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The second show of the Australian This House is Not For Sale tour was in Adelaide at the relatively new
venue of Botanic Park which is the area between Adelaide Zoo and the Botanic
Gardens.
Walking from the city to the venue we came across probably the most
photographed sign in Adelaide at the entry to the parklands area (pictured
below) before finding a seat under the shady trees to wait for VIP check in
to open. The trees in the area are actually Moreton Bay Figs which
were planted over 100 years ago and with the way the roots appear above
ground the trees bore an uncanny resemblance to the artwork on the This
House is Not for Sale album cover. Quite apt with the tour being for
that album and of all the places in the world the band was photographed with
one of the trees in little Adelaide an image shared worldwide on the
official social media pages.
Soon it was time for the VIP check in and staff from TEG Dainty and Runaway
Tours/Bon Jovi staff got everyone checked off and through security quickly
and we were soon heading off on the backstage tour with Darrin and Max from
Runaway Tours/Bon Jovi staff. Being in the first group we were lucky
enough to come across both Phil X and John Shanks during the walk around on
stage with Phil X getting a number of the group to sing 'Santa Claus is
coming to town' (as pictured below) before then posing with everyone as they
filed back off the stage for pics. The video of Santa Claus is coming
to town was online early the following Sunday and can be found on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=ArCsW1gqQCc - you can
also now purchase via I Tunes etc and if you look closely at the clip a lot
of it was indeed filmed in Adelaide (no other venue had all the green trees
nor probably needed marquees and ATCO huts the same as the parklands did!).
Then it was off via the airconditioned bus to the Hackney Hotel for dinner,
raffles comps etc before they made sure we returned to the venue in plenty
of time to go through the VIP security gate again and to find out spots for
the show. The tour and vip experience was fantastic and Adelaide put
on the perfect day weather wise for a summer concert..
Birds of Tokyo were the support act and quite good their new single is very
good but of course Lanterns meant the end of their set and that Bon Jovi
were nearly on stage. Unfortunately what seemed the perfect spot
upfront had the view of Phil X and David often blocked by the camera guy who
it seems had to be right on top of Phil X up on a ledge in front of the
stage for 3/4 of the main set. After that he finally worked out he
could stand back and still get the same shots for the big screens.
This was a bit disappointing for those of us who thought up front would give
us a clear view of everyone on stage - you can see the camera guy blocking
areas of the photos below. But anyway back to the show itself.
WOW what a setlist and what a crowd the show started with Lost Highway then
a rousing version of Who Says You Cant go Home and already the crowd and the
band were so full of energy. You Give Love a Bad Name the Raise Your
Hands kept the high pace up and the crowd on its feet before then the new
songs in This House is not For Sale and Living With the Ghost. Runaway
next then We Weren't Born to Follow before Jon dedicated Its My Life to two
brothers in the crowd who had faced their abuser in court as he was
convicted earlier in the day in a court case that had been in the Adelaide
news for several days. Another new song in God Bless This Mess was
next before a rousing rendition of Born to Be My Baby which saw Jon come
down off stage and make his way along the front row delighting everyone as
he went. After heading back on stage the high paced songs just
continued with We Don't Run then Keep The Faith which saw a return of Jon's
famous maracas which had been AWOL in Melbourne. Then as Jon left the
stage the band continued with the extended solos seeing Phil X and John
Shanks on guitar and David Bryan on keyboards showcase their talents.
Jon returned to the stage for Bed of Roses before following up with the fan
favourite Lay Your Hands on Me and the crowd participation track of Captain
Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars before ending the main set with Bad
Medicine. A quick breather for everyone band and crowd (and the crowd
was amazing its wasn't just the vip groups at the front it seemed it was the
full capacity crowd of 16,000 joining the singalong choir during the best
known songs) before the start of the encore. When We Were Us saw the
band return to the stage which is their latest song written for the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame induction after they were confirmed inductees last
December then followed by Blood on Blood before a trio of their biggest
songs from the 80s in I'll Be There For You, Wanted Dead of Alive and
finally ending with Living on a Prayer. Amazing song and amazing
experience and one of the best concerts Adelaide has seen and the Botanic
Park is a fantastic venue and a very easy walk to public transport to head
home instead of the long wait trying to depart car parks. Fans in
Adelaide will be hoping Bon Jovi return next tour to our little town and
hopefully it wont be another 5 years wait til we can do it all over again.
Please note these personal images are copyright to Jenny Barnes and are not to be
copied/distributed/used in anyway.
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