Official June 15, 2013 - Slane Castle, County Meath, Ireland thread
 

Aloha !

1. That's What The Water Made Me
2. You Give Love A Bad Name
3. Born To Be My Baby
4. Raise Your Hands
5. Runaway
6. Lost Highway
7. It's My Life
8. Because We Can
9. What About Now
10. We Got It Going On
11. Keep The Faith
12. When We Were Beautiful
13. I'll Be There For You
14. Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars
15. We Weren't Born To Follow
16. Who Says You Can't Go Home
17. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
/ Rockin' All Over The World
/ Start Me Up
18. Bad Medicine

Encore:
19. Dry County
20. Wanted
21. In These Arms
22. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
23. Have A Nice Day
24. These Days
25. Blood On Blood
26. Livin' On A Prayer
27. I Love This Town
28. Always

The last time Bon Jovi played Dublin was June 30, 2011. The setlist contained 6 surprises. Bounce opened the show, Happy Now appeared fifth in the set, Blaze Of Glory was played, Damned and Hey God were played and Love's The Only Rule ended the show.

http://bonjovi-archives.com/20_Great...h_20110630.jpghttp://bonjovi-archives.com/22_What_...h_20130615.jpg

http://bonjovi-archives.com/20_Great...h_20110630.jpghttp://bonjovi-archives.com/22_What_...h_20130615.jpg

Considering the amount of critisism towards this show I figured why not start a separate topic about the show already? :)

I'm not saying Jon won't deliver that night, he's probably got a raging boner already from the idea that he'll be playing in Ireland again, but as for excitement from it's audience I'm not picking up on it anywhere. What follows now is quite a lot of text, but considering how I've been following this band for quite some time now (keep your "but you hate this band comments" to yourself please), I feel like this band is seriously adding one cluster**** to the next one.

Because to be honest, I've never seen such a massive outrage for a venue before. There's not a site on the interwebz where the decision to make Bon Jovi headline this show is heavily critisized. I know, the shows at the O2 got a lot of slack for the prices, but as a venue it was loved among pretty much everyone (finally some indoor shows in Europe again etc.). This show on the other hands gets flack from pretty much every corner apart from a few die hards here and there.

I think it's clear promoters are thinking they can use Bon Jovi as a test to see whether they can attract a different kind of audience to the venue as opposed to the more festival orientated crowds. The thing is though, I reckon the average European Bon Jovi fan is 30-40 years old nowadays, and not that interested in a muddy field with no proper exits and poor facilities. I really feel they're testing the water here with a different headliner, but the people seeing a show there every year will probably skip on this one, hence many people saying they won't sell it out, or won't sell well in general either.

I really don't get the logic behind this one. Money is obviously the driving factor for both Jon and the promoters, but considering the audience they're trying to cater, I really wonder what makes them think that this could work out? Jon will get his money anyway whether he'll sell it out or not, and if it doesn't sell out Bon Jovi will make the usual excuse by saying they limited the capacity to 30.000 yada yada SO IT SOLD OUT ANYWAY, but I really feel this is the beginning of the end for Bon Jovi as a popular touring act as every tour is surrounded by negative press everywhere. News reports are already making fun of the stats Bon Jovi include in their press release by saying "yeah that's nice dear, but you're a nostalgia act, not one that's supposed to be playing at Slane by delivering new music to a new generation). In general, no one seems to be excited about this one.

The prices are high (obviously) and considering how Bon Jovi didn't sell out the two shows at the RDS last time (total capacity roughly 75.000 people) I don't think they'll sell this one out either (total capacity 80.000 people), which would make this the first non sold out show at Slane Castle in years. What's everyone's expectations on this one? Jon's proudly presenting himself as the headliner of the show, but doesn't seem to realize that he's got nothing to be proud of right now.

What's everyone's expectations? A changed set catered at the average Slane visitor, meaning chockful of hits (And dire stuff Jon likes to play), or one that's catered a bit more towards the die hards?

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Do you mean 2013??

Bon Jovi for Slane is definitely not the popular choice over here. It will be very tough for them to anyway near fill to capacity. Some decent support acts would go a long way towards helping them sell it though. Past gigs at Slane that I was at had up to six or more support acts with the first starting about 3pm-ish.

I think you are right about the promoters trying to attract a different audience. There was trouble over the summer at certain gigs that attract a young audience so I think they are playing it safe re getting planning permission by having a band like Bon Jovi play.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Previous acts such as Bryan Adams have sold out here. If he can, why not Bon Jovi. They have a huge die-hard following here, so maybe?

The press love to have a go and lets face it Bon Jovi are an easy target! I heard a good one today about how much did the clocks go back by on Saturday? 1987!

Set list wise, who knows? Im sure all the usual but if the night is going well maybe something special. Jon sure does love Ireland!

While I don't have an answer to any of your questions above, I do aree with your points regarding Bon Jovi's target group. I agree that promoters are testing the waters with Bon Jovi, but I'm not sure if Jon has realized this or if his ego has gotten in the way of logical and rational thoughts here.

In addition, I expect them to sell out because I totally expect them to add a big co-headliner. And by that I mean not only for this particular gig, but for the entire leg of the European tour. Touring Europe every two years and playing the amount of shows Bon Jovi do (Madonna and U2, people from that same category, only tour half as regularly as BJ do and then rarely ever play as many shows per country) is simply overfloating the market. In addition, ticket prices overall appear to have gone up again (significantly more than your average inflation rate of 3-5 per cent) while Europe is on the verge of another economic recession. This has nothing to do with the band's decreasing polularity, but with tough economic circumstances. While the band's management has accounted for such issues in Canada (I'm pretty sure places like Toronto will get adidtional shows once they have tested demand via sales for the first shows), they have failed in this respect in Europe so far.

The only positive indicator in this respect is that they did not book the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff (capacity 74,000), but opted for the significantly smaller Cardiff City Stadium (capacity 26,000).

Slane will attract a good 20-30,000 people purely because it's Slane. It's an historic event and people use it as an excuse to go out and get drunk for the weekend. I doubt it will sell out totally but it'll be close enough. I just hope the stage and light show do the venue justice.

Also, I can't remember a time when the Irish media and snobby fans haven't cried over the headline act. Oasis, The Stereophonics etc were laughed off as unworthy acts to play.

Well, I'm planning on going

Me too. The band should be well up for this one.

They moan about RDS not selling out..but that was over 2 days. Put both the 2 nights crowds together(yes I'm aware a good amount would have been to both) plus the estimated 15,000-20,000 Slane party revellers:p and people who just want to go see Bon Jovi in Ireland because they can and I think it would be pretty close to selling out.

Plus, both RDS shows were mid week. Slane being on a Saturday is a big bonus. (It will take me till all hours Sunday morning to drive home from it!)

The hipster kids and music press obviously hate Bon Jovi, nothing new here, hence the vocal minority creating the fuss online. There will be 60,000+ fans there on the night however that will think otherwise, and well numbers like that speak for themselves so I don't care what others moan about. I don't think that it will ''sell out'' in that they will get more than the 60K or so, but it *is* a saturday.. and Slane is a big day out here for many, especially as it usually has a great supporting bill. But then again the prices are a ripoff as the Irish fans get shafted as it is a standing venue and so none of these infamous 'cheap seats' available.

I am actually going to wait until support acts are announced before I 100% commit, as even though I am a huge fan, It is infact easier for me to go to a Manchester or a Glasgow, and tickets are cheaper too, plus transport, bars etc are more available :)

But yeah if Bryan Adams, RHCP, U2 etc can do it, what's so wrong with Bon Jovi? Its the same fuss every year about Slane here, just that this time you are more aware of it Seb as its Bon Jovi this time.

No conspiracy here Sebby boy, its not the end of the band, there isn't going to be a fan revolt, the world isn't going to end etc.


andi

Slane Castle will be soldout very well, I'm sure.

Well thanks for that input, was that using your crystal ball?

i am also confident that that the slane castle show will sell very well...we seem to forget that bj manage to have a crowd of 55.000-60.000 in punchetown, in a far less prestigious show and i believe it was also difficult to reach the place of the show...
I get why the hipsters say that bj shouldnt be chosen,(of course i dont agree...), they simply arent a band like coldplay-u2 or bruce, examples where they are both fan and critics favorite...
When was springsteens last radio hit?(maybe radio nowhere...) when was u2s (2005 with vertigo cause of the apple promo...)? When the stones had a hit? when metallica had a succesfull single? many of the guys that complain in the various forums use this as an example...despite their artistic input, which is dedatable BJ have been consistent, serious and delivered at many many live shows and i am not all about the statistics but the numbers speak for themselves, they have a status few bands enjoy

Exactly, the numbers speak for themselves. Bryan Adams is in the same 'uncool' bracket, with most of his most popular stuff being from a decade or two back, and he filled Slane. People complained about that too. I don't really care, it will be a great night.

andi

What was the attendance at Punchestown? A while ago, the wiki tour page said 80,000 but now it says 47,000??

haha Well I am sure if you asked anyone in the Jovi camp it would be 80,000.. which is the maximum for that venue. It is hard to sell out a field though, as you can just keep spilling further back until you can't even see the stage. But yeah, ACDC was 70,000ish and I was at that.. crowd looked similar in size, but thats just guesswork as I don't have the official Jovi figures.


andi

Damn right it will be a great night! When it gets dark, with the castle all lit up to one side and people holding up lights on the hill, the place looks magic! And when that roar comes down the hill towards the river and the stage it would give ya shivers, I'm telling ya!

Had to be around 70,000. It looked pretty packed at the time.

That's the spirit! That was almost like the speech from Braveheart.


andi

I was writing off Dublin, however this venue has caught my eye. Remember watching the Robbie Williams gig on TV at Slane and always wanted to go, the setting and atmosphere looks terrific. In no rush to get a ticket now though, will see how the tour and album shapes up and decide next year.

Jovi at Slane will be a night to remember. Slane is more than just another 'festival', it is part of Irish culture and to have Jovi playing there is long overdue. It was be a brilliant weekend!

There's usually a pretty strong all day line up at Slane. I wonder if it'll be the same this time. It'd be nice to see some biggish name bands before hand.

Irish people bitch and moan about EVERYTHING. This is no different. It wouldn't have made a difference if The Rolling Stones or Bruce Springsteen or Coldplay or Muse were playing; you would still get a bunch of windy moanbags bitching for the sake of bitching.

Everything I've heard on the media outlets today has been extremely positive; DJ's on the radio talking about how great a live act they are, the mix of Slane castle on a summers night and a band of Bon Jovi's caliber etc. There's also lots of clips of people in the town of Slane who met Jon and had nothing but great things to say about him.

Let the bemoaners moan; even if it is a pain to get out of, Bon Jovi at Slane Castle is going to be extraordinary. Bon Jovi have a huge and loyal following here, and although a lot of people slag them off, there's a whole lot of people who closetly love the band and playing a gig like Slane will give all those fans the excuse to go see them, so I don't see a problem with them filling the venue.

Haha, that's true. It's like people try to out moan each other.

I remember sitting in a bar after the last RDS concert and a bunch of bearded studenty types laying into Bon Jovi with the usual 80's cheese insults :rolleyes:

It's just utter nonsense what you hear out these idiots. You can be certain that every one of these morons (and it's a safe bet that most of these people are cretins of the most annoying kind) wouldn't be able to name a single thing from Bon Jovi other than LOAP. They are know-nothings who are unimaginably arrogant and smug, and yet think they are cool. Among a very long list of nasty and unattractive things about Irish people and Irish culture, this is probably the most annoying to me. Smugness and arrogance in equal proportion to ignorance. Sorry for ranting!:)

Yeah, watch some clips from either the U2 or RHCP dvd on youtube.. its cool thats its on a hill I guess aswell, and yes it is in the middle of nowhere but its a good atmosphere and feels very 'irish'..

I won't even think about tickets until the new year, it won't suddenly sell out, not at those prices. And if it does ''sell out'' they will just keep releasing new batches.. 80,000 is a lot of tickets to shift in a recession.


andi

That crystal ball you used to predict otherwise?

Indeed.


andi

Slane castle is an epic venue. I think most major acts have played there and a lot of them have recorded their live dvd there. I am sure it will be a great gig, but there will be pressure on all sides for moving a large number of tickets.

I read a couple of years ago that thd organizer or site owner refused bon jovi cause they did not think bj was an appromriate act for the venue. So the fact they are playing this venue next summer makes me wonder how this came to life.

I would personally love to be at the gig cause i think the country, the venue and the historic character of the place will lead to an amazing atmosphere.

Wether it will be a succes on every level, they will have to pull out everything they have... good promotion, a great support bill, a right ticket price strategy and finally an amazing show with a great setlist so the reviews can be estatic afterwards. Just to prove all the critics wrong.

if i happen to do any shows abroad next year, this will be the one show i'm doing. purely because it's Slane. i'm really hoping for a good line-up.

doesn't look like i'll be doing ireland this tour. doing some googling it seems like getting there is a bit of a mission compared to the RDS. Shame because i'm sure it will be fantastic.

Just found this article, makes a change from the usual -

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/an...e-3279405.html

It's not as convenient as the RDS for sure but it's no problem at all getting too and from the venue. There will be a fleet of buses put on to take people from the city centre to the venue and back to the city centre after the gigs. The only pain is the traffic getting out but priority is usually given to the buses so it shouldn't be a major hassle. I'd seriously recommend going. Slane is a special venue and I'd bet this will be one memorable night!

Looking on ticketmaster...only gold circle or GA tix? no DC?

Darn, this was the one I was going to get DC for. lol

Can a mod change the year?

They only sold DC as part of a package....

Done..... :)

MCD presale on now. Just got my golden circle tickets..
Price was €104.10 per ticket. Ouch.

Yeah, me too.

For anybody else looking for the presale, follow this link https://www.facebook.com/mcd.productions and you will then find a post from MCD linking you to the ticketmaster site.

Dead link ;)

Erm dead facebook ;)