“If you ever asked me if I’d ever think Bon Jovi and Def Leppard would tour together, I probably would have laughed. Dreams do come true.”
Denmark = So Much Rain.
There’s nothing more of a bummer than dying of thirst after a show and accidentally ordering a sparkling water instead of a still water. It’s funny to discover the small nuances within English in different countries.
Sønderborg is a quiet, quaint town on the waterfront about 16 miles away from Germany. It’s a very small town that’s had a ton of history of battles during war time. The place where the stage was set up was an original location of a battle.
It seemed like a very odd place to host a brilliant 80’s lineup of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, but boy did fans show up in droves. I have to say, I was disappointed by the disorganization of the venue. Between the language barrier and a lack of a liaison between the different lines and venue, it was a crazy trying to organize the queue. Thank goodness for the JBJ fan club last minute taking over and taking great care of the fan club ticket holders—unfortunately that wasn’t me this show.
The queue started bright and early and Sophie and I joined the non-fan club line with numbers 5&6. It wasn’t too chilly, but boy did it rain during the queue. Despite an umbrella and rain coat, my shoes and jeans got soaked. Pro tip and lesson learned: always bring extra socks and never wear jeans—the get tighter when they’re wet. Thank goodness I had a rain coat from Stavanger.
The only place nearby to take shelter during the queue was a Burger King. I found myself there trying to dry off before gate opens. Shout out to this Bon Jovi fan who had an extra pair of socks and spared me from a miserable night with wet feet. Sophie and I got Burger King crowns and crossed off Burger and wrote Beauty. I thought it was brilliant. Unfortunately, the rain got to our crowns and made the melt and flatten.
We lined up at the gates and after what felt like the longest wait ever, the gates were open. ALL OF THEM. The fan club ticket holders got in first, but then the security staff opened at least 30 shoots at the same exact time. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins as I full off sprinted toward the gold circle. I felt like a horse in a race because all the vendors on the sides were hooting and hollering as we ran. Thankfully I’m a runner so I was able to make it to the wristband station and onto the catwalk barricade without any issues. Under gorgeous skies, it was show time.
Def Leppard always puts on a high energy set full of hits. This time around they nearly played the entire Hysteria album in its entirety. Joe Elliot came out in sparkly sneakers, a shiny star button up and looked like an absolute rock star. Him and the band engaged with the crowd all night and certainly warmed the crowd up for Bon Jovi.
I really think both shows were so great because both bands wanted to look good in front of the other. It was an amazing performance by both.
Bon Jovi time, baby. A sea of people as far as the eye could see.
Something is different this tour with Bon Jovi and the band. There is an awe-inspiring energy surrounding them and a sense of sincere happiness that you just can’t help but smile when you’re there. It’s a weird sense of being proud of the band—for keep on keeping on despite all the chaos erupting around them.
A highlight of the night for me was the Someday I’ll Be A Saturday night jam session. JBJ walked down the catwalk, guitar in hand, and waved for the boys to join them. It was the happiest moment I could have imagined.
A fan favorite for sure, Rollercoaster finally made its way back into the setlist. I love this record and think it’s one of the best Bon Jovi albums, ever. I’m thrilled to see the new songs in the setlist.
I forgot how much I loved Have A Nice Day until I saw it live again. (Spoiler alert, I impulse got it tattooed soon after this show.) The background animations are super cool and make for nice photos. The double guitar solos between Phil X and Shanks are insane.
Following HAND is Keep the Faith, which keeps the high energy rolling. I love that everyone gets a special part in this song. Guitar solos for the win!
Captain Crash time and yes, we had confetti. Shout out to the fellow American Bon Jovi fans: DeeDee, Kellene, and Pam, who shared the bag with us so we could bring the fun down our line. The sparkly confetti, ever so messy, shined in the air as the sun caught the edges.
I’d Die For You made it into the setlist and it was strong willed and powerful. The backing vocals beautifully supported JBJ and you could hear the crowd erupt with excitement with the start of the keyboards.
The most hysterical part of this show was leaving…because there was seemingly no official exit. Fans left in any way possible—for us, over a trampled bike rack, down a dark ditch under trees and crawling up a wet mound of grass. No kidding. With your right hand you had to hold this branch from hitting you in the face, and as you blindly took a step, you’d fall into a sea of water and…an unknown ditch. Then you had to crawl your way back up and stumble onto the road. I can’t make this shit up.
Poor Sophie punctured a hole in her hand on the slide down. I had to laugh, she popped her head up after crawling up the hill and announced, “There’s a hole in me hand!”
Rock and roll baby… onto Nijemgan Holland!
A local review of the show!