So there we were, 1 year and 11 days after Bon Jovi had last graced
the same venue, and who would have thought they`d have been back
so soon? We were the penultimate date on a tour that had seen many
countries and over a million people
DUBLIN R.D.S. JULY 13TH 1996
Having got the terrible support band out of the way (yes just
1 support band) we settled down for a long wait, after all it was only
7.25 p.m. and they`re never on stage before 8.30 we thought. How wrong
we were, shortly before 7.30 p.m. the marching band walked across
the stage beating out the tune of Lay Your Hands on Me, this was it
we knew they were coming
Have you ever felt anything else like the feeling just before they
arrive on stage, the anticipation, the adrenalin?
As the marching band left the stage, we could already see Tico and
Dave, then out came Richie and Hugh, a drum roll and it had started,
Lay Your Hands On Me, probably the best opening song they ever had
(if you`ve any doubts check out the New Jersey tour videos), within a
few bars, Jon came running on stage to a massive roar from the crowd.
This was it, all the waiting was over, the boys were back in town.
Lay Your Hands was followed by a shortened Bad Medicine, now slimlined
to exclude the fake ending, but the crowd didn`t mind, this was Bon Jovi,
they could have stood on stage making faces and the crowd would have lapped
it up. The 3rd song in took every one by surprise, All I Want is Everything,
the "bonus" track everywhere outside the USA, and while it was very good
how many of us would have preferred the other bonus track Bitter Wine?
Time for a few seconds rest, Jon saying hello to the crowd before
launching into old favourite Bad Name. I love this song, this was the first
time I`d heard Bon Jovi, back in August 86 when I was 14 years old. Next
was the classic Runaway, 14 years old and still in the set list, and it
has to be said, sounding as good as ever. Jon took centrestage to sing
Diamond Ring unaccompanied before it slid into Bed of Roses, and this is
where things got real interesting........
Sitting in the balcony towards the back of the venue it is possible to
see almost everything including the backstage area, and standing stage
right was what appeared to be some adults and a young child. As Jon
continued through the song he stood facing the side of the stage rather
than the crowd singing with his hand out in the direction of the child.
Suddenly it occurred to me that it must be Stephanie. Not a lot of
people on the ground could see what was going on, but when Jon
beckoned the child, and what I presume was Dorothea pushed Steph
forward, suddenly we had father and daughter on stage together and Jon
was singing the song directly to her as if the 30,000 people in the
venue weren`t there. This picture only lasted a few seconds because
the roar of the crowd scared Jovi jnr into running off stage but it
was such a precious moment, displayed on the videoscreen, we knew the
night would be something special.
So it was time to shift it up a gear, Rockin All Over The World was next
followed by Blood on Blood, we`ll ignore the similarity between the start
of both these songs. The crowd were really getting into it, singing
every word as if it belonged to them. There was even a group of girls
singing the words to Blood and making their own amendments changing
"Brothers" to "Sisters", and who says Rock n Roll doesn`t bring people
together? Damned followed Blood on Blood, an excellent song that should
have been a single, but judging by Polygrams decision not to release
Midnight In Chelsea in the USA, I`m not surprised it was passed by
Now it was time for the acoustic stage, anyone who doesn`t know
what I`m talking about should get hold of a copy of Yokohama 96 on
video. We were treated to different arrangements of Wanted, I`ll Be
There For You and In These Arms, the 1st two lend themselves to the
acoustic stripping down, but I was surprised by how good In These Arms
sounded. The only disappointing note was that they didn`t play the
acoustic version of I`d Die For You, as they had done through most of
the rest of the 96 tour. I`ll Be There For You turned out to be the
real crowd pleaser with 30,000 voices woh oh oh ing along even over the
guitar solo!!. As In These Arms finished and the band returned to the main
stage we were treated to some circus footage on the videoscreen, before
the earth started shaking to the sound of Hughs bass intro to Something
for the Pain.
So many tracks from These Days were played tonight, I couldn`t help
remember last year when they only played 2, Jons reason being that he didn`t
think the crowd would know them yet, come on Jon, every Jovi fan knows
the words within about 3 listens!!!!
Crossroads track, Someday I`ll Be Saturday Night was aired next, followed
by the now traditional combination of I`ll Sleep When I`m Dead/Papa Was
A Rolling Stone/Jumping Jack Flash, before Keep The Faith brought a climax
to the main set.
Always was the first encore, again as with most songs the crowd were in
terrific voice, singing every word as if it was their own. Blaze of Glory
started very quietly, no words from Jon just a quick drumbeat and it started.
The 3rd song from the first set of encores was the title track from the album,
These Days, with Jon telling us as he probably did everyone else on the tour
that it wasn`t Jon and Richie These Days, but the band and the fans, which
needless to say got a huge roar. Then the band left the stage again for a few
minutes rest
When they returned, they played Letting You Go, which sounds great with the
full band, Something to Believe In, with the audience shouting the HEY HEY HEY HEY
chorus at the top of their voices, and the excellent Hey God before bidding goodnight
to the audience and leaving the stage. There were a lot of people in the audience
who thought this was really it, around a quarter of the crowd started leaving the
venue, while the other portion were shouting HEY every time the roadies put Bon Jovi
on the video screen, and as the roadies quickened up so the crowd quickened up,
obviously the noise convinced the guys to come back on for a third set of encores
They had already played 25 songs, but that didn`t stop them coming back for more,
My Guitar Lies Bleeding In My Arms sounds excellent live, with Jon playing acoustic
and Richie pouring his heart and soul (as usual!) into every note. The 3rd single
from These Days, Lie To Me, was next and Jon made one of his increasingly frequent
mistakes in forgetting the words, and after the crowd laughed they carried the band
through the next verse and chorus, Jon thanking the crowd for helping him out. As
a little sidebar to that, it is rumoured that on one of the other European shows, Jon
sang the first verse of Living On A Prayer twice. Prayer was the planned final song
of the set, and as it finished and the band took their bows, we could see Richie talking
very actively with Jon, were we going to get another song?
As it turned out we got another 2. It appears Richie did convince Jon to play some
more and we were treated to an excellent version of Neil Youngs Rockin In The Free World
with Jon even taking one of the guitar solos, which impressed me immensly, his playing
really has improved. The final song of the night was This Ain`t A Love Song with Jon
walking slowly off the side of the stage bringing the song and the night to a close, just
over 3 hours after it had begun it was over, but what a night, 30 songs, 3 hours and I
had a grin as wide as a football pitch!! Lets hope next time they tour it isn`t the
farewell tour. Thankyou and Goodnight