Circle Arc 2: Philly

OK. Wow. Just…..wow. Section 1, row 16, seat 1 (Richie’s side, first section behind the circle people, on the aisle next to the tiered seats).

The second night was definitely better than the first. I had a fantastic time at the first show, but this one was out of this world. I was on Richie’s side for the first time in my (admittedly) short tour history. We were on the aisle, so stationed right in front of the security people who were all about “no professional cameras” so I had to leave my Canon EOS at home. I had my POS point-and-shoot digital which would have been fine if we were up in the pit (haha) but for where our seats were, it just didn’t take good shots, so it spent the evening in my purple leather handbag.

The lost photo opportunities SO really didn’t matter to me once we got going (and not just because between Catte and FM, they gave me 1300+ shots that are right now on my laptop. In fact, the photos in this review are ALL theirs.). I was able to really concentrate on the show and watch it as it unfolds “live” as it were, instead of through a camera lens. Though for sure, using my zoom brought me VERY close to the action, and I could see better, this way, I saw more.

I caught Bobby’s ass-shake and Richie’s hand gestures during pain (the best one? Come to me, be my disguise *shiver*) Caught Jon laying down on the job, sprawling on the circle platform during Bed of Roses. Saw Richie’s mom, and thought Jon should have danced with her; that would have been really sweet to see. Saw (and I still can’t believe this) a girl actually PUSH JON AWAY FROM HER to take a F’N PICTURE! Seriously! When he was doing his walk from stage to circle during Love’s the Only Rule, you know how he gets people to do the whoa-oa-oa-oa’s with him in the mic? This chick was having none of it. *shakes head in disbelief* Ah well. Probably she’s a Richie Girl, so I’ll cut her some slack.

And damn. The setlist. SO many good surprises (for me). A whopping 7 cuts from The Circle: Happy Now, Follow, Thorn, Beautiful, Superman, Working Man, Only Rule. Love it.

Only Detroit got the same number of songs (though they got Bullet where we got Happy Now). Opening with Happy Now was fantastic. They left the “intro screen” down over the stage for partway through the song intro – the crowd was going nuts! Jon should do the matinee performances more often. His – erm – energy level was sky high (flyin’ like an aeroplane). Very fun, jumpy Jonny last night.

Note to the “Captain Crash” guy from Tuesday night: Even though you got your song on the second night, it still is not cool to hold up your sign the whole show. This song was a nice surprise. I heard it during the last two tours, and it is one of those songs either you love, or you sit down for – at least if MY section was anything to go by. Me? I was waving Crash in the whole time. A few others in my section were, and Jon saw us and smiled.

I was once again floored by the amount of people who sat down during Richie’s solo, and some of the slower Circle tunes.

Homebound Train was frickin’ AMAZING. So suited for his voice, and while the YouTubes are great, no comparison to the sexiness of seeing him do it live (that sounded dirty; I meant seeing him sing the song live, though I’m sure the same holds true for the other). Catte and I were singing at the top of our lungs, making sure the “woo-woos” made it in. The girl in the row in front of us (sitting) next her (sitting) boyfriend leaned in to him to say “Oh yeah, I forgot about that part”. We made sure ALL the double-woo’s were accounted for. My throat is still scratchy.

I do need to bring up three other rules of concert etiquette; the first two as a favor to the Fiction Mistress. Hygiene. Personal hygiene. Have some. At least put on deodorant or SOMETHING before the show, and if you have a stinky hat (and you know who you are) please do not wave it in front of the faces of the people around you. Not only are you obscuring their view, but you’re making them a little bit nauseous. Ditto for the guy singing really loudly and upwind who hasn’t met a toothbrush or bottle of Scope. Beer breath is one thing. Bad breath is something else entirely.

The second piece of etiquette is self-awareness. Know where you are. Know where your body parts are. And please, don’t spend the whole show with said body parts in my face. Clap, wave, point, dance. Have a great time. Without question. Don’t push past me as soon as the monitors come out of the band’s ears and trip over the chairs because you had one too many $9 beers. Don’t leave your arms folded on your head for the whole show – your elbows wind up blocking the stage like The Flying Nun’s wimple.

The final piece of etiquette is about the encore. This one (perhaps) isn’t so much of a rule as a personal pet peeve. You’ve sat through 2 ½ hours of a fantastic show. The band is getting ready to leave the stage, and everyone around you is cheering and applauding, giving them what is (arguably) the best part of the evening – the accolades. I understand wanting to beat feet to the parking lot to try to get ahead of the traffic, but are those three minutes at the end really too much to ask for? If the answer is yes, and you feel the need to go, don’t shove your way out of the row, trip over a chair, and give ME a dirty look because your feet don’t work.

That being said, I honestly can’t remember the last time I smiled so much. A great show.

Setlist

1. Happy Now
2. We Weren't Born To Follow
3. You Give Love A Bad Name
4. Thorn In My Side
5. Born To be My baby
6. Lost Highway
7. Captain Crash
8. Sleep When I'm Dead
9. When We Were Beautiful
10. Superman Tonight
11. We Got It Goin' On
12. Bad Medicine/Bad Case Of Loving You/Shout
13. It's My Life
14. Homebound Train (Richie VOX)
15. Make A Memory
16. Bed of Roses
17. Love For Sale
18. Something For the Pain
19. Keep the Faith
20. Work For the Working Man
21. Who Says You Can't Go Home (acoustic intro)
22. Love's the Only Rule

Encore:

1. Only Lonely
2. Wanted
3. Prayer



Album Song Count

The Circle ~ 7
New Jersey ~ 4
Slippery When Wet ~ 3
Lost Highway ~ 3
Keep The Faith ~ 3
Crush ~ 2
These Days ~ 1
Have A Nice Day ~ 1
7800 Fahrenheit ~ 1

Now, as to the band interaction. Willow and Fiction Mistress were on David’s side, close enough to “sign him”. Willow took my “Show me Joker” sign, and we made a new one inviting him to join us in NYC tonight for Memphis. She got his attention with the first side: “MEMPHIS 2MORO”. He gave her the eyebrow raise and a big smile. The other side said “WANNA COME?” and he nodded enthusiastically. Catte caught it on video (and promises to get it and her others up to youtube in a few days) so I can’t wait to see it. We’ll let you know if we actually see him around town tonight. We’re not holding our breath, but how cool would that be???

Catte and I had our own sign.

If you were at / listened to the MMR Matinee, you heard that Richie’s on the hunt (lol). That’s right, he’s on the lookout for the future ex-Mrs. Sambora. So, in order to help a fella out (because I’m nothing if not helpful), I made a big sign proclaiming myself to be a “FUTURE EX MRS. SAMBORA”. I know Richie can’t see much beyond the end of his nose, especially in an arena, but I’m pretty sure Jon and David saw it.

I won’t delve too deeply into the shallow portion of the review except to say Richie took my breath away in that tight red t-shirt. All sorts of sweaty, sweaty goodness. Damn.

I’ve got a lazy day today, waiting for Willow to get home from work around lunchtime so we can get a move on to NYC. I am so looking forward to today! Then it’s on the bus back to Boston tomorrow, two nights at Mohegan.

Bring it on.

~ Hath

Circle Arc 1: Philly (the real review post)

OK I've had my three hours sleep (thank you India for paging me for my 7am meeting; I would have slept straight through) and have gotten through most of my meetings for the day, which means I now have a little time to basically relive the show through my photos and the videos that have been found.

Now let's get this over with at the get-go. I know there's a lot of grumbling about the set list, and I have to say, you're entitled to your opinion. It was identical to Denver with two changes -- we got one extra song (I Love This Town, which I could do without, and Richie did Lay Your Hands instead of Homebound Train). Everything else, even the song order, was Denver. If you were at Denver and at the show last night, I can see how you would be awfully disappointed in the most recent set list. Hell, if you've been following along with what's been played so far compared with what is out there to be played, I'd be a bit disappointed, too.

But, since this is the first show I went to this tour, I was just happy to see what I did.

Were there some faves missing? NSG? Love for Sale? Diamond Ring?

Yep.

Would Catte and I have been clinging to each other for support during any or all of those three?

Yep again.

Would the crescent-moons of each other's fingernails embedded in our forearms been totally worth it?

Yep.

Am I hoping that tonight's show will be different? Four for four! Damn, you're on a roll!

Am I hopeful that this will be the case? Nope. I mean, I assume we'll get Homebound Train (woo woo!) instead of Lay Your Hands On Me, and Thorn instead of Runaway for the encore opener, but other than maybe shifting a couple things around, I'm not holding out for anything spectacular. My guess is, to make up for the PR nightmare that is the "Soul Concert" today, he'll put some of the goodies into that setlist. We'll see.

Enough about that. Let's spend a few minutes on last night.

Oh my GOD. Working with the BJCT Blog, I've seen videos of all the songs they performed last night from different venues. Those recordings, though beautiful to look at, simply don't capture the thrill of seeing it live. Not by a long shot. Even though the banter was all the same script Jon's been running all tour, I couldn't help but react. There's a reason Jon and the guys have been around so long -- they sure do know how to work the crowd.

So, my seats were section 5, row 2, basically dead center in front of Jon's mic stand. Very cool seats. Great view of everyone, even Tico, who is usually hidden by his kit and Richie. (I posted some pictures on my half-assed post from last night, and there will be more on the BJCT site soon -- I'm resizing them now so I don't blow out the PB lol).

We arrived shortly after seven, and went to collect our tickets from the FC pick-up line. Saw lots of people dressed inappropriately (not just cougarish or groupie-slutty, but people wearing clothes to young/tight for them. C'mon people.) We got nosh at the Chickie & Pete's stand and made ourselves comfortable on the floor, listening to Dashboard Confessional while we ate. From what we could hear (a couple of cover songs and one original track), they sounded good, but the crowd was definitely NOT into them. At all.

Now with the 18000 or so people there, milling about, guess who we saw almost straight away? Yep, BigAppleJoviGirl. We took some photos, caught up for a couple minutes, then went off on our own hunts. Us for swag, Jen for not-sure-what.

Ok. People. One fan to another. At the swag lines, figure out what you want when you're waiting in line. This is NOT a life altering decision. It's a frickin' t-shirt. There were these two girls in the line/crowd we were in who couldn't make up their minds at all. "No, let me see #3 in a small. No, #4 in a medium. Does #2 come in extra small? I don't know, what do you think about this one?" and on and on for a good 10 minutes. The guy a few people behind them in line offered to buy them their damned t-shirts if they would hurry the hell up already! As a good doobie, I had my selections made, cash in hand. My transaction took all of 30 seconds. Be polite people.

And while we're on the subject of politeness and concert etiquette. Signs. Having hoisted a few myself, I know the importance of wanting to connect with the band. I have no problem with that. But come on, people. Be considerate about it. There was a guy in the section in front of us who had a hard on for Captain Crash. The sign was up for nearly every freaking song. Even Richie's solo. News flash, Einstein, they saw the sign right away. You were right up in their faces with it. If they were gong to acknowledge it, you would have gotten a nod or a smile or something. But either way, it's bad etiquette to hold up your sign for nearly the whole show. There ARE people behind you, ya know. It's like the swag stands -- do your business and be done.

OK, enough of that.


After surreptitiously putting together my Canon EOS 50D and stuffing it in my swag bag, and figuring out the guard rotation so I wouldn't get caught with a "professional-grade camera" (whatever), the lights went down. The crowd's intensity level soared as the opening montage of shots from The Circle's album cover played. When the band finally took the stage, I'm sure that folks back in Boston could hear the roar. Exhilarating. I can understand why Jon's addicted to that sound. Having the adoration of thousands of people staring you in the face just HAS to feel good.

They opened with Blood on Blood, which is one of my favorite tunes from New Jersey. I love this one live. From there, they hit WWBTF, which should have "Bells of Freedom" after it -- I'm just saying. Jonny, are you reading? -- but Bad Name is a good choice too. You don't get too much more high-energy with the classics than that song.

We got a few of my other faves in Whole Lot of Leavin', Superman, and I'll Be There For You. As for IBTFY, as a die-hard Richie girl, who's seen/heard Richie do that song solo most of last tour, I have to say, the performance they do on the circle stage is better. Do I like Richie's voice for the song? Absolutely. He's got the right pitch (IMO) for the bluesy spin he puts on it. Do he and Jon have a magic, though, that when their voices mesh together on this song puts tears in my eyes, and makes my heart pound hard in my chest? Yep. Waterproof mascara is one of my best friends.

There was of course, Hallelujah, which could have only been better if Jon had forgotten the words again and had to blush like a little kid and admit he couldn't remember the lyrics. His voice on that song -- I can't imagine it being any cleaner. Very powerful performance.

I was totally in love with the acoustic pair of Something for the Pain / Saturday Night, and not just because I got to have a moment with David. I love the way the acoustic versions give the band a chance to catch their breath and show off their harmonies without all the "big noise" of the heavy drums. Plus, David does make the accordion sexy.

There were a few duds (what I call duds anyway). Who Says. *sigh* I'm truly all set with this song, but they didn't do the "it's alright" repeat ad nauseum last night, so I guess I can let it slide. Though it is one of the most played songs on tour so far (see the statistics page on the BJCT blog), and their Grammy winner, I don't love it.

Also Work for the Working Man. I'm sorry, but though I like the message, seeing Jon try to be overly dramatic with the lyrics -- I just don't buy it. I really don't believe that he's impacted much if at all by the recent economic troubles. I absolutely believe that he wants to help people, and wants to see other people helping people. I just don't buy the sincerity he puts into "I lost my pension/They took my ID". Nope, sorry, can't do it. And the 40's era graphics have got to go. I feel like I'm being subjected to anti-American propaganda which is totally not the intent.

"Oh no! It's 1984 all over again!" Thank you for not doing the time warp thing as the intro to Runaway.

The one-two punch of Wanted/Prayer at the end of the night was lovely. I'm always up for hearing those songs; they are among my favorites. I just know they mean the end of the evening, so I'm not thrilled with them in principal.

All in all, a fantastic night out with the girls, that didn't get over until 4am. Kiwi, it was great to hear your voice last night, I can't wait to meet you in person! I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the show (though I will be wearing flat shoes and putting MUCH less product in my hair. A hair tie will do if it gets unruly. Mousse + sweat = ICK) and I absolutely canNOT wait for tonight.

If we get the same setlist? Well, there's nothing I can do about that. We can hope though. For two sold-out shows at this venue (in an economy where really good seats are STILL available for next week's shows) you'd think Jon'd show a little appreciation by bringing out the big guns. Maybe Someday. Someday just might be tonight. (sorry couldn't resist)

Set List

1. Blood on Blood
2. We Weren't Born to Follow
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Whole Lot of Leavin'
5. Born to be my Baby
6. Lost Highway
7. When We Were Beautiful
8. Superman Tonight
9. We Got It Going On
10. Bad Medicine w/ Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover]
11. It's My Life
12. Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
13. Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
14. I'll Be There For You
15. Something for the Pain [acoustic]
16. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
17. Keep the Faith
18. Work for the Working Man
19. Who Says You Can't Go Home
20. Love's the Only Rule
21. Runaway
22. I Love This Town
23. Wanted Dead or Alive
24. Livin' on a Prayer


Now, on to the shallow bits. For my male readers, any younger readers, and those who don't like the gushing about their looks/sex appeal, etc., stop reading now.

I totally missed some of Richie's solo because I was distracted by the man's flexing biceps and tri's. Holy hell, Batman. And the sex faces were just over the top last night. In an oh-so-good way. David had his earrings in which are uber-sexy in my opinion, and his infectious grin, and wonderfully goofy facial expressions make him such fun to watch. Tico has some great facial expressions of his own. Damn, watching him bang away on his kit, twirling his sticks... fantabulous. Jon was, of course, gorgeous as per usual, and a bundle of energy. A tight little bundle of energy. Growl...

If I may boys, and since it's my blog, I don't really have to ask your opinion, but thought it was a nice gesture, I do have a few suggestions for tonight.

Jon. When you strip off your shirt after the set on the circle stage, do it where we can see you. The pictures of you in Boston during the LH tour changing your shirt for the Celtics jersey, then flapping that red silk shirt after KTF are some of the most beautiful pictures I've been fortunate to take. You work hard to keep your body rock-solid for touring. Be proud. Show it off. Trust me, it will not go unappreciated.

Tico. When you're on the circle stage, smile! Your whole face lights up when you smile, and you have the sexiest laugh lines. I know the beat box isn't as much fun as your kit, but for us, would you show us your perlies? Please?

David. Three words. Button....Down....Shirt. I'll be there with my sign again (I'll be close enough for you to find me again) and I'd like to see a little bit of skin if you don't mind. You're another one who has a rockin' bod, and should be showing that bad boy off. Uh, please. Oh, and the earrings are sexy as hell.

Richie. I have to ask what's up with your pants. Don't get me wrong; what we ladies have dubbed the "Moose Guard Codpiece" (the leather crotch-section of his show pants) gives us all sorts of bad, bad thoughts. Coupled with the rosary beads you wear, you are just about devastating. But I have to know. Are they really comfortable? It seems like strategically placed leather, while offering protection from groping hands as you come up the walkway to the circle stage, would not be a good choice for someone who sweats as much as you do under those lights. Can I tell you that you are amazingly sexy when you're dripping with sweat? NO? Tough shit. You write your truth and I'll write mine. OK, onto a couple of minor requests. First, the Slash-meets-Mad-Hatter hat. PLEEEEEASE!!! Second, if you do Homebound Train tonight, please manage to insert the f-bomb into it like you did last night. For some reason, that strikes me as amazingly hot. Also, wear the red T tonight. Red is such a great color on you. And tight please. We saw David's nipples pressing through his t-shirt last night; we want to see yours, too.

I warned you this was the shallow part.

So, we've got a lasagna in the oven, we're wrapping up our various work projects, and we will soon be napping -- or trying to anyway. I'm having an absolute blast with Willow, FM, and Catte. Oh yeah, and those Jovi boys. I'm having fun with them too.

~ Hath

Circle Arc 1: Philly (addendum)

So we got Lay Your Hands On Me.

The best part (aside from the damn sexy arms. Can you say biceps, my devoted? And how 'bout that rosary? It is my Kryptonite, you know....) A slight lyric change.

Lyric should be "I'll show you how to fly, and never ever come back down."

Lyric was "I'll show you how to fly, fuckin' never come back down."

Is it wrong that I find the profanity amazingly hot?

Catte got the vid, and will be uploading to YT soon. It's veddy, veddy nice :)

~ Hath

Circle Arc 1: Philly

Oh my.

The energy at Wachovia was absolutely amazing.

The people around us in the seats were fun (though I wanted to smack the people who sat through Richie's solo).  

The setlist was predictable, and somewhat of a let down after seeing what Montreal got, but hell, I didn't really care. I got to see I'll Be There For You about 100 feet from my face. I got to flirt with David again (thanks Willow for keeping the sign from last tour, and for Catte for capturing it forever on digital).

The band took the circle for Something for the Pain / Saturday Night, and I waited.

Patiently.

Then the house lights came half up, and I took my shot. I waited for David to look in my direction

and I held up the "HEY DAVID!" side of the sign.  He had to squint to read it, but still.... he did :)

Hopefully he remembered the sign from Boston, Central Park, and MSG last tour.  I flipped the sign over, where it says "SHOW ME JOKER".  Judging by the surprise face, maybe he doesn't remember.

Now, I knew full well he wasn't going to flash me this time. He had the accordion strapped on for God's sake. But, it was fun anyway to have the personal interaction. Catte and I blew kisses and waved to him, and we got the chin point and a big smile.

*sigh* Happy Hath.  David (in Jon's words) makes the accordion all kinds of sexy...  See for yourself :)

AHEM.  Sorry about that.  Got lost in all the curly goodness....

ANYWAY Richie was on fire. Several different guitars including my very favorite double-neck. Of course, there were the hats (just a couple, but damn that Stetson for Wanted gets me every single time) and the music was absolutely lovely.  His voice was strong and just shit, yummy RICHIE.  But I got totally distracted during his solo by his ARMS (see the first pic.  Holy Hannah).

Tico was adorable on the Circle.  You could tell he very much likes his behind-the-scenes position on the stage.  I did get a few good shots of him, though.  He is just amazing.

And Jon?  Well, what can one say.  Clearly one of the best front men on the planet.  And not bad looking either :)  His voice was strong, though he went back to the "easier register" for Prayer, and to our disappointment, he remembered all the words to Hallelujah :)

Some of my favorite Jonny shots...

One of my favorite "artsy" shots:

And a couple for Kiwi and Tara :)

OK, I'm spent. Been up for more than 22 hours, and have to work in 4. Gonna need a nap later :)  Need my strength for night 2! 

And sneakers.  This Goddess deffo needs her sneakers from now on.  To hell with the cute shoes. 

Comfort.  Comfort. Comfort.

~ Hath

BBC: 5-Part 'Rock' Doc This Spring

Ever wondered what are the secret ingredients that mark out the great rock bands from the merely workaday?

Well, a new multi-platform BBC initiative featuring veteran rockers like Jeff Beck, Roger Daltrey, Sting and Jon Bon Jovi will attempt to deconstruct what makes the perfect band.

The project, provisionally entitled "Rock 'n' Roll," involves a five-part docu narrated by Brit music show anchor Mark Radcliffe plus online and radio content.

Show will culminate in a live studio program where music nuts discuss their favorite musicians and create what the corp. claims is "the ultimate fantasy band."

Read the whole article here.

Online Updated

Richie's finally  made it to Boston!  The next installment, Richie's Arrival, is up.

~ Hath

Watch Out Richie!

Congratulations, Ava, on your modeling debut! You looked absolutely stunning, and you have the disinterested moue of a true runway star down pat!

Ava Sambora made her modeling debut at the LA Fashion Week premiere of her rocker dad Richie Sambora’s women’s fashion line White Trash Beautiful. The gorgeous 12-year-old was cheered on by her beaming mom Heather Locklear as she strutted her way down the catwalk.

This is the Bon Jovi guitarist’s first foray into the world of fashion. The inspiration behind the collection, according to his design partner Nikki Lund, is that “every single woman has a little bit of white trash in them and that every single woman wants to be sexy, and these clothes are designed to let a little bit of that diva out.”
source

C

These photos bring to mind one of my favorite quotes ever.

Anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel, I doubt anybody would miss you.

I can't see Ava getting anything but more beautiful as she gets older. Richie, baby, you're in SO much trouble :)

~ Hath

Montreal

If ever there was a time to be in Montreal (and let's face it, it's a fantastic city, and except for the dead of winter, there isn't a bad time to visit) it was this past weekend.

Love for Sale

Happy Now as a show opener

Diamond Ring

Always

29 freaking songs

Oh, and LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME sung by Richie! Damn..... (though I will say -- and don't shoot me -- that while hearing Richie sing this brought all sorts of naughty thoughts to mind, the song is better suited to Jon's voice. Sorry honey. Don't let that stop you though. It was still a fantastic performance).

I liked how the two nights in Quebec got different set lists. Not vastly different, but different enough that people [hopefully] wouldn't have been bored. I can only hope the same is true of the setlists tomorrow and Wednesday in Philly. Then this weekend at Mohegan. Damn.

Night 1 and Night 2 are up on the BJCT blog, with all the vids we found to date.

~ Hath

Bon Jovi at Wachovia

A story near and dear to me, as I'm on my way to Philly in about 8 hours :)

Keeping the Faith: Bon Jovi back at Wachovia

When Bon Jovi takes to the stage at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia next week, fans will find something familiar and reassuring in a band that is entering its fourth decade of performing.

Still, the band has never relied on nostalgia. Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres are driven to remain relevant, hitching their rock star wagons to a country sound that has made them not only a crossover band, but also a cross-generational band.

Bon Jovi's sound delivers both social commentary and young love ballads without being too preachy or too sappy.

"I think basically what keeps us fresh is the fact that, you know, we try to reinvent ourselves musically and listen to what's happening sound-wise," says Sambora, the showy guitar player, during a phone interview with all members of the band not named Jon.

"And then when it comes out to do a record, you know, it's the writing. I think you try not to emulate anything you did in the past, but try to grow," he said.

Bon Jovi's latest road show is The Circle Tour in support of "The Circle" album. Originally, Jon Bon Jovi and Torres sat down to work out a greatest-hits album with two or three new songs, but something happened along the way while working out the new tunes.

"Jon and I were really conscious of what people were feeling around the world, you know, with the changes that were happening, especially in our country," Sambora said. "We started writing this record in September."

"We were supposed to do a greatest-hits album and just write a few songs for that, but Jon and I really got on a tear as far as a writing tear. And then Obama became president. O.K. So then we start feeling all this hope and all these other things that are happening. And not even in our country, but around the world, you know, because we are a leader... And then the hit, so then there was a lot of feelings to write about out there."

The 135-show, 30-country Circle Tour also stops at Hershey Park Stadium on May 17 and the new Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., May 26-29 before heading to Europe, then back to North America in Canada.

As with all Bon Jovi tours, the playlist will include a ton of standards along with a sprinkling of the new.

source

A couple of comments. First, couldn't the author make up some catchy (cliched) title for the article that included the CURRENT record? KTF, while a staple on the iPod, is not the current touring record.

Second, I kind of liked the veiled snarkiness of the reporter doing an interview with "all members of the band not named Jon."

Third, the reporter says Jon sat down with Torres to write new songs for the greatest hits album. Really? Since when?

Finally, I certainly hope there is more than just a sprinkling of the new. I'd love to hear 6-7 songs from the Circle each show. I mean, the standards and oldies have their definite place in the setlist, but hey, it is "The Circle Tour", not "The Old Shit Tour" (which, btw, is a GREAT idea for the next tour, guys lol).

~ Hath