Kid Rock and Bon Jovi, Live In Melbourne 2013

Date: 8th December 2013 (Sunday)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Docklands

Time: 5.45pm onwards

Train stop: Southern Cross (4-5 minutes walk to the stadium)

The place was bustling by the time we arrived at Docklands at 6pm. Loved the atmosphere. You could see so many fans decked in their Bon Jovi t-shirts and caps, queuing up to buy more merchandise or food from the available food trucks.

We grabbed a hot dog each (AUD$6.60 each!) and tried to finish it up as quickly as possible before heading into the stadium before Kid Rock was due to come on stage. Once we entered the stadium, we ended up heading towards the beer stall for a beer each (AUD$7.30 each!) before we seated ourselves at our places.

Kid Rock deserves a mention and applause for his performance. He appeared on stage at 6.30pm (very punctual) and spent an hour doing his best to work up the crowd's enthusiasm and excitement before Bon Jovi was due to come on stage.

Not many people may know who he is and most of his songs (besides being ex-Mr Pamela Anderson and his collaboration with Sheryl Crow for 'Picture') so it was a shame to see the stadium half filled during his performance.

I admit that I was pretty lost most of the time during his performance as I was not familiar with most of his songs. He did belt out a few cover versions of ... well, yeah, some songs originally sung by other artistes, and that got the crowd cheering.

He made fun of Justin Bieber's dance moves and that got the crowd chuckling.

But Kid Rock has a powerful voice which I enjoyed listening to, that rough sandpaper-y voice which girls would probably go starry-eyed when serenaded to while playing the guitar. To top it off, he sang with clarity so you could make out most of the words he was singing.

I'm sure you can vaguely make out the shape of Kid Rock on the screen. :)

He was very good entertainer, swapping several hats for different songs, mixing the turntable as DJ Gazelle (?). His song 'Forty' was funny and cracked us up, though before he started the song, he did warn parents to close their children's ears.

Don't know that song? Check it out on this YouTube link and the lyrics are hilarious. :)

What got the crowd to their feet and a roar of approval was when he sang 'Born Free' with a picture of Nelson Mandela on the screen.

His band was magnificent, too, with David McMurray in a striking red jacket and on saxophone, and one of his background vocals, Jessica Cowan-Wagner stood out with her powerful voice. A shame I didn't snap pictures of them, though my pictures wouldn't have been clear, anyway.

The little boy was so cute, cheering Kid Rock on, whilst a couple seated at the back
took pictures of each other ... hehe.

He ended his performance with a popular favourite and something familiar, 'All Summer Long', which got everyone to their feet once again to sing along. Yes! Something I could sing along to - at least the chorus bit. It's so catchy and with that happy melody, I urge you to listen and add this song to your iPod.

Our outfits were totally not rocking, dude!

There was a 30 minute intermission before Bon Jovi appeared on stage 5 minutes past 8pm.

Here's a clearer picture of the stage, the hood of a blue Cadillac with headlights.

The crowd went wild as the band appeared on stage, and the show started with 'That's What The Water Made Me', a song from Bon Jovi's latest album.

Then it was 'You Give Love A Bad Name', and the crowd went wild!

Next, it was 'Raise Your Hand', 'Lost Highway' and 'Whole Lot Of Leavin''.

We were told that they would be doing a different set of songs from Saturday's show, which got me a bit worried. I was hoping he would sing some old favourites or I'd be completely lost. I wasn't that familiar with their new album just yet.

David Bryan, the keyboardist on the main screen.

When they broke into the first chords of 'It's My Life', we went crazy.
'Because We Can' and 'What About Now' were also good sing-along songs from their latest album.

The next few songs were 'We Got It Going On', 'Keep The Faith' and 'Amen'.

They took it a notch down and came forward to the stage and belted out acoustic versions of 'Someday I'll Be Saturday Night', 'Diamond Ring' and 'You Want To Make A Memory'.

I turned to YB and said he'd better deliver me an acoustic version of 'Someday I'll Be Saturday Night' on his guitar soon.

Once a bit rested, they headed back to their instruments and kicked up the tempo again with 'Captain Crush & Beauty Queen From Mars' (from the album 'Crush' which I missed out), 'You Were Born To Be My Baby' and 'We Weren't Born To Follow'.

One would think that without Richie Sambora in the show, the show would be a different but overall it was still an outstanding performance. With Phil Xenidis stepping in for Sambora, he did an excellent job and in fact, was probably the youngest looking 'band member'! :D

In the modern world of technology, you don't need lighters to light up the stadium - use your mobile phone!

I must have sang my loudest when the band played 'Bad Medicine' and mumbled at 'Wanted Dead or Alive'.

Recognise the emoticon?

Bon Jovi singing 'Have A Nice Day' from the album of the same name.

They must be exhausted by now as it was 2 hours into the show. Jon Bon Jovi thanked the Melbourne fans for 30 years of friendship and support, and we couldn't help but to wonder if it meant an end to tours.

A better view of the drummer, Tico Torres in action.

They also sang 'I Love This Town' from the Lost Highway album and 'These Days' from the album of the same name.

The show ended with 'Livin' On A Prayer' and as the band took a bow, I don't think the crowd was ready for the night to end.

The show ended at about 10.30pm and the crowd gradually dispersed and crawled out of the stadium.

The stadium was either too big or too empty as it lacked a bit of a concert feel. We were seated behind an elder couple who left the concert early at 9.45pm, and a screaming teen was behind us, dancing all the way.

Either that, it must be the difference in age groups as well. The die hard fans in the pit (right in front of stage) were seen to be enjoying themselves and if you swivel around to check out the crowd seated at higher levels (cheaper tickets), most of them were seated throughout the show. (What?! How can you not stand up and sing and dance to the band IN A CONCERT??)

I enjoyed the band's performance and the effort put in, but we couldn't help but to feel that the both of us would have enjoyed their Crossroad tour (if any) better as we were more familiar with their 90s hits.

I checked out some reviews on their Melbourne shows and agree that their shows were great, AND Kid Rock deserves a shout out for a great performance, too.

I also agree with some of the tweets that Kid Rock is better than Jon Bon Jovi in terms of having a powerful voice, but not to the extent of wishing it was a Kid Rock concert instead of Bon Jovi's. ;)

And surprise, surprise. Both YB and I return home humming to Kid Rock's songs instead of Bon Jovi's.

And I still am.

And then I feel guilty and make myself listen to some Bon Jovi songs.