To what do we owe the pleasure of Bon Jovi's 12-night stand at one of Europe's largest indoor venues? It's 24 years since Slippery When Wet, yet here they are, performing to 276,000 people during their sold-out residency. Their audience is all ages, resolutely suburban, and, like Bon Jovi's career, impervious to fashion. The preponderance of parents with kids in tow confirms that what Bon Jovi deal in is cosy family entertainment, tricked out in the motley of rebellion.
"There goes the neighbourhood!" scream the T-shirts, advertising a band who pose about as much threat to the neighbourhood as a senior citizens' book group. There's no qualitative difference between 1988's Bad Medicine and last year's Love's the Only Rule: they can clearly churn out the air-punching anthems with the same practised ease that Jon Bon Jovi – his face eerily unlined at 48, his teeth shining like the Portland Bill lighthouse – works the crowd. "Sounds like church music to me, baby!" he cries when they sing along.
It's all deeply hokey, but hokey Bon Jovi is infinitely preferable to earnest Bon Jovi, of which there is a surprising amount. The frontman introduces When We Were Beautiful with a speech about "the events of late 2008", by which he presumably means the credit crunch, rather than the gripping semi-final tussle between JLS and Eoghan Quigg on The X Factor, and implores the audience to "listen to the lyrics". Listening to the lyrics makes you wonder if, the prospect of financial recovery notwithstanding, it might not be better to just pull the plug on humanity right now: "We're livin' in the shadows of the love we made."
A panicked call to NHS Direct reveals you can't actually die from exposure to their version of Hallelujah, it just feels as if you are while it's playing, not least when Jon Bon Jovi illustrates the line about Bathsheba bathing on the roof with the universally recognised hand gesture for "curvy woman". Obviously, it's now mandatory for all artists to perform this song – it can only be a matter of time before Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners weigh in with a novelty ska version – but Jon Bon Jovi recently averred that his is Leonard Cohen's favourite. If so, that may tell you more about the author's oft-overlooked sense of humour than it does about Bon Jovi's cover, which reinterprets the song in much the same way as Cohen's shamed former manager "reinterpreted" the Canadian bard's pension fund.
The audience don't care. Jon Bon Jovi moves among them, dispensing kisses to the ladies, high-fiving a portly man in a bandana, who becomes so excited that even the rocker looks momentarily taken aback. Then the Maglite smile returns and the show goes on.
I went last night , thought they were great as usual. Only seen them 4 times strangely this was the first indoor concert. Jon still looking as cute as ever - gorgeous. And woke up at 3 with my personal favourite and theme tune " it's my life " going through my head and now cannot get it out.
Going to see Wilie Nelson tonight, probably be very different.
Coming back from Teenage Fanclub at the Shepherds Bush Empire on Tuesday involved an 11.30pm arrival at North Greenwich. Some particularly horrible sights. Plenty of 50+ women with big hair and spandex.....
They were dishing out freebies all over the place as the tickets reportedly didn't sell very well.
Woman at work went on Tuesday and said it was probably half full.
[cite]Posted By: Clem_Snide[/cite]Greenwich Council had several 100 freebies for Tuesday. Email went round offering them.
probably because they get them for free!
My wife gets a chance to use her companies corporate box every gig - doesn't mean it can't sell out.
Last night there was barely an empty seat
Not so. Was the first time tickets had been offered for free for a couple of years. Greenwich have a corporate box but any staff wanting to use it have to pay.
Im sweating on tickets for the 19th purchased last year and not got yet. cant rememer who I bought from and reciept was on hard drive of previous lap top that died
[cite]Posted By: kevtherev[/cite]Im sweating on tickets for the 19th purchased last year and not got yet. cant rememer who I bought from and reciept was on hard drive of previous lap top that died
Brought mine from ticketmaster, tickets sent a couple of months ago.
[cite]Posted By: kevtherev[/cite]Im sweating on tickets for the 19th purchased last year and not got yet. cant rememer who I bought from and reciept was on hard drive of previous lap top that died
I had mine for months too, sounds unlikely you will get them at this stage = sorry
Comments
who cares if it's past glories - their old stuff is bloody great
Said it was a great atmosphere.
To what do we owe the pleasure of Bon Jovi's 12-night stand at one of Europe's largest indoor venues? It's 24 years since Slippery When Wet, yet here they are, performing to 276,000 people during their sold-out residency. Their audience is all ages, resolutely suburban, and, like Bon Jovi's career, impervious to fashion. The preponderance of parents with kids in tow confirms that what Bon Jovi deal in is cosy family entertainment, tricked out in the motley of rebellion.
"There goes the neighbourhood!" scream the T-shirts, advertising a band who pose about as much threat to the neighbourhood as a senior citizens' book group. There's no qualitative difference between 1988's Bad Medicine and last year's Love's the Only Rule: they can clearly churn out the air-punching anthems with the same practised ease that Jon Bon Jovi – his face eerily unlined at 48, his teeth shining like the Portland Bill lighthouse – works the crowd. "Sounds like church music to me, baby!" he cries when they sing along.
It's all deeply hokey, but hokey Bon Jovi is infinitely preferable to earnest Bon Jovi, of which there is a surprising amount. The frontman introduces When We Were Beautiful with a speech about "the events of late 2008", by which he presumably means the credit crunch, rather than the gripping semi-final tussle between JLS and Eoghan Quigg on The X Factor, and implores the audience to "listen to the lyrics". Listening to the lyrics makes you wonder if, the prospect of financial recovery notwithstanding, it might not be better to just pull the plug on humanity right now: "We're livin' in the shadows of the love we made."
A panicked call to NHS Direct reveals you can't actually die from exposure to their version of Hallelujah, it just feels as if you are while it's playing, not least when Jon Bon Jovi illustrates the line about Bathsheba bathing on the roof with the universally recognised hand gesture for "curvy woman". Obviously, it's now mandatory for all artists to perform this song – it can only be a matter of time before Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners weigh in with a novelty ska version – but Jon Bon Jovi recently averred that his is Leonard Cohen's favourite. If so, that may tell you more about the author's oft-overlooked sense of humour than it does about Bon Jovi's cover, which reinterprets the song in much the same way as Cohen's shamed former manager "reinterpreted" the Canadian bard's pension fund.
The audience don't care. Jon Bon Jovi moves among them, dispensing kisses to the ladies, high-fiving a portly man in a bandana, who becomes so excited that even the rocker looks momentarily taken aback. Then the Maglite smile returns and the show goes on.
Why would you open a thread entitled " Bon Jovi at the o2 - anyone going?" just to make a negative comment ?!?!?!
Don't think I can manage the £50 a ticket but I bet they'll put on a great show and would love to see the live.
Have fun !!
Snap, going on 22 nd.
Wasent the best Bon Jovi concert I have ever been to (41 times I think?) but it was deffo the longest!
It was even better as It was free!!!!!!
Going to see Wilie Nelson tonight, probably be very different.
Great fun but as i didn't get to bed before 1:30 I am, understandably, a little sleepy!
They were dishing out freebies all over the place as the tickets reportedly didn't sell very well.
Woman at work went on Tuesday and said it was probably half full.
Where did all the cheap tickets come from?
My wife gets a chance to use her companies corporate box every gig - doesn't mean it can't sell out.
Last night there was barely an empty seat
Not so. Was the first time tickets had been offered for free for a couple of years. Greenwich have a corporate box but any staff wanting to use it have to pay.
Brought mine from ticketmaster, tickets sent a couple of months ago.
I had mine for months too, sounds unlikely you will get them at this stage = sorry