Bon Jovi, Kid Rock at O2 Arena (2010)

O2 Arena (London, UK)

Bon Jovi, Kid Rock

DimK: The news that BON JOVI would do some European live dates made many metalheads […]

By Maria Voutiriadou, Dimitris Kontogeorgakos

• June 22, 2010

DimK: The news that BON JOVI would do some European live dates made many metalheads from the 30+ age category who hadn't watched Jon on stage to give an arm and a leg for such an opportunity. And I am talking about those metalheads who were listening to the first BON JOVI albums when their Thrash comrades were looking the other way. I consider myself in this category and I still get goose bumps whenever I remember myself listening to the heartbreaking songs thinking of the first school sweethearts and planning the first flirting move. METALTEMPLE would not miss these JOVI UK dates for nothing and so, two silly happy Templars hit the O2 Arena for a night to remember!

Reaching the O2 Arena by public transportation was so anxiety free that the 20 minute route from the hotel to the stadium became a sightseeing trip. Oddly enough the UK weather was a warm delight making the Hard Rock hunger even stronger. The impressive structure of the stadium welcomed us and gently guided us through the main entrance straight to the merch stand where we satisfied the memorabilia needs. The interior of the O2 Arena looks like a mall housing restaurants, a cinema and several stores giving to every fan more than satisfying amenities an average metalhead is not used to.

DimK: Entering the impressive stadium we were gently guided to our seats while Kid Rock was already on stage. As it seemed Kid Rock decided to make the first supporting appearances in the UK just before embarking in the extensive US tour that followed. Kid was in a very good mood and seemed really pumped with energy walking up and down the stage trying to warm up the UK audience that in general was enjoying his show. Personally, I was not that impressed especially by his music apart from the closing "All Summer Long" where the "Sweet Home Alabama" inserts and the US/UK flag unrolled in the back brought an American breeze in the arena. Nevertheless, Kid Rock served the opening role effectively and earned the warm cheer from the gathered BON JOVI fans that were steadily filling up O2 Arena.

It took no more than 30 minutes to get the stage ready for BON JOVI. 20,000 people were inside O2 Arena presenting an impressive wide age range spanning from 16 to 50+. I tell you, this was a meeting of generations underlying the almost forgotten fact that music unites!

DimK: As it happened two years ago in Chicago, BON JOVI did not open the concert with a classic hit but with the pretty good "Last Man Standing" catching everyone off guard. "We Weren't Born To Follow" was the next step from the band's latest album and I was more than happy that it was welcomed with enthusiasm. Usually, in concerts with longtime running artists the audience is stuck to the old-time hits and pays little notice to the recent music. But this was not the case for the O2 Arena crowd that was warming up. And then Jon said: "What do you think this is? A TV program? Stand up from your seats!" and then "You Give Love a Bad Name" made everyone and I say everyone to stand up and sing the classic hit!

DimK: The temperature was rising and "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Raise Your Hands" and "Born To Be My Baby" made everyone sing and raise his/her hands following Jon's moves. Here I have once more to comment on Jon's impressive physical condition that goes hand in hand with his mood lifting performance and of course excellent vocal condition. The sound and the light show –of course– were the icing on the cake making this concert an night to remember (this is the second time I am using this phrase but I cannot help it).

DimK: It was time to slow down the setlist with "Lost Highway"; once again I have to state that this song with the underlying country lining sounds miles better than the studio version. You can "blame" the band about it since it managed to give this lukewarm track certain dynamics making the JOVI fans sing the chorus and clap their hands to the rhythm. After this song Jon said that he likes changing the setlist every night with an impressive goal to reach 70 different songs in a single tour. And for this purpose the New Jersey band did "Garageland" from the "100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong" box set. This was a nice treat that lead to the next killer BON JOVI track which Jon introduced by simply saying "…and in 1984…"

MariaV: …and the recognizable keyboard melody' intro of "Runaway" hit our heads without mercy! I have no words to describe what followed; everyone was screaming and jumping while weeping tears of joy and then, our voices became one, accompanying Jon's excellent vocals during this song and during the rest of he JOVI concert. The next surprise for us was the "Bad Medicine" medley with Roy Orbinson's "Pretty Woman" that rocked the whole O2 Arena once again where the big screen split in five pieces showing female figures weaving into the rhythm as Jon 'asked for a doctor' to introduce this 80s' hit. The thrills were coming one after the other and it was time for Jon to take some breaths backstage because the night seemed to be hot and endless. So, Ritchie Sambora was the chosen one to lead us into "Lay Your Hands On Me" vocal part, showing that his voice is still in a good form, encouraging us to put our hands up in the Arena's sky; the visual result was awesome, watching 22,000 of people, regardless of age, raising their hands into the rhythm…

MariaV: After one hour and a quarter of the JBJ concert, it was time to dip into the golden JOVI tracks once again, having a more 'in love' mode though; the ballad-time had arrived and Jon took his acoustic guitar and rediscovered some of our teenage memories of our first 'cheek-to-cheek' slow dances. "(You Want To) Make A Memory", "I'll Be There For You" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" were the tracks for this purpose and the whole O2 Arena was clapping into their loving groove, accompanying Jon with his black guitar that was placed in the front of the circle stage with the rest of the JOVI-es. The golden spotlights were turned onto them and the stadium glimpsed by love and adore for Jon and his mates. The following "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" tried to get back into the action mode without any special effort to tell you the truth, and after a while, the lights turned off in a way to prepare the stage for the brand new hit, "Work For The Working Man"; the impressive screens were filled up with cogwheels and hammers and stuff like that, while Jon didn't stop for a moment from jumping and dancing as he was encouraging us to sing with him and raise our hands in the air.

MariaV: Three songs before the traditional encore and "It's My Life" rocked us for good and nobody looked tired or bored; the crowd was accompanying Jon in every refrain and our throats began to hurt a little bit because of our screaming efforts to sound louder. Let it be; it was my first JBJ time, so I had to make it right. I think it's unnecessary to mention that if I'll have the opportunity in the future to watch JBJ again, I'll definitely do it without second thoughts; for me, Bon Jovi is a guarantee to have a great time, dancing and singing, no matter if you are a classic metalhead or not. Jon is the absolute showman on stage and he's not even trying to be one, like he's chrismed by a natural talent regarding his communication with the crowd. Well, the next "Who Says You Can't Go Home" made us sing 'it's alright, it's ok' where it was necessary and gave the appropriate baton to the rousing "Keep The Faith", while the lights did an excellent job and seemed to dance upon the stage in the song's rhythm. After that, Jon kissed us good-bye for a couple of minutes and then, he returned for the final shot.

MariaV: The O2 Arena filled with deep blue sea colors and Jon appeared sweaty for the encore's songs, smiling and weaving 'hello' to the glutton crowd. The familiar melodies of "Always" filled up the entire stadium, spreading chills around and our voices were made to surround Jon's incomparable vocals in every single verse. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing and Mr. Sambora's guitar solo was totally enjoyable. Although this song is not in the list of my favorites JBJ tracks, when I watched it live, I changed my mind; Jon's ability to turn every song in a magic moment is simply unexceptionable. The crowd screamed for 'more' and the duo Jovi/ Sambora appeared in the front of the stage for once again, having behind them a big orange sunrise in the big screen that caressed their figures. After the Jon's trick of "In & Out Of Love" intro, the full filling version of "Wanted Dead Or Alive" followed and everyone in that hall went crazy. Our hands were weaving in the air like stiff cowboys do and we sang till tooth and nail, while our big smiles were saying everything about this joyful crazy night that we couldn't believe in our eyes and ears.

The hair-rising a-capela "Livin' On A Prayer" along with the trademark intro put the final brush stroke and Jon was still jumping up and down, encouraging us to do the same. I can't describe what was happening in the stadium's shuttles; kids, teenagers and middle-aged persons sang with their whole hearts, obviously touched, enjoying themselves, making this night an unforgettable memory that I'll carry on in my mind for many years from now on.

MariaV: What can I say now to close this report? 'The Circle Tour' was an awesome experience and enjoyable for every age, a fact that made everyone equal and had the opportunity to turn back the clock and remember the passing youth. Kid and his team, Jon and his mates did an excellent job, giving us such a great show that had it all: laughs, tears of joy, slow-dance, a lot of singing, touching moments, jump-dancing and all the stuff that made our seats useless. The O2 Arena was the perfect spot to emcee 'The Circle Tour' that rocked us for more than 3 and a half hour, being a priceless memory in our hearts. No video-shooting, no photos or even our sweating tees can describe what we felt that night of 22nd June. This is an experience you have to leave. Jon, we're leaving in your prayer, from New Jersey and Chicago to London and every European corner,

Yours truly,
Two of your 200,000 screaming sweating slippery wet fans of the O2 Arena.

BON JOVI setlist: