The O2 Residency

You HAD to know I'd have SOMETHING to say about the run of shows in London...

If you recall, Jon said they were striving for 70 different songs throughout the residency. Though they didn’t specify “Bon Jovi” songs, when the original article was posted, and the count of “54 songs thus far” given, that matched the number of “non-cover” songs played.

Given that criteria, the 70 was not quite met. The band played 62 distinct non-cover tunes.

Technically speaking, they only did 59 Bon Jovi songs, with the other three being from Jon’s solo catalogue. (As an aside, it totally frosts my cupcakes that Jon does some of his solo work, but Richie doesn’t. Not that I don’t adore his renditions of Lay Your Hands On Me and Homebound Train, but the man has some seriously good work of his own).

If you count ALL the distinct juke bits, they did absolutely break the 70 barrier. So, I must leave it to you to decide if they made it or not.

While we’re talking about song mix (or lack thereof, depending on your individual point-of-view), let’s take a look at some interesting (to the geek in me) slices and dices of the London set lists.

There were some songs (apparently this tour’s standards) that were played every show:

• Bad Medicine
• Born to Be My Baby
• It's My Life
• Keep the Faith
• Living on a Prayer
• Wanted Dead or Alive
• We Got It Going On
• We Weren't Born to Follow (always in the 2nd position)
• Who Says You Can't Go Home
• You Give Love a Bad Name (always in the 3rd position)

And there were several songs that made those of us who were not in the UK in June just sigh with envy:

• (It's Hard) Letting You Go (!!)
• Damned (!!)
• Garageland
• Hey God
• I Got the Girl
• I'd Die For You
• Let It Rock
• Living in Sin
• Something To Believe In (!!)
• The Last Night
• Wild In the Streets (!!)
• Wild Is the Wind

(Note, there were other songs played "only in London", but they're not necessarily sigh-worthy: Santa Fe, Miss Fourth of July, Blaze, Story of My Life)

Song / Album Distribution

Looking a little closer at the microcosm of the London shows, I find it interesting that the “Circle Tour” appears to be a misnomer. It was more like the “Bon Jovi Greatest Hits-But-Since-We-Have-A-New-Record-Here-Are-A-FEW-Of-Those-Songs Tour”.  For the "regular, non-diehard" fan, however, which is the majority of the ticket purchasers, that’s absolutely perfect, and once again, Jon shows his business acumen by giving the biggest demographic what they want.

Plus much of the O2 crowd settled in for the entire residency, and you have to give Jon credit -- though nearly  half of the setlist was the same songs each night (albeit in different positions -- mostly) he did mix it up for the other half quite a bit.  Here's hoping he continues that trend in July.

Over the course of the residency, 9 songs from New Jersey were played; that’s 75% of the album! Off The Circle, the band played a mere 67% of the tracks (8 of 12 songs).

(Note the distinction between “cover songs” and “jukebox covers”: the “cover songs” stood alone while the “jukebox covers” were parts of other songs. So, for example, “Hallelujah” is considered a “cover song”, while “Sympathy With The Devil” is a “Jukebox Cover”).

Covers aside, because those are fun, shouldn’t the studio record with the most songs played be the one on which you are currently touring?

Overall, New Jersey got the highest overall play-rate.  Nearly 20% of the songs played during the residency came from NJ.  Not that it isn’t a fantastic record, but remind me again, what tour is this?

Now, I’m not in the biz (nor do I “play one who is” on TV) so of course I don’t know the 'official rules of touring'. But it would stand to reason that if you’re touring record X, you want to get that music, the new music you are apparently very proud of, out there to the masses. Shouldn't most of the songs played per show come from the new record?  Some of the O2 shows had only 2 or 3 songs from The Circle.

(click on this one so you don't strain your eyes)

Playing 'em All

If you’re going to shove Who Says down our throats every single night, why not hit all the songs from the record at some point?

The band is well on their way to doing just that.

There are only three tracks missing from The Circle’s listing, looking at the tour overall thus far: Fast Cars, Learn to Love, and Live Before You Die. (One additional, Brokenpromiseland, was not played in London, but was played in other venues). I would like to see if the “missing” tracks play better as live performances than they do on the record.

During the Lost Highway tour, when all was said and done, they did play every song from that record (from the US release).

During the HAND tour, Jon commented (just before the band played Wildflower) that his goal was to play every track from the record at least once on tour. They did (again, from the US release).

Maybe this tour, they will play all the songs from the new record. I think they should. It’s a great precedent to set.

~ Hath