Live, and in your face!

I found this post from my previous Yahoo 360 blog, about my 2008 trip o Vienna to see Bon Jovi in concert (my life's dream). I thought it shouldn't go to waste, since right now virtual dust is piling on my old blog saved in my old Yahoo profile... Here we go:

An Austrian bilingual magazine that we received on the airport in Vienna said this: “The “sexiest man in rock” will enter the open-air stage at Magna Racino in Ebreichsdorf near Vienna on June 4th and make a “Bed of Roses”: Bon Jovi is in town”. I loved it…

So the long awaited day finally arrived… My adventure started on Tuesday morning, June 3 rd , at 11:15 a.m., when my cousin Melanie, our friends John and Silvia, and me of course, boarded the flight OS 790 (Austrian Airlines) for Vienna. We landed at 12:25 local time (13:25 in Romania) on Flughafen Wien, Vienna International Airport, from where we took the train (S-Bahn) for only 1,70 euro a ticket to station Wien-Mitte, where we got out and crossed the street to the subway (U-Bahn) station Landstrasse, where we took the U4 to Friedensbrucke, our final stop. The hotel we stayed at, Hotel Mozart, was located really close to the station. We did the check-in quickly, rested for a few minutes and then went out. We took our umbrellas as it had started to rain. It rained most of the time we stayed in Vienna, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy our time there.

Our destination was the Schonbrunn Palace . We took the subway again (actually we used the subway a lot while we stayed in Vienna, it’s the easiest way to get around the city) and although there were 12 stations we got there in no time. We didn’t visit the palace itself, but the gardens that surround, which are amazing… We also wanted to see the zoo, but the entrance was 12 euro, so we decided we had better things to do with that money :D. The rain stopped for a while but then it started again. It was really warm though, so we couldn’t really complain. Though a bit of sun wouldn’t have done any harm

When we got back to the center of Vienna I took my friends to Hotel Sacher, to eat the famous Sachertorte and then we walked down to Stephansdom where we took the subway and got back to the hotel. We could no longer feel our feet :)

The second day, after breakfast, we started around the city again. It rained a bit in the morning but then the sun came up. We were intending to see the Rathaus (the city hall), but to our surprise the area in front of it was surrounded by fences, as they were preparing a viewing zone for the games of the European football championship that started yesterday. And so was the entire area in front of the Rathaus, Burgtheater, the Parliament and the Hofburg . Fortunately we could see the Parliament and even take photos in front of it, with the beautiful fountain representing the goddess Athena. Then we did some souvenirs shopping and visited the Schmetterlinghaus (the Butterfly House), a big green house with live butterflies. We also wanted to visit the Belvedere gardens, but we were running against time. We had to be at the Vienna International Busterminal around at least 15:00, as our bus for the concert was leaving at 15:30. So we got back to the hotel, changed (I took the pink t-shirt that my cousin gave me for my birthday, that said “Jersey Girl loves Bon Jovi”), and took the subway again to Edrberg station.

It was easy to find the bus terminal as it was right outside the subway station. We got on the first bus that was leaving and arrived at the Magna Racino venue around 15:15. There was already a lot of people waiting to enter the venue, so we started walking around, looking for a place to stay. We had to wait for at least two hours before entering. Unfortunately it started to rain again, and this time it was really pouring. We hid under our umbrellas (which we had been inspired to take with us), but they didn’t do much good, my jeans got wet up to my knees. Lucky it didn’t last too long and after it stopped we saw somebody that was handing out raincoats (more like big white plastic bags with hoods), which came in really handy, as it started to rain again before the concert and during it, so we could leave our umbrellas aside. Around 17:00 we were allowed to enter the venue, not before being thoroughly searched (both our bags and us), which made John really happy at the thought that he was gonna be searched by a girl:). Unfortunately her place was taken by a guy…

So we were in, finally! We found a place close to the stage (about 100m) and waited. And waited… My friends gave up at one point and sat down. I did the same thing for a short while, until my butt couldn’t stand anymore the hard metal platform we were on. And until it began to rain again, moment when everyone that was sitting down got up and put on their raincoats. We waited for another hour when something finally started to happen on the stage. It was one of the opening bands (there were two, as I would find out later), an Austrian band called PBH Club, which was not bad at all. Even the rain stopped . They sang four or five songs and then the stage got quiet again and again it started to rain. Some guys from the technical team came and collected some instruments off the stage. Everyone thought Bon Jovi would be next but that was not to be, yet… I heard some girls behind me mention something about Sunrise Avenue, but I didn’t think they’d sing, until the presenter (just an off voice) announced a band from Helsinki, Finland. I thought it was too good to be true, but there they were, Sunrise Avenue opening for Bon Jovi. Not in my nicest dreams would I have imagined something like this would happen. They sang their hits Fairytale Gone Bad and Forever Yours, as well as Heal Me, Nasty, Diamons and Romeo, and also as a song from their new album which will be released soon. The rain again stopped while they were singing. It was almost 8 p.m. when they left the stage and I was no longer feeling my legs and my back was killing me. But I was happy and enduring it all . After 15 minutes of waiting the show everyone was waiting for started. It was absolutely amazing, all that I had dreamt of and more… They were there, live, just about 100m away from me. I didn’t always have a direct view towards the stage, but the big screens that were to the right and the left of it, and the ones that were coming up and down on the stage, helped a lot, also with the photos I took (101 and two videos :)). The songs were the following:

BORN TO BE MY BABY
BAD NAME
COMPLICATED
CAPT. CRASH
SLEEP w/ Glory Days & Mercy
ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD
BLAZE OF GLORY
WHOLE LOT OF LEAVIN'
IN THESE ARMS
GARAGELAND
I GOT THE GIRL
WE GOT IT GOIN' ON
IT'S MY LIFE
FAITH
I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU - RICHIE VOX
WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME
HAVE A NICE DAY
BAD MEDICINE w/ Shout
PRAYER

ENCORE:
ANY OTHER DAY
WANTED

The show ended around 11 p.m. In spite of all the pain I felt in my back I would have been able to last for one more hour :). It was an amazing experience I would love to repeat soon. Unfortunately their tour ends in the U.S. in July and they’re not coming to Romania as it was rumored a couple of months ago. But the next time they’re coming to Europe I’m going! Hopefully to more than one concert (I should start saving right now :). Damn, I should have also gotten tickets to the one they had in Dublin yesterday… But I was a bit short on money, so… next time!

We got to the bus and arrived in Vienna a bit around midnight, and we had the chance to catch the last subway home. We left the next day. Our plane took off at 13:40 and we got to Bucharest at 16:25.

I must go back to Vienna soon and stay longer this time. It’s such a wonderful city and there are still more things to see… And I think I’m gonna get used to flying, I really love it . When we flew to Vienna the sky was mostly clear and we could see the mountains. Unfortunately when we got back it was cloudy.

Guess I should wrap it up now and as my good friends above would say, Have A Nice Day!!!

LE: I forgot to mention that at the concert in front of me there was this guy dressed with a Guns n'Roses t-shirt, who I think was in the wrong place as he was shaking his head like he was at a Prodigy concert . It made me dizzy just looking at him...