By Paul Loader

I am sure this won’t be the only review for the Bon Jovi gig at Ashton Gate, so I will get my two penith worth in before somebody beats me to it. 

So, where to begin? My wife is a huge Bon Jovi fan and so when we heard that the mighty Jovi were coming to Bristol we of course had to get on line and grab the tickets as soon as we could. Never being that quick off of the mark by the time we got there all the best seats had gone and we had to make do with the Wedlock stand. Apparently it’s the stand that all the away supporters go to…i.e. broken!

We got there a bit earlier than we should have done, unlike all my mates who went to the pub first. However, having seen the length of the queues to the loos we contented ourselves with a bit of people  watching and a cup of Bovril from the stands café (don’t ask me why, it’s apparently compulsory at football matches so I wasn’t going to be the one to break with tradition).

As I said, we really did get there too early so we watched a lot of people. Can somebody tell me why groups of ladies of (shall I say) a certain age, wear those bright coloured cowboy hats with the frills and glitter. They all wear the same matching kind depending on group they are in. I thought it helped them located each other just in case they got lost. My wife just thought I was being sarcastic.

Anyway, come 7-o’clock the only support band of the evening took to the stage. They were the Evening Post competition winners called Switchblade UK and I eyed them with envious eyes. I had tried to enter The Mudheads into the competition but every time I tried to register the website was down. As Switchblade UK took to the stage I wished I had tried a little harder.

To be fair to Switchblade UK I don’t think they ever had a chance. The sound engineer must have given them a ¼ of the PA and any sound they did produce was whipped away by the wind. By the time it reached us in the cheap seats all I could hear was the bass drum and a few snatched guitar chords and the odd vocal.

The guys also all wore black, which blended in beautifully with the un-lit stage and so we could neither hear or see them. I really hope that they weren’t too disappointed with the lack of response. However the crowd at the front would have heard and seen them and so hopefully the band were applauded heartily by them.

Come 8-o’clock the stadium was almost full when an announcement came over the PA “For those outside the stadium the main event will begin in 5 minutes”. Trouble is what only the front runners could really see was that Bon Jovi were already on stage and the words “begin in 5 minutes” were drown by the open chords of the first song. It took us all about two songs to figure out what the hell was going on to be honest.

This gig was beginning to highlight to me the very real need for this city to have either a decent sized indoor arena or a covered stadium (like Cardiff).  

At 8pm in June when the sun was mercifully shining it totally counteracted the stage lighting and video screens. Also the stadium itself is a fairly decent wind tunnel and so besides clouds of dust being thrown into the faces of the spectators from the side tracks, the wind also whips the sound away. Ritchie Sambora’s guitar sounded like it was going out of phase from time to time.

Anyway, stop moaning like an old women Loader and look to the positives.

What is there not to like about Bon Jovi? They are tight and polished and they perform songs that we all know and we are quite happy to sing along to.  

According to Jon B this was 90^th gig of their current tour and so they never missed a beat.

One thing I really wanted to mention as being the ‘star’ of the evening was the stage set. It was basically one large video screen made up of a video back drop that wrapped the whole stage area and then loads (6) of smaller screens that moved up and down and even separated like venetian blinds. With two large screens to the sides. Oh and a massive and I mean MASSIVE wall that must have been a screen that was covered in lights that was lifted into an upright position on stage on several occasions to project further images. 

The art director for this tour must have got paid more than the band. It was phenomenal. The graphics, images and video grabbed you by the throat and never once let you go. Quite amazing and worth attending the concert just for that. 

Bon Jovi went through their back catalogue from their oldest album to the newest, always accompanied by the amazing back images and lighting. The audience generally loved every moment of it.

Again I noticed another people phenomenon. All the women were getting down and grooving (I called it mum dancing to my wife….my arm still hurts) All the men stood there stoically, with a slight nodding of the head (nothing to aggressive mind you,,,certainly not head banging, nothing so charismatic) and perhaps just a gentle tap of a single foot. And I was one of them I can tell you.  

Then almost as soon as it had started it was over. “Two hours, that’s you lot we’re off”. Which was a real shame really as the wind had dropped and the sound was getting really clear and punchy, and by 10pm the sun had set and the spectacle of the stage was really pronounced and spectacular.

Having said “is that it” my wife then went on to say “well, they’re not as young as they used to be”. What she meant was they are pretty much my age! Thanks love! 

Mind you on a positive note, my mate CJ reckoned…”Keep em wanting more”  and we were all certainly in the mood for more I can tell you. 

So, what was my over all opinion? Well, as I said CJ said that it floated his boat and it was the best that he had seen them. On the other had my very good buddy Bassbin said that it ‘lacked soul’. He’s seen them three times before and he felt that there was an element of them ‘going through the motions this time.

My good lady wife loved every second of it, and she enjoyed the occasion. So to me, that was ‘job done’ as far as Jovi were concerned. 

I felt that Bon Jovi performed well, it was just I couldn’t get away from the feeling that we in Bristol got a little short changed. 

In other parts of the country bands like The Feeling have supported the Jovi and I bet the punters in those areas didn’t have to pay more for their tickets. 

With the greatest of respect to Switchblade UK I thought that they would be an addition to a number of established support artistes. When I last saw Bon Jovi they were being supported by Van Halen (wow!), Ugly Kid Joe and Crown of Thorns. There was a real sense of occasion to the whole thing and well worth the journey to Wembly for. 
I wonder if it was considered that Bristol is only a ‘market town’ so it doesn’t matter. 

Maybe I am just turning into Victor Meldrew!!! 

I think the last word ought to be left to my wife “where are they next playing, I want a ticket’.