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By the time Welsh rockers the Manic Street Preachers take to the stage, stories are filtering through that car parks around Anfield are full and Liverpool City Centre has ground to a halt as thousands of fans try to make their way to the football stadium. You could say that the arrival of rock royalty to Merseyside in the form of Jon Bon Jovi is a big deal but, given that it’s their first UK tour in over six years, that statement would be a given.
Not that the supporting Welsh rockers seem to be too stressed by the situation with frontman James Dean Bradfield seen hanging around the outside of the venue minutes before the band are due on www. Obviously they too are old hands at this touring lark and, given that they’ve just come off their own sold-out headline tour, when they take to the stage in front of a filling stadium, it’s no surprise that they make it look easy. Sure, they’ve got no space and they know very few people are here to see them but, as they kick their set off with Motorcycle Emptiness, it’s obvious there is no pressure, no need to prove themselves and no need to win anybody over so, for thirty odd minutes, Nicky Wire and his longtime bandmate kick back and simply soak up the occassion.
There is a chorus of boos ring out around the crowd as Jon Bon Jovi jokes “it’s an honour to play in Anfield Stadium” as he quickly realises not everybody here is a Liverpool fan. That being said, there also isn’t one person here who isn’t a fan of the New Jersey rock superstars and, for those fans, JBJ and his band make sure they get the perfect night. Old hands at this now, Jon Bon Jovi knows how to work a crowd as the likes of Raise Your Hands sees thousands of pairs of hands thrust skyward while throwing in hit single You Give Love A Bad Name early on sets the bar incredibly high for the rest of the evening.
Everywhere you look there are fans of all ages adorned in Bon Jovi t-shirts from all eras and they know every word to every song. From the likes of “Born To Be My Baby” right back to “Runaway” the song where it all started for this New Jersey rocker, this was a set filled with classics and they just kept rolling. A few more modern tracks like We Don’t Run and We Weren’t Born To Follow filled out a set that was primarily classic after classic. Keep The Faith, Lay Your Hands On Me, Wanted Dead Or Alive and Bad Medicine, the frontman and his band just kept throwing them out to a waiting audience and, when the familiar intro to giganti-hit Livin’ On A Prayer rings out around the Ground, you just know that if there was a roof on this place, the noise from the crowd would have blown it off!
Bon Jovi Set List
This House Is Not for Sale
Raise Your Hands
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Whole Lot of Leavin’
Lost Highway
Runaway
We Weren’t Born to Follow
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Amen
I’ll Be There for You
Blood on Blood
It’s My Life
We Don’t Run
Wanted Dead or Alive
Lay Your Hands on Me
Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead
Bad Medicine
These Days
Livin’ on a Prayer
Birthday
Twist and Shout
