Jonola14

I'd had very little sleep, it was baking hot and I was making my way to Hyde Park for the Bon Jovi concert that Simon S, Michelle C, Nick L, Nick M and I had been looking forward to since November.

I joined up with Simon and Michelle about 2pm. They had done well and got very near the front of the queue, we could see the impressive stage ahead of us and the excitement in the lines of people was there for all to see. There we stood, slowly being grilled by the 28 degree heat but looking forward to what lay ahead. "Alright Ginge?" I said to Nick L as I checked his progress via my mobile phone, at which point a red-headed freckle-infested woman turned round and glared at me.

We could see the big screens in the distance. They were advertising a 'text and have your message displayed on the big screen' feature. So to relieve the boredom of cooking in the sun, we texted, and five minutes later, thousands of people were reading our 'LET US IN' message from outside the gates, much to our delight and cries of "OH OH OH, LOOK, THERE IT IS", alongside frenzied jumping up and down, whooping and general hysteria.

Nick L joined us a bit later and eventually the time came for us to go inside. It was mayhem - people were running everywhere, desperate to get as close as possible to the stage, we settled for a brisk walk and a position about 100 metres from the front. I was a little disappointed because I found myself squashed against a repulsive bearded fat Spanish thing that quickly earnt the name Enfanta. It would have been bearable had the heat not made her start to sweat.....

A band called 'Live' came on and played a few tunes to get everyone going, but they were nothing compared to the sheer brilliance of one of the best bands in history.

All 92,000 people went absolutely wild when Bon Jovi appeared. The man is cool personified - forget Elvis, forget Will Smith, forget the Fonz, this guy is the coolest man to have lived. Put him alongside the God-like Richie Sambora, wearing his 'F*CK ME' jeans and amazing everyone with his guitar talent, as well as Tico Torres (the one person in the world who actually makes the tuft of hair between bottom lip and chin look good) on the drums and you have one ultra cool band.

They played all their best hits - Livin' On A Prayer, Lay Your Hands On Me, Bad Medicine, I'll Be There For You, Keep The Faith, These Days, You Give Love A Bad Name, One Wild Night, Bounce, as well as Shout, Rockin' All Over The World, Lola and Twist And Shout, but they saved the best for last - it all went dark except for one spotlight on Jon and Richie, silence. The hairs on my arms had been standing on end for the entire evening, particularly when Richie played his solos, but this was an even better emotion. Then Jon started singing Never Say Goodbye - my personal favourite - as the very last tune of the evening and I must admit to having a large lump in my throat, it was absolutely, totally and utterly one hundred percent superb.

It was amazing. It was my first Bon Jovi concert and i have every intention on going to the next one.

Sadly I don't think you can better that one. Get me a ticket though, cost no object.

Jon bon jovi, ha! i'm going to c justin timberlake.
He's much better that silly old fool.

oops i posted it twice!

Justin Timberlake should have his kneecaps scythed off, sewed on to his eyes and then battered with a baseball bat.

i got ur web site off that text screen thing, so thought i would have a look, sitting at work bored. It was my first bon jovi concert and was well worth the heat the price of everything and havin this guy's head in every foto i took!

June 29, 2003

BON JOVI