Following a huge headline show for London's Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park on Saturday, June 25th, Monday night, June 27th, it was Bristol's turn to host the multi-million selling Bon Jovi who unleashed a fantastic set of greatest hits to thousands of screaming fans at the home of Bristol City Football Club, Ashton Gate.
Transformed into a rock arena, a huge stage stacked high into the sky where many a goal has been scored, Ashton Gate did well to host a show that, to the annoyance of many locals, saw an estimated 23,000 thousand fans descend onto Bristol to lap up an energetic performance from the New Jersey four-piece. With some fans camping nearby to ensure they were amongst the first into the stadium, once inside, each and every one of us were keeping the faith under a rather threatening looking sky.
Stepping out onto the boards of a stage boasting one of the biggest video screens I have ever seen, Jon Bon Jovi and co. raised a deafening roar of screams and kicked-off with 'Happy Now', a song from their 2009 album 'The Circle'. From then on, the first few songs saw ecstatic fans raise their hands to renditions of air-punching anthems 'You Give Love A Bad Name', 'Born To Be My Baby', 'We Weren’t Born To Follow', 'Just Older' and one of the highlights of the evening 'Its My Life'.
Looking over a sea of arms, camera flashes, banners and cheers, I recalled a poster I saw on the way into the stadium reading “Bon Jovi Fans Are The Best In The World”. If ever proof was needed for such a statement, this was it. This being Bon Jovi's second show at Bristol's Ashton Gate, having previously played back in 2008, its easy to see why the hugely popular frontman and his band chose to return to a such an adoring crowd. Jon Bon Jovi, who was clearly relishing the experience, beamed a smile throughout the performance, strutting from one side of the 50ft stage to the other, waving and joking with the crowd despite struggling with a knee injury.
Launching into the opening of 'Raise Your Hands', the cheers and screams roared out once again as totally underrated guitarist Richie Sambora led the guitar attack through the set's mid-point with songs such as 'Bad Medicine' (complete with 'Pretty Woman' medley) and a massive sing-a-long to 'Blaze Of Glory'. 1989 track 'Living In Sin' and 'In These Arms' were next up before one of my personal favorites from the classic 'Slippery When Wet' album, 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead', had everyone dancing and clapping. If there was a roof, it definitely would’ve been raised!
Wrapping up the set, Bon Jovi brought out fan favorites such as 'Runaway' and 'Have A Nice Day' before finishing with an epic performance of 'Keep The Faith'.
Reemerging for a three-song encore a little over two hours since arriving on stage, Bon Jovi sent fans into a frenzy as he threw on a vintage denim jacket, acoustic guitar in hand, and lead fans into another highlight of the evening 'Someday Ill be Saturday Night'. Closing a truly spectacular show with a rare live rendition of '(It's Hard) Letting You Go', the song provided a perfect “calm before the storm” moment before Richie Sambora's talk box pulled the pin on the Rock grenade that is 'Living On A Prayer'.
Bidding their farewells to a thrilled audience, Bon Jovi took their bows and couldn’t seem to thank the crowd enough for the outstanding support they have received over a career that is now, astonishingly, nearly 30 years old! Sing-a-longs fill the air on the walk out of the stadium, lets hope Bon Jovi don’t leave it another three years to return.
Gig Rating: 9/10
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Transformed into a rock arena, a huge stage stacked high into the sky where many a goal has been scored, Ashton Gate did well to host a show that, to the annoyance of many locals, saw an estimated 23,000 thousand fans descend onto Bristol to lap up an energetic performance from the New Jersey four-piece. With some fans camping nearby to ensure they were amongst the first into the stadium, once inside, each and every one of us were keeping the faith under a rather threatening looking sky.
