Never Say Goodbye
In an article from The Boston Globe, Sarah Rodman asks Jon some pretty standard questions, but got some really great answers. It was a good read. What I found most interesting was in the lead-in, so that's what I'm going to concentrate on here this morning.
Bon Jovi may only be playing one show at Gillette Stadium, but thanks to recent residencies at other venues — including 12 nights at London’s O2 arena — the band is primed to play just about anything. Whether it’s tracks from the multiplatinum rockers’ most recent release, "The Circle," expected hits like "Livin’ on a Prayer" or a deep cut from his "Young Guns II"-inspired solo album "Blaze of Glory", Jon Bon Jovi is prepared.The second paragraph is what caught my eye. Bon Jovi NOT doing the same set list all year? Really? For those who have been following the posted set lists, there has been very little variation in the content of said lists. I say content, because strictly speaking the set list has not been identical each night. And to the band's credit, they have been throwing in audibles (most recently this past Saturday with Always and I Love This Town in the encore) and digging deep for some gems that have made the Fandom very happy. But overall, to borrow a line from Two Story Town, "it's just the same old sights, and the same old sounds".
"A lot of bands write a set list and go out and do that all year. We’ve never been that kind of band," the frontman said recently by phone from Philadelphia. Just don’t expect to hear ’80s pop metal anthem "In & Out of Love." Ever again. "Oh lord, no thank you. Pass."
Not that I don't still love them, because I do. It's just that you can't tout yourself as a "we've never been like that" when in fact you ARE like that. You, the band for whom "there's no dancers, there's no diamonds" have replaced these with TelePrompTers and "scripted" song choices. I don't have the reference handy, but I know I've read in more than one place that the band was proud that they had more than 90 songs programmed for the tour.
Programmed.
What happened to the days of "Hey, the crowd looks into it, let's dig deep for something that will knock them on their asses"? Now it's "Let's see what's programmed into the cheater on the stage, and what we have graphics done up for".
Now, some of you will tell me to take a chill pill and leave them alone. They're still putting on great shows, and if I didn't like it, I could stay home.
Yep, all true. And I've enjoyed each and every show I've gone to this tour.
I'm just saying.
Respectfully dissenting opinions welcome!
~ Hath
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5 comments:
I totally agree with you! :-)
There are bands that literally have identical setlists throughout the tour to the point where I would never even remotely consider seeing them more than once because it would be the exact same show. Bon Jovi is a step up from that but they definitely don't mix up the set anywhere near as much as Jon would have you believe. There are artists who do genuinely mix it up all the time and/or consistently take audience requests. Bon Jovi only do that in brief flashes.
Yep.
I gotta go with Kenobe on that. It's definitely that they mix up the setlist itself, not the songs so much. I saw The Police last year and was startled by the short set. It was 90mins. I looked up the setlists and every single solitary one was the same. Same order, down to the same drum solo.
I'd love to see the band take more crowd requests--but the programming--I bet that's more to do with the rigging of the stage tahn anything else.
It's too bad.
I saw them at SPAC in upstate NY and there was no bells and whistles--not even a big screen behind them.
One of the best shows i've EVER seen because it was so stripped down and intimate. I'm so glad I got to go to that one.
But then I saw them at the NMS...loved the big pomp and circumstance as well.
And watching the vid of Always from that lovely Gillette show? I'm lovin' the passion on their own songs again. Lately I've felt like most of the spontaneous stuff is saved for the cover songs. But watching Jon dig so deep for that Always--and Richie's haunting solo?
yeah.
It totally kicked my ass...and I'm so sorry I missed seeing it live.
This is a great post - I think it succinctly sums up what many of us in the 'Fandom' are feeling. The entire debate over who wants what song and why aside, Jon's remark that they never were that kind of band made my jaw drop. Does he REALLY think that, or does he REALLY think he's fooling us all into believing it?
I thought that with the endless urging from fans everywhere, he'd have gotten the hint. It seems he did in London, anyway, which so far has seen the best setlists of the tour. But when they came back to NMS right afterward, it was straight back to vanilla, standard hits. THAT to me was not cool, especially considering that it's your hometown and more fans would know the b-sides and rarer songs in that area than any other around the globe. At least, you'd think so from a performer's standpoint.
Ah well. Unfortunately it makes it a little easier for me to go through my withdrawals -- I won't see them again until next year in Europe. Hopefully by then, they'll be tired of the standard hits and cookie cutter, PROGRAMMED sets. But probably not.
Great post Hath, exactly my thoughts. And it doesn't only makes me sad but mad that Jon prefers to please more the casuals than the diehards. Die-hards who've been spending thousands of £££ over the years on this band and are getting rewarded with a GH setlist over and over again, at least in the US.
I was lucky enough to be at last O2 show in London where they pulled out These Days and Hard Letting You Go due to a massive request in the pit. It was a magic moment (not only for us but also for the band) and the proove they CAN do it.
Why they don't open the treasure box more often is beyond me :-(
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