It would be fair to say that some of the HRH team have fallen out of love with Bon Jovi in recent years with the main criticism being that it has become little more than the 'Jon Bon Jovi' show. Certainly the last time that they toured here in 2006 JBJ had exclusive use of the walkways that extended through the crowd with Messrs Sambora, Bryan and Torres spending little time in the spotlight. Fast forward two years and things have taken a different turn in the Bon Jovi camp. The walkways are gone (as are JBJ's oft-repeated and at times cringe-inducing ad libs), the set lists are being mixed up on a nightly basis (of which more later) and the camaraderie amongst the musicians is far more in evidence. Even long serving "non-member", bassist Hugh McDonald, gets a look-in on the video screens and there is a definite feeling that we are witnessing Bon Jovi the band this time around.

A grey, drizzly, evening in Manchester was kicked off by Heavens Basement (formerly known as Roadstar, and before that Hurricane Party) who might boast a new name but still deliver retro-70's riff-heavy blues rock that draws on AC/DC, Zeppelin and The Stones. Frontman Ritchie Hevenz possesses a confident swagger and the band blaze away behind him but you can't help but feel this might be one name change too many and that much of the momentum they had built up has been lost. It's a pity that a young band tipped to have a bright future got entangled in management / record company hassles and all credit to them if they do succeed in getting back on track.

The Feeling are something of a peculiar choice in the 'special guest' slot, and certainly nowhere near as welcome as Nickelback last time around. Their often lightweight and understated pop rock melodies seem lost in a stadium this size but vocalist Dan Gillespie perseveres and they are rewarded with a warm response. A cover of 'Video Killed the Radio Star' (no doubt for all of the Yes and Asia fans in the audience) livens up a fifty minute set.

Bon Jovi burst on stage at 8pm sharp and start, somewhat unexpectedly, with the double whammy of 'Livin On A Prayer' and 'You Give Love A Bad Name', thus bumping 'Lost Highway' down to third spot in the running order. What is immediately apparent is that the sound is way off, with the vocals almost inaudible and the drums bouncing off the back of the stadium thus providing a very unsatisfactory end result. No such problems were reported near the front but stadium shows are not just about the first thirty rows and this was a real issue for many that remained unresolved for much of the night. You would expect the mixing desk to be manned by top-notch sound engineers but, for whatever reason, they failed to get to grips with the conditions. A real pity, then, as the band deliver an outstanding show that takes in twenty six songs and include rarely played gems 'Always', 'Dry County' and 'Diamond Ring' alongside set list staples 'Born To Be My Baby', 'It's My Life' and 'Keep The Faith'. Much of Lost Highway is kept under wraps until the first encore when, with the sound finally starting to penetrate, 'We Got It Goin On' is followed by 'Any Other Day' and 'I Love This Town'. In an amusing gaffe the latter is complete with background images of Chester which suggests someone got their towns mixed up along the way. After two and a half hours some of the crowd were drifting away assuming the show was over but in 2008 Bon Jovi play longer shows than they did ten or twenty years ago and they return a for one last round via 'Someday I'll Be Saturday Night' and 'Wanted Dead Or Alive'.

A much warmer evening in Coventry is kicked off by HRH faves richlife who display no signs of nerves and hit the ground running with 'Broken Hearted' and the classy up-tempo blues rocker 'Come Down'. Through a combination of cheeky enthusiasm and name checking the headliners frontman Rich Sharples quickly gets the crowd on side and there is plenty of clapping along for the wistful 'What you Wanna Be'. Their six song set closes with the hard rocking 'City Life' which gets the seal of approval from Mr Sambora's guitar tech. Songwriter and lead guitarist Ben Gurney looks like he is having the time of his life and, deservedly, richlife made a lot of new friends in Coventry. In football terms "the boys done good".

The Feeling are seemingly well on their way to becoming the modern day Squeeze. Their own material such as 'Sewn', 'I Love It When You Call' and 'Turn It Up' is inoffensive enough and inspires some good natured sing-a-long moments. They offer up an extra cover version via A-Ha's 'Take On Me' which gets a huge reaction and Dan Gillespie becomes very animated, even attempting some Pete Townsend-inspired scissor kicks, albeit he has more in common with Frank Spencer than the Who legend.

Situated in the hallowed 'Gold Circle' there was to be no repeat of the sound problems in Manchester and Bon Jovi are crystal clear throughout. With more than 80 songs already played on the Lost Highway Tour they are more than happy to shuffle the pack and after a standard opening 'Runaway' is played early, JBJ laughing off a minor slip up as he forgets the words. 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead' segues into 'Twist and Shout' before second guitarist Bobby Bandeira leads them into a rollicking 'Back in The USSR'. A dramatic 'Blaze of Glory' is followed by the ponderous '(You Want To) Make A Memory' and for five minutes or so Bon Jovi appear almost ordinary before David Bryan leads off 'In These Arms' and the flow is restored. Bandeira is on this tour primarily to provide support for Richie Sambora should he slip off the wagon again but tonight Sambora plays like a man possessed. Note perfect solos are effortlessly reeled off and when he takes centre stage for 'I'll Be There For You' it is one of the most powerful and moving moments of the show. Even this, however, is upstaged when JBJ picks eight year old Jack from the crowd to join him on vocals for 'Who Says You Can't Go Home'. Find it on You Tube folks and say Ahhhhh..

And so to London and the final stop on the European leg of the Lost Highway tour. Bon Jovi began with another different opener, this time ‘Rockin All Over The World’ and the atmosphere throughout was one of celebration. Pre-show the message boards were littered with speculation as to what surprises were in store and, whilst not all of the rumours were true, ‘Blood Money’ was played as an effective intro to ‘Blaze of Glory’ and the scarcely heard ‘I Believe’ was also dusted off. Once again, Sambora proved how fundamental he is to the Bon Jovi sound and it is inconceivable to imagine this band without him. The 10.30 curfew kept the show to two and a half hours but the extended encore included ‘I Love This Town’ (this time with the correct visuals) and a joyous ‘Twist and Shout’ that finally signalled the end.

Well after a seven day jaunt that took in three gigs and a little over 500 miles it would be remiss of me not to thank Jenny for being my constant companion on the Lost Highway and for convincing me that we simply had to do three shows. Over the course of the week Bon Jovi delivered a master class in how to deliver a Stadium Rock Show and (the sound flaws in Manchester aside) it was near perfect.

Words - Dean Pedley

Bon Jovi Photo’s - Lisa Pedley /Leanne Nicholson richlife Photo’s - thanks to Dave Gurney