Woah!!! We’re halfway there!
Or we will be, after I give you this premium pro shot live recording of this first night in Wembley 1995!
It s a must see for every fan and beyond, and it will make the rest of this blog post, far more interesting 😉

I reviewed it for my YouTube channel
This is my 10 minute video review ->
#21 Wembley 1 st night June 23 | 1995 Bon Jovi Concert Series (Stories)
I had so much fun with it!
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However! 
“It” does not mean a balanced, thought through, overview with historical context of this first night of the legendary three Wembley concerts.
“It” means: 
Whatever came to mind, sitting under the tree in my first outdoor video in years, and with my complicated analysis on pretty useless notes in front of me.
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So the video turned out fresh and funny, but on the information side it was a bit thin! Aware being punctual and thorough was not its forte, I already announce in the video, I would compensate by writing it out, quite possibly in a blog post.
Which is this.
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But if knowing Jon dances like Axl Rose at one point, ladies being snatched from behind the bar, and meme worthy speeches all time-stamped out for you, are all NOT need to know info for you?
You can skip the blog and just subscribe to my channel:
YouTube channel! Reviewing the 1995 Bon Jovi tour
For all your highly entertaining, yet stunningly incomplete Bon Jovi video reviews.
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I will not be (double) covering any of the anecdotes from my video review.
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And, disclaimer, even this written review is still incomplete and definitely does not do justice to the entire band, as my focus for the video review (hence: my notes) was on Jon Bon Jovi and his interaction with the audience.
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Having said all that, let’s start!
“Are you alive out there?!”
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Bon Jovi | 1st Night at Wembley Stadium | Fixed Audio! | London 1995
Wembley, London
23 June 1995

Setlist:

Classic 1995 opening, with the “two puncher” Prayer and Bad Name,
topping it off with a double layer of Wild in the Streets!

01 Livin’ On A Prayer [0:40​]
face paint & eye makeup Jon Bon Jovi:
Striking yellow or orange face paint on the cheeks, and dark eyeliner

02 You Give Love A Bad Name [5:45​]
03 Wild In The Streets [9:27​]

At [ 14:10 ] Jon jumps off the stage, shakes hands with the audience, puts a cowboy hat on, tosses it back into the audience, snatches a rose, clenches it between his teeth (in between singing his lines), providing excellent photogenic moments!

After Wild In The Streets [15:25] Jon always addresses the audience, and gets them excited for the 2 to 3 hours to come.
Jon indicates how special it is for them to be here, something that he will elaborate on later tonight.
He ends with:
“Fasten your seat belts and let me drive. Take it Hughy.”
Moving right into the bass line (from bass player Hugh McDonald)
of Keep the Faith ->

04 Keep The Faith [15:51​]

Jungle?
When I first started watching concerts with other fans, I always wondered why they were referring to “Keep the Faith” as “Jungle”.
But if you start watching at [ 19:36 ] you can hear this “Sympathy for the Devil” like intermezzo, and in fact a cover of that song was played here occasionally!, but you can clearly hear the same jungle noises Mick Jagger makes here, and Jon even sings:
“It’s a jungle out there, baby.
You ve got to watch your back, and I ve got to watch mine.
It’s a jungle out there, mama!”
And then dropping onto one knee, for a dramatic pause. And back up just in time at the microphone.
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05 Blood On Blood [23:17​]

Blood On Blood never sounded better than with these amazing acoustic openings! 

26:43
For those interested: Right here you can see there is a very large distance between crowd and stage, reminiscent of Live Aid, really.

26:55
Great showman-ship, when Jon stands tall at the mike!
Singing the legendary words:
“Bobby is an uptown layer.
And Danny is a medicine man.
But me?
I m a singer here…”

And the crowd roars: 
“In a long-haired rock n roll band!!” 

06 Always [29:16​]

Always is that moment when you realize you’ve just seen the greatest male performer of the 20th century.
And for those who are still in doubt, Jon has Dry County up the sleeve of jacket number 2, the first of the two red leather ones, which you will see later.

07 I’d Die For You [36:59​]

In Blood on Blood Jon Bon Jovi had already played the acoustic guitar;
But in I’d Die For You, Runaway, and a few more songs in this show, he plays electric.
At [ 37: 15 ] you see Jon and Richie opening the song, playing side by side.

Which brings me to the main unexplained difference between old and new Bon Jovi; Jon plays less guitar during shows.
For me, someone who rates music heavily based on the number of electric guitars and HOW HARD they’re being played!, I particularly miss what I will call “bad ass Jon” on electric guitar.
But I’d Die For You Wembley 1995?
Oh, yeah baby! 

27:27 – and up
Some jaw-dropping shots of Tico working those drums!
Few would pull this off! What an intensity.
And at 1:16:30 Tico shows he can even do this, whilst smoking a cigarette!

08 Blaze Of Glory [41:56​]
09 Runaway [47:37​]

10 Dry County [52:42​]

Okay, okay, okay! How do I say this without shouting?
I DON’T! WATCH THIS ONE! OMG! IF ONLY YOU WATCH ONE SONG FROM THIS ENTIRE SHOW LET IT BE DRY COUNTY!!!
The lyrics, the vocals, the dropping on tha knees, my friends!
The speech at 59 minutes!
I m somewhere between shouting and being speechless.

11 Lay Your Hands On Me [1:04:42​]

Lay Your Hands is when the sermon comes in! Or, as Jon puts it:
“Welcome to Jonny’s church of Rock n Roll”
It is personally my favorite Bon Jovi song live. And if you don’t get enlightened, redeemed and your soul saved watching this?
I don’t know what will!
But even then there’s still the Axl Rose-like swaying, dancing, at 1:12:44 to enjoy.
And a rerun to being saved since the next song is introduced with:
“I think your souls are about to be saved!
Tico, gimme that beat baby!”

Kick-starting their classic 90s two-puncher closer routine of “the main show”:
Sleep When I m Dead, and Bad Medicine!
Cause they re just getting warmed up, baby! 

12 I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead [1:14:28​]
“Now I gotta know; Are you still ALIVE out there?!”
That’s how Sleep When I m Dead begins, dragging the audience into a teasing game that will last for two Bon Jovi songs, three covers, 22 minutes and four giant blowup dolls! 

“Sleep” and “Bad Medicine” together, are like a small concert in and of their own right.
It’s the moment when there are the most fans on stage, two fully functional bars as far as I can see!
At 1:23:25 Jon Bon Jovi goes over to ask the female bartender for a dance, and it’s clearly not scripted, because initially she doesn’t even notice him, and he goes behind the bar, playing the chords to “Sleep” at the same time, before they wildly dance over the stage. 

With little acts of theater that involve the entire band, countless musical intermezzos, numerous forms of dancing and waves and waves of heavy ass guitars, there are really no words to describe what an incredible party these two songs are!

~ Jumpin’ Jack Flash [1:19:46​]
~ Papa Was A Rolling Stone [1:21:10​]

13 Bad Medicine [1:24:49​]

Part of their Rock Fest punchline, Bad Medicine is always where the boys take it home. But it has a hidden secret: 
If he feels like it, then all Jon’s heavy duty driving the ladies craaaazy is done RIGHT HERE!
There is an improv moment that Jon can drag out as long as he wants, and when there are no cameras there? 
No pending PG18 ratings? 
Oh, then he gives all…..

However, Wembley night one was meant for the dvd which would later become Live From London. Because of audio problems, they eventually chose night 3.

But this show was recorded to be that professional concert registration, so that explains why the sexual atmosphere is not from the level I usually encounter at audio only bootlegs!

But, Jonny would not be Jonny without making the most out of it;
And at 1:28:18
You get the whole act, about shaking your ass and becoming rich and famous!

And according to them they had to break it off because of Richie’s mom looking at them!

~ Shout [1:31:35​]

Encore 1:
14 Bed Of Roses [1:36:23​]

Now I m no fan of Bed of Roses, but it wasn’t until I started my 1995 review series, that I realized that 90’s Bed of Roses?
Oh, love that one!

Still not sure why it all makes such a difference, but Richie Sambora’s backing vocals for sure must be one reason why Bed of Roses 1995 was a killer one, to open the encore with.

15 Hey God [1:44:30​]
16 Rockin’ All Over The World (w/ Steven Van Zandt) [1:51:26​]

Encore 2:
17 Richie Acoustic Guitar Solo [1:57:41​]

Opening the second encore with a beautiful guitar song, and I have no doubt guitar playing Bon Jovi fans could tell me exactly which songs/ melodies he’s playing here;
This is the time to acknowledge both that Richie Sambora was such an important part of why 80s and 90s Bon Jovi was unprecedented.
And that my reviews, both this written one which was based on the notes I made to make a 10 minute video, as well as my video review and whatever I usually say in those videos;
Do not do him justice. Nor the other band members of Bon Jovi! 

My reviews are very Jon-dominated, and I think I can get away with it, since I only make these small videos and I emphasize I’m a normal writer and not knowledgeable on music.
But it’s this guitar solo, right before Wanted Dead or Alive, that makes me realize I really wish I had more musical background, and the right vocabulary to describe it.

Which brings me to the next song, and the only song where even I can hear Richie:

18 Wanted Dead Or Alive [2:00:17​]

In retrospect, I believe that although Richie does not sing all the time, that in essence? Wanted Dead or Alive is  a duet.
And also:
That there was something incredibly tragic and inauspicious, already written here between the lines of what may be the greatest Bon Jovi song ever.
That if paid better attention, the tragedy of Richie leaving the band in 2013, was already weaved in.

For those with ears to hear, the message was clear.

19 Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night (w/ Steven Van Zandt) [2:06:09​]

Encore 3:
20 Jon asking audience what to play [2:15:44​]
21 Good Guys Don’t Always Wear White [2:17:11​]

22 This Ain’t A Love Song [2:21:58​]

And so it ends; This Ain’t A Love Song

After three encores filled to the brim with rockers and straight forward partying, we’re dropped back into the drama filled final act of a 2,5 hour show.
Jon dances for us one more time.
Tico smokes another cigarette.
Richie looks more regal than ever; dressed fully in black, with a long coat and hat.

The fans on stage are long gone, the bar is deserted. 

And ultimately;
Jon throws the microphone stand to the side.
Drops on his knees, one final time, for the longest outro ever.
Singing, a wordless melody for minutes straight.
We hear Ritchie’s guitar, only the sound of strings and the wordless male voice singing about something that has never had vocabulary.
Yet we understood perfectly. 

This ain’t a love song.

~Suzanne
Rock Star Writer

I m reviewing the 1995 – 1996 tour:
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