Last night, I went to see Bon Jovi at Hampden for the second time and it was a fabulous night despite the fact it poured with rain the whole time. We were in the stands so we were undercover but I really felt sorry for those standing in the middle because they were drenched. It didn’t dampen their enthusiasm though and they were soon bopping up and down.
The gates opened at 4 pm but we decided to go late and arrived just before 6 pm which is when the first band came on - a local unsigned band from Glasgow called Logan. I’m so glad we went late otherwise we would’ve been sitting there for 2 hours waiting on something happening. I think most people had the same idea because it took ages for the stadium to fill and a lot of the standing area at the back was empty since many people chose to stay undercover near the bar and food outlets inside the stadium itself.
The support band was The Feeling, a band I’m not too familiar with but they were on for an hour. I’m not sure that was really planned because I’m sure they said after 30 mins they were playing their last song. They ended up just playing on so I’m guessing there was some kind of delay with the main show. I recognised a few songs from the advert for their album and that bloody, irritating song from the Toyota advert. I was really starting to get bored with them after half an hour. Why, oh why, didn’t Daughtry come over!
By 8:30, the crowd nearer the stage let out a huge roar and although I couldn’t really see anything, we got out of our seats like a shot. Bon Jovi were on the stage! They started off with a cover of the Status Quo song, Rockin’ All Over The World, which had us all jumping around. There was no walkway through the crowd which disappointed me a little but I’m not sure if that was because of the rain or the stage set just didn’t allow for that. It seemed to me there was less interaction with the crowd compared to the last show but again, it may have been down to the rain and the stage set up.
One of my biggest peeves is people can’t seem to sit in their seats at stadium gigs, I constantly had to move to let people pass and it was starting to piss me off big time especially when I was trying to record some of Dry County which is one of my favourite all time songs. It is just such a big, epic song and it is rarely played. I didn’t see it at the time but the fans in the Golden Circle had a huge banner with Dry County on it and Jon saw it. He came back on to stage after Richie sang I’ll Be There For You, pointed to the banner and the opening bars of the song began. I really wasn’t expecting them to play it and typically, the crowd went quiet. It’s moments like this when you can differentiate between the diehard fans and those just wanting to hear the greatest hits. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I’m desperate to go to one of the Bon Jovi intimate gigs, they are always my favourite DVD shows and the fans appreciate anything they sing.
They didn’t disappoint the crowd, however, and the usual big songs were played. The whole place went wild when Always and Living’ On A Prayer started. Still no Bed of Roses, but maybe next time. My brother like this concert better than the last one but I kinda felt the opposite but it may have been down to the fact the last one was my first ever Bon Jovi concert. You can never beat the first time!
Afterwards, we had to walk through the rain for an hour to get back to the city centre where our dad was picking us up and I was thoroughly miserable. The rain was in my face the whole time and getting into my eyes so much I couldn’t even see at some point. I really wished my contacts had wipers! By the time, we got to Buchanan St, I just wanted to curl and cry. Bloody British weather! My dad had brought a towel for us which I thought was pretty funny. My hair was still damp when I went to bed so I woke up to a riot of bushy waves. Not nice.
My ears are still sore today. I actually had some trouble with the sound last night, it was hurting my ears a lot and some times I couldn’t really make out what Jon was singing. I’m not sure if it was the sound system or just my ears being sensitive. I had to cover my ears when people near me starting doing that shrill whistling.
Oops, this all sounds like I didn’t really enjoy it but I really did. I would’ve paid that money just to hear Dry County alone. I love Jon Bon Jovi and he is such a gifted entertainer - he’s never boring. He was doing his best to get the crowd going last night despite the misery of the rain. He kept making jokes about the weather and how he’d had to wrap up warm. No leather, ladies, just denim.
That’s a pity that it rained ! the problem with these shows is that it is really too loud and hurts the ears. After having suffered a couple of times, I now take earplugs with me and regulate the sound myself and I am not the only one, lol !At least I can enjoy the music then.
Yesterday I met quite a lot of scottish soldiers in their costumes for the Waterloo battle. If you want to see them they are on my Countries & Cities blog
By Gattina
on 06.22.08 1:34 pm | Permalink
I’m glad you had fun despite the rain. Jon never seems to age does he ?
By Lisa Ann
on 06.22.08 1:35 pm | Permalink
He’s a total stud!
By Caledonia
on 06.22.08 2:25 pm | Permalink