As the day turned brighter I knew we were in for a great festival at Hard Rock Calling with none other than Bon Jovi headlining the Saturday.
Walking into Hyde Park, London with its stunning views and great history you could sense a vibe as we hustled in through the gates making our way to collect our passes and get involved in this great event.
Having been twice before I knew roughly the outlay of the festival so quickly we found our way to the main stage to catch Black Cards performing. Walking through the packed crowd (busiest I’ve seen it) we stopped by the sound stage to admire the awesome rock sounds that was blasting out from the Black Cards set, a cover of Bang Bang was greatly appreciated and really kicked the vibe up a notch - Great performance.
The sun was beaming down on the sea of heads all hyped up for the main event with Bon Jovi tour T-Shirts. Some dated from way back! It was clear everyone was there for one reason.
Grabbing a beer in the hospitality area which I have to say was one the nicest I had been in, we headed into the Pepsi Max Stage to see a band I hadn’t heard of before but they definitely had a new follower after the set I had seen them play. Texas born Ryan Bingham was blasting out some old school rock sounds with a heavy drop of drums and awesome lead guitar which incorporated a traditional bend or two and a country slide up and down the neck. A gritty rock sound with an awesome voice really had the crowd captivated on the stage with a few heads a banging! Most of the arena in fact!
Forgetting the time and suddenly realizing that Ray Davies had come on the main stage we headed over to walk back in time with everyone singing along to ‘Girl I want to be you, all the good times’ followed by more of his classic signature tracks. Clearly still as popular today as they were then. ‘Waterloo Sunset’ bellowed out as the sun grew brighter with not a cloud in the sky. Glad I witnessed such an accomplished artist.
So back for some hospitality and a few free ciders later, we were well hyped up for the main event. The ultimate, iconic Bon Jovi headed out for a massive 3 hour set. Yes! 3 hours! The crowd roared as Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and Hugh McDonald stepped out on stage.
Opening with ‘Raise Your Hands’ and You Give Love a Bad Name’ it was the perfect way to involve the crowd from the off. And hit after hit followed like ‘Blaze of Glory’ and ‘It’s My Life’. Such classics that everyone knows and loves. Richie Sambora was amazing to see, his gift of playing the guitar is a true delight to witness. So glad I was there to see a great band doing what they do best and there was not one person standing still because of it.
A great day all round, good weather, great music, cold beer and burgers. Definitely one to look out for next year, they always pull in some class bands.
Published on 28 June 2011 by Wayne Feltham
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