel lucky to have seen it twice live now, but I am more pleased for you to have heard it, with it meaning so much to you. For me it would mean the world to hear 'complicated' as my daughter has Autism, and while not as severe as some she gets in such muddles sometimes, and can argue back til the sun goes down if something's gone wrong for her.
It's unlikely I'll ever hear it live as can usually only afford one show per year,but I still hope!
She's my world and I would not change her. I wish life would not be so hard for her though.

Thanks for sharing your story, very touching, so happy for you.
This is why I love Bon Jovi. The way their music can mean so much. Different things to different people.

Edit... I also want to hear 'I am' as I'm always here for her. Doubt she'll ever leave me tbh.