| Quick costume change and then the guys were back with the enchanting "Something to Believe in", the only track of the night taken from their "These Days" album. The song was played with feeling and passion, Jon gave his all and screamed out the lyrics like his life depended on it. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and we would've sang back the "Hey, Hey Hey's" all night long, if he had wanted us to! Just then, the heavens opened and soaked us with the rain. This didn't stop things from cooling down, it just made things hotter! Jon looked up to the sky , held his hands up and said "Ok, I DO Believe"!!! Keep the Faith" brought us back from our engulfed state and whirled us around, while the air was thick with the echo's of Richie's superb guitar riffs. Huge hits, "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Sleep when I'm dead" came next to finish the 2nd encore. Despite everyone being soaked to the skin, they still came back with more! "Tequila, Twist and Shout and the final song, "I'll be there for you" finished off an exhilarating show. The guys were very hot, very wet, dead tired, voices shot, but gave their all and ended the European leg of the tour in spectacular style! Bon Jovi, especially Jon, could not have done anything more to improve the show, it was truly perfect. By Donna Butler. |
Firstly, HUGE thanx to Bon Jovi for having such great support acts for this tour, especially the UK/Ireland leg. Matchbox Twenty are my second favourite band and as Kerrang! Magazine so rightly said "Matchbox Twenty were born to support Bon Jovi�!! Amsterdam - June 5th Support acts Kane and Anastasia were first rate. Anastacia's set included a song called �cowboys and Kisses" which she sang accompanied by Richie!! Minutes before Bon Jovi were due to hit the stage, some of the crew were in position to pull down the black sheets that covered the sides and middle of the stage set. The stage was enormous, depicting the Empire State Building. The stage this time around was much more lower and wider than last year and you could see the whole band very clearly from the front rows. Bon Jovi were full of energy and played a great set. Highlights of this show were "Hey God� and "Something to Believe �In.� Amsterdam - June 6th. Round number two was better than the first! Again, Anastasia brought out Richie for "Cowboys and kisses� he wore a printed shirt, which was, unbuttoned all the way!! The venue was full to capacity, unlike the first night. Jon first came on stage in a white shirt but after 5 minutes, he was soaked through so had to quickly change out of it and put on a T-shirt! (I think?) The band were on top form again. The highlights for me were "Dancing in the Streets" during "Sleep" and "Tequila" and "Twist and Shout" which is my favourite Beatles song! One Wild Night" and "Faith" always gets the adrenaline rush going too! I was also very happy that Jon had put "In These Ams" back in the set list after a long absence. Glasgow, Scotland June 8th. Delirious? started the show. The singer was wearing a thin cream flannel suit with his underwear line showing through! Not very flattering! - The rest of the guys looked like cast off's from a scary movie!!LOL The songs seemed flat and I just couldn't get into them. (However, in their defence, the guys were looking and sounding 100% better by Huddersfield!) American rockers Matchbox Twenty were a startling contrast to the former band, but they inadvertently started their set with the wrong song, "Push", their huge US hit back in 1997/98, received a more resounding response when played at the end of the set, as it was for the remainder of the UK/Ireland shows. Rob Thomas seemed a little nervous at first, not sure what to expect from the crowd. He introduced most songs explaining what they were about. "3 Am.". is about his crazy mum and "Back to Good" is a drinking song that is supposed to be about finding a partner at the end of a drunken night out! This song also accentuated his incredible strong voice. He joked around a bit too by saying at one point, "Hi, we're the Goo Goo dolls"!! - He also thanked Jon and the guys for giving them this great opportunity. The Guitarist, Adam, worked the crowd well too, he would pick people out and smile and nod at them if they were singing along! They really are a great rock band and I hope that they can finally break through and make it big over here in the UK. Jon and the guys apparently came out to watch their set, as did Matchbox to watch Bon Jovi!! Bon Jovi's set was great! The crowd were great but I think it was just a little too cold and wet for me to enjoy the gig as much as I would've liked too. Also I was amazed to see half the venue empty!! The stage was positioned in the middle of the pitch as opposed to being at one end, only 35,000 out of a possible 50,000 tickets were sold apparently. Damn shame! (Aren't those MBT Songs?!) Jon came out wearing his new Biker jacket and his combat pants. I think it was this show that for the first encore, Jon came out wearing his multicoloured tea-cosy hat!!LOL - seeing 7 shows in 13 days it's hard to remember which clothes/bits/songs were from which show!! I do remember that it was cool to hear "Blood on Blood" again though. The band gave their all and the fans were very loud and appreciative. The pyrotechnics were amazing during "Faith." and "Lay your hands". Dublin, Ireland - June 10th. Delirious? opened the show again, and I think that Martin, the singer, wore that awful suit again! They sounded a lot better and put on a good set. I started to really like one of their songs called "I wanna go deeper" They ended the set agaim with their current single, "Waiting for the Sun.". Matchbox Twenty came on next to huge applause. Rob said that they were actually quite well known in Ireland. They started the set with the first track off their second album "Angry", which wenty down well with the Irish crowd. Rob made a little speech about how great it was that people had come early to see them and that for a few hours while we were there we could forget about everything going on in the world and just have fun for a while. How true is that?!! They finished with "Push" and as I said before, it fits in much better at the end than as an opener. During stage change over, we noticed that after the set lists were stuck down, Tim came out again and stuck another list down. Maybe song words? Maybe they are going to do a song that they haven't done for a while and needed reminding of the lyrics?! This was soon forgotten about once the guys came on stage to deafening applause from the Irish crowd. Of course, Jon had to look up to the sky and mention the rain at last year�s show!! We were praying that it wouldn't rain or storm as the tip of the stage's tower would have been struck by lightning for sure!! During "I got the girl" I noticed a little blonde girl on one of the stage bars. She was singing her little heart out! - I thought that must be Stephanie. Then at the end of the song, Jon signals for her to come over, but, another girl thought Jon was signalling her - so she came running over to him!!! Jon went up to her and said " No not you!!! Then signalled Stephanie again and she came running over and they danced, it was too cute! At the end of the set, the guys go to leave, the crowd is so loud, the band start to walk back, then they huddle together as if to be discussing what they are gonna play next. They take their positions and start to play the first chords of "One" by U2!!!! I tell ya, the roar from the crowd was incredible! � Then I remembered, aahhh that must have been the lyrics that were stuck down before!! I was glad I had temporary amnesia earlier on as it was a very pleasant surprise! I was very proud to be a part of that show and to witness the guys play that song. Very, very cool!!! Huddersfield, Yorkshire - June 13th. Doors opened at 4.30 show started at 5.20! Delirious? were starting to grow on me now! There were lots of smiles this time from them and they seemed to go down well with the Yorkshire crowd. Matchbox Twenty were excellent today! Rob was on top form and laughed a lot. At one point he commented that someone had just held up a banner at the back of the venue saying "Rob Im pregnant"! In between songs, Rob would say "Hi we're the Goo Goo Dolls", "Hi we're Third Eye Blind" and "Hi we're Molly Ringwold"!!! Bon Jovi came on at 8 I think, to a resounding cheer from the crowd. This one was sold out and there were another few thousand people outside, watching through the railings, to which Jon commented on! Jon also saw a sign at the side saying "University of Huddersfield". This started him off on a roll about him being a doctor!! He said for first time that he was now Dr Jon!! Richie said something about him being a professor and Jon said something like, "Wish I could write prescriptions!! The guys were in a great mood and the crowd were excellent. Near the end of "Prayer,� Jon was saying Hi to the people on the far left side of the stage, all of a sudden, we could hear people singing the "Wo-oh-h"'s, of course then everyone joined in! Jon made his way back to centre stage to finish the song off, all the while, grinning from ear to ear! They improvised with "Faith" quite a bit, it was the best version I've heard in a long time! "Saturday Night" is always great but tonight it was a cut above the rest as Jon ad-libed for a very long time during the build up to the last chorus. Before the first encore, my friends and I were praying for "Next 100 Years".. Sure enough Tico starts to play the first drumbeats and we all cheer! They played that song to perfection - you could almost think it's the CD playing! This was one of the best shows so far! (dare I say, even better than Dublin!) Milton Keynes, Bucks- June 16th This was to be the pinnacle of the UK tour, as is Wembley Stadium when they play there. Delirious? came on stage at 5.30 and they were very good, despite the rainfall during their set! Martin took his shoes off, (I have no idea why!) and then his sweaty, wet socks and threw them into the crowd! Matchbox Twenty were brilliant and got a good reception from the crowd. I don't remember much talking or jokes from Rob. They played a perfect set of great songs and the rain held off too! In my opinion, they just get better and better. However, the air was thick with anticipation for Bon Jovi, after all, that's what the 60,000 people had came here for. The guys stepped out of the mock elevator to huge applause. They stood there for a while just watching and taking it all in before charging into their high voltage set. There weren�t any special songs tonight, but the show was fantastic nevertheless. Jon talked and joked around a lot and even threw his fly-like shades to one of my friends in the front row!! Dave, Richie, Tico and Hugh played their craft superbly, as they were born to do. There were a few familiar faces up on the stage bars too, which was great to see! Congrats. guys and gals!. "During Bed or Roses", Jon surprised everyone, as instead of picking a girl from the stage-left side pit, he pointed to a blonde- permed-haired girl wearing a red cowboy hat in the front row! She didn't waste anytime getting over the barrier and running over to the side of the stage. Jon was telling her to hurry up, as he knew the song was running into the next chorus, so he then said " Two more times" to the guys, so that they could play the instrumental big again! He then proceeded to dance with her and gave her a mandatory kiss on the lips! You could tell by her face that she was the happiest girl alive, at that moment. It was pretty cool! The first encore began with an outstanding version of "I'll be there for you". The guys had the vast audience in the palm of their hand. I took a minute to take it al in! It amazes me that after all these years, playing to millions of people, Jon and the guys are still very humble about being one of the world's greatest rock bands, and I think that's just great. Of course, they couldn't leave us without ending with their all time classic anthem, "Prayer"! It was a truly brilliant show. Cardiff , Wales - June 17th. They had the roof up tonight so it was like being in an arena - very cool! Delirious? Kicked off the show for the last time. They were in fine form and got the crowd fired up. Matchbox Twenty graced the stage like pro's and gave it their all. Their sound engineer had more control toda so he let rip! They played the usual songs but with more feeling, and presence, I thought. Adam even came down to the front row before their set to video some of us and he also gave some of us a guitar pic! The crowd started doing the Mexican wave while we were waiting for our hero's to come out. They finally came out of the elevator, looking like the mega rock stars that they are. Usual first few songs ensued, we were expecting "Bed or Roses" to start, to be honest, that song getting a little boring now!!!LOL Never thought I'd say that, but there ya go! Anyway, just then, Tico played the first few drum beats to "Always� and the crowd went wild! I haven�t seen that song played live since 1996! I was soo happy I couldn't help smiling and obviously singing along, suddenly I saw myself (and the blonde girl next to me) up on the big screen, behind the band! It was strange and I felt a little embarrassed, but I did enjoy it all the same! Jon sang the song very well and I didn't notice his voice faltering one bit. Actually, his voice had been on top form throughout the whole tour. Another delight ensued when we heard the intro for "These Days". They don�t play this song enough so when they do, it's a real treat! Another surprise was seeing little Jesse James on stage, as it was Fathers Day! Jon and Richie picked him up so he could say Hello into the mike! He was smiling so much and was so adorable, he's the spitting image of his dad!. All too soon, it was time for the show to end. The guys took their final bow, Tico, Dave and Hugh left the stage. Jon (and Richie?) were still there. The whole crowd cheered for more, we wanted more, we got more! Jon and Richie strapped back on the guitars and played "Never Say Goodbye!" Eyes welled up left, right and centre! (including mine, I couldn't help it!) This wasn't on the setlist,and I think that as it was the last date on the UK tour, and as the crowd were so exceptional, I guess they thought we deserved it! Thanks guys. It had been one heck of a ride to see one heck of band! - Next stop Munich and then onto the USA for the last week of the "One Wild Night" Tour! - inc. TWO SELL OUT nights at BON JOVI (Giants) STADIUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By Donna Butler. |
| Munich,Germany June 30th 2001. The last show on the European One Wild Night tour was upon us. The magnificent Olympic Stadium was bursting at the seems. Can it live up to the expectations of the sold out crowd? Can it really be as fantastic as the previous shows on this tour? Sure it can! And it most definitely was! It can only be described as a very highly charged, passionate and energetic show. The band hit the stage at 8.30 PM sharp, to an enthusiastic and devoted crowd. Balloons and banners covered the pit like a multicolored blanket! The band walked slowly out of their mock elevator and just stood in silence, taking it all in. Smiling and grinning, knowing in their hearts that this was gonna be one helluva show. Bon Jovi don't mess around with 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, they go straight into 4th!! "One Wild Night" began and we were off on the greatest rolleroaster ride of our lives!! "Raise your hands" took the show up a notch to 5th gear and stayed there for the next two and a half hours! Like a furnace, you could feel the heat and the energy coming right at you from the sizzling stage. Jon was definitely on fire tonight and with all guns blazing the band charged into their anthamic hit "Bad Name". Next up was the brilliant "In These Arms" which highlighted Jon's incredible voice and gives you tingles down your spine. "Always" replaced "Bed of Roses" again, to screams and cheers from the sweltering crowd. "I got the girl", "Just Older", "Captain Crash" and the smash hit "It's My Life, were tracks from their mega selling album "Crush" and were sung and played to perfection. Jon and Richie left us temporarily in the capable hands of David and Tico, to start the intro to "Lay your hands on me " and the crowd were with them every step of the way. The dynamic duo then sneaked back on stage and while Jon was preaching his religion of rock 'n' roll, Richie, together with the 72,000 deciples made sure that the "Ah-mens" were abundant. The fireworks during this song were loud and lit up the sky. It was getting dark by now and Jon commented that it was a shame it had to get dark , as he was enjoying being able to see everyone! Next up was "Saturday Night". This wasn't just any version, it was THE BEST version ever!!! The build up to the last chorus seemed to go on for ages! Jon was improvising and saying all kinds of stuff, all the while the band and he were getting louder and louder, heavier and heavier as it became more fervent with every second, until it just had to climax and spill over into the chorus! How do you come back to earth after that?. with "Bad Medicine" of course. It was just what we needed from Dr Jon and the guys. All too soon the the first set was over, bt not before Jon sang his heart out with a rousing rendition of "Shout". We'd just been subjected to one and half hours or pure unadulterated rock, but more was to come. |
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| BON JOVI ROCK ACROSS EUROPE - "ONE WILD NIGHT" TOUR, 2001 |
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