'Think I'll go the same way as Jay here and say the summer of 2008 was pretty special. The PBPs here were crazy. It's fascinating how sitting at a computer waiting for messages about songs being played thousands of miles away can be so exciting but it truly was. I remember actually checking the setlist for the Des Moines show in 2008 at school and seeing 'Always', 'One Wild Night', 'Misunderstood' and 'Hey God'. My friends couldn't quite understand why I was so excited but I was convinced that the band were going to go all out for the European tour and, to an extent, they did to be fair.

This board was crazy busy in those times. I think the band really captured everyone's imagination again during that time period, and it seemed like everyone here was genuinely excited about the direction the band was heading. It was awesome

- Twickenham 2008 - now many people would say it was disappointing but it was my first show and I thought the performance was great. Biased maybe but Jon's voice was strong, Richie looked great and the band were tight. They opened with the classic combination of 'Livin' On A Prayer' into 'You Give Love A Bad Name', and then followed 'Lost Highway', which is actually a favourite of mine. The setlist was 'disappointing' at the time but 'Dry County', 'Always', 'Diamond Ring', 'Blaze Of Glory' etc. were played (during the first night anyway. I couldn't do the second show). That just shows how good the setlists were around that time! A tremendous weekend all round really.

Rock In Rio 2008 Broadcast - Vanilla setlist, but a band on fire. They played with a high intensity and gave a great performance. I remember 'Blaze Of Glory' sounding particularly good, and Jon did very well with 'Always'.

- The rarities at the O2 Arena - I didn't attend any of these shows. I was meant to but exams came at a bad time. These shows tend to get huge praise from some and stick from others. Personally, everything I saw on YouTube had me aching to be there. The band may not have done full album nights etc. but some of the songs they did play were just fantastic. 'Something To Believe In', '(It's Hard) Letting You Go', 'Let It Rock', 'I Get A Rush', 'Garageland', 'Something For The Pain (Acoustic)', 'These Days (Acoustic)', 'Lay Your Hands On Me', 'Dry County', 'Living In Sin', 'Hey God', 'Never Say Goodbye'...

2011 - I only attended Manchester, which was a solid performance but the weather was horrible and the setlist was probably the ONLY weak one of the tour. Never mind though! That European tour in 2011 followed on from '08, and saw the band in blistering form, having fun and throwing a bone to the diehards. Some of the performances were fantastic. Perhaps it should have all ended there...

2013 - I heard 'Someday I'll Be Saturday Night' live for the first time. I went beserk to be honest. I would be astounded if anyone who had attended for more than one concert hadn't heard this amazing song but either way it's one of my favourites and is still one of Bon Jovi's finest efforts. I enjoyed the sunderland show. Nothing exactly 'special' about it, but it was fun and a decent performance.
Glasgow really hurt me though. You could sense the band didn't want to be there. It was July but pretty cold and Jon just wasn't in the mood. Of course, they were playing Hyde Park within the coming days. I've been stung by that particular curse twice...

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I still love this band. Sure, we probably don't listen to them as much and things are very quiet right now. Hell, the world of Jovi is pretty sour right now and it's hard to see if things will ever improve. I can watch shows from 2003, for example, and just be in awe. Many people will say the Bounce era was a bad one but there's a raw energy and vibe about it all I love. The performances/Jon's voice range from sublime to shocking. Very strange. The structure of the set was changed up a little too, with staples hits such as 'Wanted', 'Prayer' etc. not closing the show for example. Whether it worked is down to opinion but they mixed it up at least.

I want Richie to come back and I'd love to see one final tour in the vain of '08/'10/'11, where the band went all out and put on a great show for everyone attending. That's not going to happen, but one can dream, eh...

Keep The Faith