Bon Jovi – O2 Arena 2010 Night 11

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Already the first band to ever play there, and as of June 7 the first band to play on the roof, Bon Jovi continued their dominance of the prestigious O2 Arena with their twelve-date residency, playing for over two hours each night, and setting themselves a target of 70 different songs in the process.

This was the eleventh show of the June run, which only took breaks twice for shows in France and Spain, and the third of four to feature big-name support act Kid Rock. Kid delivered a savvy set that played up to the crowd he had in front of him. Working on the probably accurate assumption that there were barely any actual Kid Rock fans in the audience, he stuck to his generally softer, rock tracks for the whole set, only venturing back any further than 2003′s Cocky once for a reworked, softer version of Cowboy in a medley with Waylon Jennings‘ Good Ol’ Boys.

Ordinarily a Kid Rock set without American Badass and Bawitdaba would be a complete failure, but in front of a Bon Jovi crowd, especially a 21st Century Bon Jovi crowd, it was a triumph. He also demonstrated beyond any doubt what a good singing voice he has, something he was never credited for while making predominantly rap-rock based albums, and it’s no wonder bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, whom he idolises, want to work with him.

Bon Jovi took the stage to their new entrance theme This Is Our House (which should have been made available as a limited edition tour single at the merchandise stands – opportunity missed) onto their new circular stage – a regular stage with a ring stage around it – early enough to fit in a two-and-a-half hour set (their commitment certainly cannot be questioned) and were greeted by the usual euphoria, particularly from the small group of fans who paid hundreds of pounds to sit inside the circle. The stage was an interesting design, allowing Jon Bon Jovi to make several trips out onto the ring, when he wasn’t doing his best cowboy-with-an-acoustic impression, and really begged to be in the middle of the arena instead of at one end.

Bon Jovi are fortunate that as they’ve changed their style over the last few years, they’ve collected a whole new fan base to go with the new material. A lot of long-time Bon Jovi fans, those who pay the top dollar excluded, would really rather not have five or six anonymous, incredibly similar and not-at-all-rock songs from Lost Highway and The Circle, and the band’s rock credibility is in steady decline because of it.

But one thing that is never a question, and the one thing that does keep many of the old fans coming back despite the lacklustre newer songs, is their ability and entertainment value in the live arena. And given that reliability, it’s the setlist that bears the weight of the show’s success.

So when they’re prepared to dust off old songs from their extensive catalogue, barely anyone tends to leave complaining. With their 70-song target (which it can only be hoped leads to a 70-track live box set) each night included one or two songs either exclusive to that show, or only played once or twice before on the run, and for this night the crowd were treated to Blood Money, which had only been aired a couple of times before, and the first ever live performance of Santa Fe, both from Jon’s solo album Blaze of Glory.

Other set highlights included Richie Sambora’s excellent rendition of Homebound Train, which has been played a few times on the tour but is not a mainstay, a grooving We Got It Goin’ On and superb main set finalé Keep The Faith. Jon’s vocal performance on Leonard Cohen‘s Hallelujah was also top-drawer, and Kid Rock joined in for a cover of Bob Seger‘s Old Time Rock And Roll.

Where the set faultered was in its momentum, or lack thereof. For each track that successfully got the audience off their seats, there followed a track which put them back in them. Born To Be My Baby followed by Story of My Life, Lay Your Hands On Me followed by Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars, the one-two-three of I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Work For The Working Man and It’s My Life brought back down by Who Says You Can’t Go Home before the Keep The Faith closer.

Had the set structure been better, and the stage been in the centre of the arena for an “in the round” setting, the show could have been an even bigger success than it was. And as long as the set was, the fact that five entire albums were not represented (These Days, Bounce, Have A Nice Day, 7800° Fahrenheit and Bon Jovi) is a fairly drastic oversight.

Nevertheless, based purely on performance and crowd reaction it’s hard to call this, or likely any other Bon Jovi show, anything but a success. There still remains room for improvement though.

“ prepared to dust off old songs ”

Kid Rock Setlist: Rock ‘n’ Roll Jesus / You Never Met A Motherfucker Quite Like Me > Rock ‘n’ Roll Pain Train / Everyday People / Cowboy > Good Ol’ Boys > Cowboy / Picture / 3 Sheets To The Wind / So Hott / All Summer Long

Bon Jovi Setlist: Blood On Blood / We Weren’t Born To Follow / You Give Love A Bad Name / Born To Be My Baby / Story of My Life / In These Arms / Superman Tonight / Lay Your Hands On Me / Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars / We Got It Goin’ On / Bad Medicine > Old Time Rock And Roll (with Kid Rock) > Bad Medicine / Homebound Train / Hallelujah / Blood Money / Santa Fe / The Last Night / I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead / Work For The Working Man / It’s My Life / Who Says You Can’t Go Home / Keep The Faith // When We Were Beautiful / Wanted Dead Or Alive / Livin’ On A Prayer

Written by Andy Lye
More: Gigs, Rock, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock