Current mood:	happy now
Current music:	Bon Jovi - The Circle

Love's The Only Rule
With the release of 'The Circle' on Monday in the UK, Bon Jovi were in town. You may have seen them on X Factor performing first single 'We Weren't Born To Follow' on Sunday. I went down to London Monday evening to meet up with friends ready for Bon Jovi's Radio 2 Live show at Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House on Tuesday. We were lucky enough to get into the event. Tuesday actually seems like forever ago now. Well, the venue was tiny. Without seats downstairs I think it fits just over 400 people. There was no barrier, the stage was super-low. A couple of cameramen were at the front recording it for the BBC. Chris Evans announced Bon Jovi who then performed for about an hour and a half. The main set was:

We Weren't Born To Follow
Who Says You Can't Go Home
You Give Love A Bad Name
Work For The Working Man
Whole Lot Of Leavin'
Prayer (acoustic)
When We Were Beautiful
Superman Tonight
Lost Highway
It's My Life
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night


The band then left the stage briefly before coming back for an encore. They decided to retake When We Were Beautiful and Superman Tonight, two of the new songs from 'The Circle'. And then rounded the show off with Wanted Dead Or Alive.

Before doors had opened I gave Obie (Jon's friend/sound engineer) a couple of Black Velvets (issue 61 & 62) as he likes to have a flick through occasionally (Obie is also involved with Soraia who Black Velvet has featured in a past issue). Later that night after the show Jon came over to say hi to us. I was going to give him a copy of Black Velvet - but he tells me he got one off Obie already (which surprised me!). He asked me how Black Velvet was going, which was nice. :-) It was nice to talk to him, it's been a while. Also had brief chats with Richie and Huey. I should have asked Jon when we're gonna do an interview, hehe, but... I didn't. Ah well, someday!

Wednesday was our 'day off' (although Bon Jovi were filming The Today Show and the National Lottery). Went to Camden, did some shopping, wasted some money, had a vegan meal at http://www.inspiralled.net and was also happy to find http://www.secretsocietyofvegans.co.uk/cts/.

Yesterday (Thursday) Bon Jovi were playing a secret show, similar to Tuesday's show except not for the BBC. Contests to win tix were on various radio stations including Absolute Radio, with winners being announced on the morning of the show. Contest winners took a boat to the O2 in the evening (apparently the band were on the boat with them) and the show itself was at the British Music Experience, an intimate venue in the O2.

The set was very similar to Tuesday except for no retake of WWWB & ST in the encore. Oh and they opened with a cover of 'Pump It Up'. Nearly forgot that! Jon's brother Anthony was filming on his camera - so hopefully some footage will appear on http://www.maxmouth.com or http://www.bonjovi.com at some point. The stage was a little bit higher although again no barrier and everything was very laid back and relaxed. No support band - just Bon Jovi on the stage for an hour. The only downer was that not so many real fans made it into the audience. I know a lot of Bon Jovi fans who would have killed to be at the show - but mostly (except for a handful) it was radio contest winners that overall didn't seem quite so fanatical. I'm super-honoured to have been there. Getting a ticket to this show was almost like winning the lottery itself.



After the show everyone made their way to the Indigo2 venue where there was a screening of the band's When We Were Beautiful documentary. This is great viewing and gives an interesting insight into the life of a touring rock band... well... not just any touring rock band - but the band that is BON JOVI - and how the whole hard-working, enigmatic enterprise works. You discover more about each band member and how they tick, and how Jon Bon Jovi himself is the focused brain behind the successful Bon Jovi corporation. You should watch it. Buy 'The Circle' CD/DVD package and it's included with the album. The director of the documentary, Phil Griffin, introduced it prior to it beginning. (Oh, and if you look hard enough you might even spot my hair/black gloves clapping in the distance in the odd live shot - as some footage of the final Madison Square Garden '08 show is on there - we were front row for that show).

Travelled back home today. I guess that's our Bon Jovi goodness for the year over with now... Get ready for 2010 - as the band start their world tour, including an impressive residency at the O2 arena in June.