Read the winning blog here. Congratulations to Katie, from Louisville, KY. She describes her ideal experience, complete with a ride on Bon Jovi's tour bus.
Great job, Katie!!
The boys rock on tonight at Soldier's Field. Hope the crowd is more into it than last night! Read Tony Kuzminski's review to see what I'm talking about.
~ Hath
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
This Is Our House
Last night in Regina, Bon Jovi performed This Is Our House for the first time (twice) as they filmed a video for it. BJCT will have more/better/other videos as they come up, but this is one I found this morning...
So, is the Greatest Hits tour starting already? D'ya suppose they'll do up new swag?
In any event, this video taping suggests that TIMH will be on the radio soon. It's already been used for the past year as the touchdown song for the New England Patriots, and apparently the Saskatchewan Rough Riders will use it as their theme song as well. (By the way, Patriots Nation is of a divided mind about this as the touchdown song. Many [mostly the guys] prefer the 1812 Overture we used to use.)
~ Hath
So, is the Greatest Hits tour starting already? D'ya suppose they'll do up new swag?
In any event, this video taping suggests that TIMH will be on the radio soon. It's already been used for the past year as the touchdown song for the New England Patriots, and apparently the Saskatchewan Rough Riders will use it as their theme song as well. (By the way, Patriots Nation is of a divided mind about this as the touchdown song. Many [mostly the guys] prefer the 1812 Overture we used to use.)
~ Hath
Needed a Bit o'Richie
This popped in my Google Alerts this morning, and it was too pretty not to share.
Richie on The Tonight Show, promoting Undiscovered Soul, performing Hard Times Come Easy.
So WHY doesn't he do his own songs on tour again?
~Hath
Richie on The Tonight Show, promoting Undiscovered Soul, performing Hard Times Come Easy.
So WHY doesn't he do his own songs on tour again?
~Hath
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Bozzett Interview
Rich Bozzett, author of the Bon Jovi "tell-all" book “Sex, Drugs & Bon Jovi”, was on the Danny Bonaduce show on WYSP this morning to discuss his new book.
Accounts from people who have read the book say the most shocking thing in there is the photos that are already all over the 'net. So if you're looking for "inside dirt", there isn't too much there. Some interesting behind-the-scenes stories, but nothing about the music. The Jovi reps are not giving it any credence or attention, so this is probably the last you'll see me talk about it unless the Jovi reps do something else about this book.
The comments posted on the radio's website about this interview were pretty harsh too. They pretty much feel Bozzett is a sleaze, trying to cash in on the band's popularity, and Danny should never have had the guy on the radio.
Anyway, the guy who "loves Bon Jovi" was on the radio today, and if you want to hear what he said you can download it here.
~ Hath
Accounts from people who have read the book say the most shocking thing in there is the photos that are already all over the 'net. So if you're looking for "inside dirt", there isn't too much there. Some interesting behind-the-scenes stories, but nothing about the music. The Jovi reps are not giving it any credence or attention, so this is probably the last you'll see me talk about it unless the Jovi reps do something else about this book.
The comments posted on the radio's website about this interview were pretty harsh too. They pretty much feel Bozzett is a sleaze, trying to cash in on the band's popularity, and Danny should never have had the guy on the radio.
Anyway, the guy who "loves Bon Jovi" was on the radio today, and if you want to hear what he said you can download it here.
~ Hath
Bon Jovi in Regina
The band is in Regina today and in this article in the Leader-Post, Jon promises a special show for tonight's crowd.
I know, I harp on the set lists. A lot. But it's like the ONE major complaint I have about the band. With the catalog depth these guys have, they keep dipping into the shallow end.
I know the argument -- how the average Bon Jovi concert-goer is the "casual fan" who wants to hear all the standards, but what about the scads of people who are on their 15th, 50th, 100th, 200th show? There are LOTS of those people who deserve to get what they want too. I would argue they deserve it more, since Jon Bon Jovi is BIG on loyalty. You expose the casual fan to some of the other great songs the band has put out, thereby earning their loyalty and moving more people into the "diehard fan" category, getting them to invest in the records they don't own...drawing them to more shows... Can you see how that would work?
People also argue, well look, not everyone goes to multiple shows, right? Those who are going to one show per tour NEED to see certain songs, which is why there's so much duplication, even in a single venue.
OK, that's an absolutely valid point. But that same assertion should hold true for any band, right? I mean if you're a fan of the Stones, and you go to only one show, you expect to see a certain number of the hits. Ditto Nickelback, Daughtry, Springsteen, Kenny G -- anyone, right? (I threw in the Kenny G to see if you were still paying attention).
So I did a little compare-and-contrast between Bon Jovi, who played four shows at New Meadowland Stadium this year, and another popular not-new band that is currently touring their latest record and have played two shows at Madison Square Garden this year.
And no, it's not Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band.
Pearl Jam statistics taken from the set lists posted on their Tour Site.
I'm not getting into an argument with anyone over "yeah but who sold more tickets, who's done more shows, who's been around longer, who has more hits" blah, blah, blah. This was Bon Jovi in their own backyard. Their hometown crowd. It should have been at LEAST as amazing a diverse set pool as London.
Just sayin'.
~ Hath
...when the band brings The Circle Tour to Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday, they will be viewing a show unique to Regina. Bon Jovi plans on playing a number of the band's hits like "Wanted Dead Or Alive," "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer" and "It's My Life" but the set list has been changing from night to night on the current tour.The article goes on to talk about the 70+ songs played during the O2 residency.
Bon Jovi, along with bandmates Richie Sambora (guitar), Tico Torres (drums) and David Bryan (keyboards), decided the only way to keep the tour fresh was to tinker with the set list each night. The everchanging set list not only challenged the band members but the video crew as well.I hope for the sake of the fans in Regina, that the Jon will really put together a great set list for tonight. I like the article's use of the word "tinkering" in describing the variations in the set lists. It's exactly the right word.
"They're pretty good, I have to say. I challenged the bastards," Bon Jovi said with a laugh. "We just concluded 12 nights in London at the O2 (Arena) and the number of songs started to add up because I couldn't bear to go out there and ever perform the same set twice.
"I said the goal was to play 70 different songs over the course of the 12 nights. I was calling some of them on the fly and I'll be damned that by the first chorus, that video didn't make a liar out of me. They were right there. They kept up pretty good."
The challenge of expanding the set list has been enjoyable for the band.
I know, I harp on the set lists. A lot. But it's like the ONE major complaint I have about the band. With the catalog depth these guys have, they keep dipping into the shallow end.
I know the argument -- how the average Bon Jovi concert-goer is the "casual fan" who wants to hear all the standards, but what about the scads of people who are on their 15th, 50th, 100th, 200th show? There are LOTS of those people who deserve to get what they want too. I would argue they deserve it more, since Jon Bon Jovi is BIG on loyalty. You expose the casual fan to some of the other great songs the band has put out, thereby earning their loyalty and moving more people into the "diehard fan" category, getting them to invest in the records they don't own...drawing them to more shows... Can you see how that would work?
People also argue, well look, not everyone goes to multiple shows, right? Those who are going to one show per tour NEED to see certain songs, which is why there's so much duplication, even in a single venue.
OK, that's an absolutely valid point. But that same assertion should hold true for any band, right? I mean if you're a fan of the Stones, and you go to only one show, you expect to see a certain number of the hits. Ditto Nickelback, Daughtry, Springsteen, Kenny G -- anyone, right? (I threw in the Kenny G to see if you were still paying attention).
So I did a little compare-and-contrast between Bon Jovi, who played four shows at New Meadowland Stadium this year, and another popular not-new band that is currently touring their latest record and have played two shows at Madison Square Garden this year.
And no, it's not Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band.
Bon Jovi Record Release: November 19, 2009Bon Jovi statistics taken from the set lists posted on their Tour Site.
Pearl Jam Record Release: September 20, 2009
Number of distinct songs played at venue highlighted
Bon Jovi (over 4 nights): 46 (includes all the snips of Jukebox tunes)
Pearl Jam (over 2 nights): 61
Average set-list length
Bon Jovi: 26.5 (26, 27, 27, 26 respectively)
Pearl Jam: 34 (both nights got 34 songs)
Pearl Jam statistics taken from the set lists posted on their Tour Site.
I'm not getting into an argument with anyone over "yeah but who sold more tickets, who's done more shows, who's been around longer, who has more hits" blah, blah, blah. This was Bon Jovi in their own backyard. Their hometown crowd. It should have been at LEAST as amazing a diverse set pool as London.
Just sayin'.
~ Hath
Richie on the Radio; David On The Scene
Richie did a phone interview on WMEE 97.3FM. The lovely H was able to record it for me, so I can share it with you. You can download it here.
And here is a video interview of David, talking about his foray into Broadway. Thanks to L for the heads up on this.
You can download it here.
One thing that made me laugh; he talks about using Skype to see his kids. I wrote about that in my Joker fic a couple years ago :)
~ Hath
You can download it here.
One thing that made me laugh; he talks about using Skype to see his kids. I wrote about that in my Joker fic a couple years ago :)
~ Hath
Monday, July 26, 2010
Bon Jovi to Play Peru, Costa Rica
BonJovi.com is reporting the following about Lima:
And Costa Rica
~ Hath
One of the most important and established bands in rock history, BON JOVI is going to perform in Lima on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 at Estadio San Marcos.
Tickets will go on sale on Saturday, August 7th at 11 AM online on Teleticket (http://www.teleticket.com.pe) and at outlets at Wong and Metro stores.
And Costa Rica
Bon Jovi has made history and their songs have been passed from generation to generation. Their number one world tour “The Circle” tour is set to come to Costa Rica’s on September 26th at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.VIP packages/prices haven't been announced on the website as yet.
Tickets will be on-sale on August 7th at 10 AM by www.specialticket.net, authorized retail outlets as Servimas, Bansbach and La BarberÃa.
~ Hath
Fun Bon Jovi "Live" Facts
Some Bon Jovi ‘Live’ Facts:
source
- NUMBER 1 TOUR IN NORTH AMERICA accrding to Pollstar Magazine
- Billboard Magazine has ranked Bon Jovi as the #1 hot tour of 2010 3 TIMES.
- 130 million albums sold Worldwide.
- 34 million fans have seen a Bon Jovi Concert.
- 800,000 total watts of sound
- 9,200 amps to execute one stadium show for lights, audio, video, rigging, motion control and robots.
- 6,000 amps of power generated by the lights during one stadium show.
- 2,600 Number of live shows Bon Jovi has performed worldwide.
- 1,000 road cases used to transport all the equipment for the tour including lights, audio, video, stage, band instruments, wardrobe, etc.
- 905 kilowatts of power consumed during one stadium show for lights, audio, video, rigging, motion control and robots.
- 500 miles of cable used for power, lightning and audio equipment on tour (804 km).
- 208 separate amp channels in the sound system.
- 135 shows on the entire The Circle Tour.
- 97 Bon Jovi songs programmed content by their video team in case they are played during the tour.
- 80 additional local crew members recruited in each city to help build and tear down the production/staging.
- 68 touring crew members.
- 50 countries Bon Jovi has performed in.
- 40+ Total stadium shows on The Circle Tour.
- 34 shows Bon Jovi has sold out on the first leg of the tour (34 of 34).
- 30 countries Bon Jovi will visit on The Circle Tour.
- 15 guitars that Richie Sambora will play while on tour. Guitars: 1 PRS, 5 Fenders, 3 Zemaitis, 1 Telecaster, 1 double-neck Yamaha, 1 Mastercaster & 3 ESP’s.
- 8 cameras remotely controlled by operators to shoot the video of the show.
- 7 Pearl Drums that Tico has in his drum set.
- 7 guitars Jon uses on tour including 3 acoustic and 4 electric guitars.
- 5 hours spent tuning Jon & Richie’s guitars on show day.
- 4 drumsticks Tico Torres breaks per show.
- 4 keyboards and pianos David Bryan has on stage.
- 0 Number of guitar strings that Jon and Richie break during one show.
source
Dierks Bentley
Very cute little blurb on the Dierks/Jovi "Wanted" at HullabaLOU, courtesy of Country Weekly:
~ Hath
Dierks Bentley lived every '80s rock fan's dream at a recent Bon Jovi concert in Louisville, Ky. Dierks joined Bon Jovi on their hit "Wanted Dead or Alive" to the thrill of thousands of fans. The "I-can't-believe-I'm-singing-with-Bon Jovi" look on Dierks' face is priceless. "That was the quote in my yearbook," Dierks says of the classic Bon Jovi song. "That was cool. Anybody else want to get up and sing with me?" Jon Bon Jovi quipped later.
~ Hath
Circle Arc 7: Gillette Stadium
Wow. Gillette. My backyard. I’ve been waiting for this all tour.
I had T (from Arkansas) and Willow (from Jersey) up for the weekend; Tara (from NY) couldn’t come because her poochie Stu threw out his back, and needed his Momma to take care of him. T arrived Thursday night, and Hathlet and I picked her up at the airport and took her to our favorite barbecue restaurant. We spent all of Friday getting acquainted-in-person, ‘cause although we’ve known each other for years, we’d never met. I’ll post details of what we did pre-show on the Fictionista blog. Suffice it to say, we had a GREAT time. I’ll just sum up Friday with one sentence: Midnight dinner of sausage, biscuits and gravy.
Now, on to Saturday. I’m feeling a little chatty, so I’m not jumping straight into the review. I wanna tell you a little about our day. Set the scene if you will…
The day started gray and icky (yes icky) but cleared up in the early afternoon, and we were overjoyed that the rain was going to miss us. We had plans to meet a bunch of others at the Dunkies (Dunkin’ Donuts for those who don’t know) that’s just before the stadium around 4:30, because we all wanted to park together in the lot. Around 3:00, one of my “home friends” arrived. At 3:30 my sister in law (who took Tara’s ticket) came, rarin’ to go. At 3:45, the heavens opened up.
WIDE.
I’m talking torrential rain. I mean, animals lining up in twos and looking scared. It came down so fast that you couldn’t see it. Within minutes, we had three inches of rain in our driveway.
Now, RAIN + JOVI = WET JOVIs which is of course, not at ALL a bad thing. Some of the best shows were rain shows. We were resigned to donning our $1 ponchos and getting a little wet, all in the name of the Jovi. Then the thunder peals came.
Damn.
Nothing delays or cancels a concert quicker than a lightning storm (we learned this first-hand at Meadowlands earlier this summer).
But, nothing was keeping us from our show, certainly not a little bit of rain, so we packed ourselves into the Ford F-150 and headed out for Gillette.
Now, being local, I know how to get there without hitting all the main roads. I can get us to within a mile of the place before I have to venture onto Route 1. And I did. But the road was gone.
GONE.
As in, under about 2 feet of water. Now, I had the big ol’ 4-by, but it’s Mr. Hath’s truck, and I was damned if I was going to wreck it by driving through a small river which I swear had its own current. So we flipped on the GPS and headed up an open road. We wound up at the VIP entrance / Emergency exit, and weren’t allowed in, but circled around to Route 1 from the opposite side of where we wanted to be. No Dunkie’s meet for us.
By the time we arrived at the stadium, the rain had stopped. By the time we backed into our parking spot, piled out of the truck, and got the drinks out, the skies had cleared somewhat, and the sun was beating down on us.
Even God likes a Bon Jovi show – no rain for us!!
We had a great time in the lot, and actually managed to find some of the people that we were supposed to meet up with! Cheers and hey to @XDRegina and her mom, who were great, and to LisaMarie, Paige, and Bayaderra, who brought some wine, and contributed to our truck-top empty-bottle display.
Sadly, we missed most of Mission Hill, which sucked because I really wanted to hear their set. The people in front of us, the family with small kids for whom I was horrified during Kid Rock’s set, know the guitarist from Mission Hill, he’s the kids’ guitar teacher. How cool is that?!? We also met with Yukiko from Tokyo Tramps who is friends with the Mission Hill guys, as well as one of my from-home friends who came to the show with me. Yukiko was completely lovely, and I was glad to meet her.
The Bon Jovi set opened with Blood on Blood, which is a great opening song. The Boston Globe had it right when they said it was
The first of three, yes THREE, songs from the Circle was We Weren't Born to Follow, which is typically the #2 song in the set. It’s a good song, and shows just how many of us WERE born to follow. I know some folks at the show who’ve been to dozens of Circle shows this year.
You Give Love a Bad Name was a crowd pleaser, and even the little kids around us knew this one. Lots of dancing and high energy, and of course, the sing-along at the end was roaring loud.
There wasn’t a single person NOT joining in on the NA-na-na-NA-na-na-NA-na-na-na-na’s for Born to Be My Baby. Solid performance, and Jonny didn’t have to ask us if we were with him out there or what, because we very clearly were. Boston loves Bon Jovi. Even if the seats are wet, and the makeshift floor they put down wildly uncomfortable to stand on.
I love the song Lost Highway, and am glad we got to hear it again. “Say goodbye to yesterday” has been my personal mantra for a while now, and hearing this song makes me smile.
When the opening bars of In These Arms started, we were all, ALL of us, silently saying, “Please, let David sing this one or at least open the song”. Nope, Not for us. I’m sure the Europeans and/or New Zealanders will get that. Maybe, MAYBE, if they come back through the US at the end of the tour (isn’t there some rule that they HAVE to end the tour at Giants or MSG?) then we’ll get it. We’ll just have to wait and see. Of course, there’s always Chicago. . .
A show wouldn’t be complete without It's My Life, though a lighter rotation would hurt. But it’s one where everyone knows the words, and it’s guaranteed that the arms will all raise in tandem as we scream IT’S. . . .MY. . . .LIFE. . . Plus, it has the talkbox in it, and we all know how I feel about songs with the talkbox.
I love I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. It’s such a move-your-butt song. I think they should pair it with “Blame it on the Love”, but they don’t let me make the set lists yet. HIGH energy, great guitars, good time.
We Got It Goin' On was a rockin’ good time, though I’m a bit tired of this one, too. There are other great heavy guitar songs they could play. Though Jon did give props to Richie at the end of this one.
During Bad Medicine, Kid Rock joined the guys for the Juke insert (Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll), along with his femme backup singers who were just awesome. I caught a cute (short) sequence of photos on this: First, Jon asking David (though he didn’t get called Tony Bryan this time – Davey left his pretty trophies at home) if he had something, the second from when David started the opening riff.
Sadly, I think this insert got one of the best responses from the crowd. Not sure if it was because Kid Rock was coming out, and there were TONS of Rock fans out there, or if it was because it was just a cool, cool cover. When they were through, and Kid went back down into the pit, Jon gave us Shout! Usually, it’s just a teaser, so he can whip his head back and forth and try to dry the sweat (ha ha) but this time we got the whole thing. Very fun. It’s fun to see the guys playing someone else’s music that they enjoy.
Shallow note, this is by far the best picture I took the whole night. Freaking HELL, he is beautiful here.
It was then time for a little worshipping at the feet of the King of Swing as he gave us his all with Lay Your Hands on Me. I adore this song, and love that he’s doing it as his solo, but why drop Homebound Train from the rotation? If you want to talk about Bon Jovi songs for which Richie’s own bluesy style is perfect, you talk about Homebound Train. But, still, LYHOM is fantastic. What would make it better, is when the stage does dark, Richie does a growly intro… “They say that to really free your body. . . you’ve got to free your mind. . .” YIKES! For the other Richie Girls out there, how damned sexy would that be?
When Jon came back out, it was with a heavy suede shirt. What the heck was he thinking? Someone told me that performers (in general) wear long sleeves are because there are fans on stage (and I could see hair blowing around, so I guess that could be why) and they get cold. Uh, COLD? It was something ridiculous like 90 degrees with 87% humidity on Saturday night. COLD is not one of the adjectives I’d use. Still, Bed of Roses out on the circle was very nice. No dance with anyone, but he did take a seat on the stage. Richie’s solo was off-the-hook powerful, and I swear I felt my soul quiver a little.
Jon then called Richie out to join him for I'll Be There For You. I know I’ve said in the past that Richie’s voice is better suited to this than Jon’s and I loved it when Richie sang this as his solo last tour. BUT, nothing compares to the two of them together at the mic on this. It was absolutely gorgeous.
The other guys joined the Dynamic Duo on the circle for Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. I like the acoustic version of this song, though when Tico came out with his tambourines, and nobody put the big box up on stage, I knew we weren’t getting Something For The Pain, which is too bad.
When the guys went back to the main stage, the world became cracked, and they sang When We Were Beautiful. This is second of the three songs from the Circle that was performed last night, and we didn’t get the whole Me Generation speech, which made it far more enjoyable.
I will admit to sitting down for Work for the Working Man (third and final Circle song). I just hate this song. It’s a must-skip on the iPod, and the propaganda graphics irritate the hell out of me. Of course, that didn’t keep me from singing along, lemming that I am. Some things, you just can’t help doing.
A nice, loud, Have a Nice Day got me back on my feet. This is a fantastic live song. Lots of energy, and of course, Richie flipping off the crowd always makes me giggle. Jon came over to our side of the stage – the first time he did that in the show, and was right in front of our section. He wasn’t moving around as much as he usually does, so we figured either his leg was bothering him somewhat, or it was feeling just good enough that he thought he’d better not over do it. It in no way detracted from the greatness of this song or the show in general.
Since I don’t’ like Who Says You Can't Go Home either, I sat for this one, too, though I did stand to take a few photos. This is one song I absolutely REFUSE to sing along to. As an ironic twist of fate, it’s one of Hathlet’s very favorite songs ever.
The bassline of Keep the Faith had me up again, and looking forward to the fireworks at the end. Alas, ‘twas not to be. What with the rain and the forecast (including heavy fog), I think they decided it wasn’t a good idea. Kid Rock has pyrotechnics, though, so they could have done the fireworks. Who knows, maybe Bob Kraft put the kibosh on that. In any event, the song was amazing, and even though Jon had to have sweat away at least five pounds under that now sopping-wet swede shirt, he gave it his ass-shaking all. There was a pole in front of us during this song, so some maneuvers had to be undertaken to see the fun on stage, but we managed.
When the lights came up to the opening chords of Always, the first song in the encore, the crowd went crazy. So did we. T, my girlfriend from Arkansas absolutely adores this song. I’m so glad she got the chance to hear it live. Jon appeared to struggle with the vocals, but when we went back and looked at the video we found, it looked more like his mic was misbehaving. The band seemed to miss a few beats too, so I’m not sure if the problems were widespread, or they were just tired ;)
The little boy in front of us – couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 – had been waiting all night for Wanted. He danced on his seat the whole time and was utterly adorable, if not in the way. But none of us had the heart to ask his mother to move him out of our way. He’s a kid enjoying a rock show (though during Kid Rock, we cringed for his poor little ears) and we were not going to mess it up for him. The anthem was beautiful, as usual, and when they were done, when the boys raised their guitars at the end of the song, I actually got tears in my eyes. The crowd went crazy at the end of the song, cheering like they hadn’t all night. Jon and Richie took a few moments to bask in the adoration, as is their right, and their smiles were genuine and heartfelt.
I Love This Town was another crowd pleaser, and everyone really got into it. This is one song that I’ll admit I’m tired of, but is far better live than on the record.
When Livin' on a Prayer started, I was shocked to see people start to leave, to ostensibly try beat the traffic home. Come on people! Prayer! The Karaoke song of the century! Everyone, even people who don’t like Bon Jovi (all six of them) know this song. How can you leave during it?
But they did, which left more room for us to sing and dance, and when it was over, and the band came to take their bows, we were all a bit saddened to see the evening over, but jazzed at such a good performance.
Over the weekend, I was asked if the show was good, if it was all I’d hoped for. I answered honestly that it was a solid show, and what I’d expected, but not what I’d hoped for. Toronto got some fabulous songs (*coughDAMNEDcough*) and I was hoping that would set the tone of the Gillette show. But we got two fantastic ballads in Bed of Roses and Always, and the band was in a great mood so there were lots of smiles. Jon’s leg was feeling good, or at least good enough, and he led us through one hell of a good show. We could tell he was babying it a little, though; anyone who’s seen the Jovi Machine perform live knows how active and mobile Jon is. He was a lot more stationary this show (which made for fantastic pictures) but it did not detract at all from the evening.
Our encore was supposed to be only two songs (as per the printed setlist).
However, after the “main set” was complete, we think Jon saw that he was going to have more time before the 11:45 curfew than he originally suspected, so we got the four-song encore. Mission Hill and Kid Rock did start earlier than anticipated, and the boys took the stage at 9:15. We were all thrown for a loop, because we were waiting for “This is our House” to signal the start of the Main Event. Thankfully, we all pee fast (TMI, I know) and were back in plenty of time for the start of the show.
Here’s a break down of the show. I wasn’t keeping track at the time, but it looks like the band is already switching gears for the Greatest Hits tour.
Only three songs from the Circle? And Superman Tonight, the “current single” was left out? For a record that Jon is so proud of, I would expect more of the songs from it to have been played. Not that I don’t like the classics, but I didn’t buy my ticket for the GH tour yet.
Overall, of the seven arcs that made up my circle tour this year, this show would rank at the bottom. It didn’t suck at all, just wasn’t as good as the others.
Sorry this went on forever. Guess I had a lot to say.
~ Hath
I had T (from Arkansas) and Willow (from Jersey) up for the weekend; Tara (from NY) couldn’t come because her poochie Stu threw out his back, and needed his Momma to take care of him. T arrived Thursday night, and Hathlet and I picked her up at the airport and took her to our favorite barbecue restaurant. We spent all of Friday getting acquainted-in-person, ‘cause although we’ve known each other for years, we’d never met. I’ll post details of what we did pre-show on the Fictionista blog. Suffice it to say, we had a GREAT time. I’ll just sum up Friday with one sentence: Midnight dinner of sausage, biscuits and gravy.
Now, on to Saturday. I’m feeling a little chatty, so I’m not jumping straight into the review. I wanna tell you a little about our day. Set the scene if you will…
The day started gray and icky (yes icky) but cleared up in the early afternoon, and we were overjoyed that the rain was going to miss us. We had plans to meet a bunch of others at the Dunkies (Dunkin’ Donuts for those who don’t know) that’s just before the stadium around 4:30, because we all wanted to park together in the lot. Around 3:00, one of my “home friends” arrived. At 3:30 my sister in law (who took Tara’s ticket) came, rarin’ to go. At 3:45, the heavens opened up.
WIDE.
I’m talking torrential rain. I mean, animals lining up in twos and looking scared. It came down so fast that you couldn’t see it. Within minutes, we had three inches of rain in our driveway.
Now, RAIN + JOVI = WET JOVIs which is of course, not at ALL a bad thing. Some of the best shows were rain shows. We were resigned to donning our $1 ponchos and getting a little wet, all in the name of the Jovi. Then the thunder peals came.
Damn.
Nothing delays or cancels a concert quicker than a lightning storm (we learned this first-hand at Meadowlands earlier this summer).
But, nothing was keeping us from our show, certainly not a little bit of rain, so we packed ourselves into the Ford F-150 and headed out for Gillette.
Now, being local, I know how to get there without hitting all the main roads. I can get us to within a mile of the place before I have to venture onto Route 1. And I did. But the road was gone.
GONE.
As in, under about 2 feet of water. Now, I had the big ol’ 4-by, but it’s Mr. Hath’s truck, and I was damned if I was going to wreck it by driving through a small river which I swear had its own current. So we flipped on the GPS and headed up an open road. We wound up at the VIP entrance / Emergency exit, and weren’t allowed in, but circled around to Route 1 from the opposite side of where we wanted to be. No Dunkie’s meet for us.
By the time we arrived at the stadium, the rain had stopped. By the time we backed into our parking spot, piled out of the truck, and got the drinks out, the skies had cleared somewhat, and the sun was beating down on us.
Even God likes a Bon Jovi show – no rain for us!!
Sadly, we missed most of Mission Hill, which sucked because I really wanted to hear their set. The people in front of us, the family with small kids for whom I was horrified during Kid Rock’s set, know the guitarist from Mission Hill, he’s the kids’ guitar teacher. How cool is that?!? We also met with Yukiko from Tokyo Tramps who is friends with the Mission Hill guys, as well as one of my from-home friends who came to the show with me. Yukiko was completely lovely, and I was glad to meet her.
The Bon Jovi set opened with Blood on Blood, which is a great opening song. The Boston Globe had it right when they said it was
“an album track that might have seemed an oddly obscure opener if it weren’t about the unbreakable lifelong bond between childhood friends. It established a degree of resonance for both the four men at Bon Jovi’s core and the fans who have stuck with them this long. It also connected with the theme that Jon Bon Jovi sang about more than any other: the importance of living a life chosen by him and nobody else.”How perfect is that for a description of this song? I still think they should open with Happy Now or Bullet, but Blood definitely gets everyone up on their feet.
The first of three, yes THREE, songs from the Circle was We Weren't Born to Follow, which is typically the #2 song in the set. It’s a good song, and shows just how many of us WERE born to follow. I know some folks at the show who’ve been to dozens of Circle shows this year.
You Give Love a Bad Name was a crowd pleaser, and even the little kids around us knew this one. Lots of dancing and high energy, and of course, the sing-along at the end was roaring loud.
There wasn’t a single person NOT joining in on the NA-na-na-NA-na-na-NA-na-na-na-na’s for Born to Be My Baby. Solid performance, and Jonny didn’t have to ask us if we were with him out there or what, because we very clearly were. Boston loves Bon Jovi. Even if the seats are wet, and the makeshift floor they put down wildly uncomfortable to stand on.
I love the song Lost Highway, and am glad we got to hear it again. “Say goodbye to yesterday” has been my personal mantra for a while now, and hearing this song makes me smile.
When the opening bars of In These Arms started, we were all, ALL of us, silently saying, “Please, let David sing this one or at least open the song”. Nope, Not for us. I’m sure the Europeans and/or New Zealanders will get that. Maybe, MAYBE, if they come back through the US at the end of the tour (isn’t there some rule that they HAVE to end the tour at Giants or MSG?) then we’ll get it. We’ll just have to wait and see. Of course, there’s always Chicago. . .
A show wouldn’t be complete without It's My Life, though a lighter rotation would hurt. But it’s one where everyone knows the words, and it’s guaranteed that the arms will all raise in tandem as we scream IT’S. . . .MY. . . .LIFE. . . Plus, it has the talkbox in it, and we all know how I feel about songs with the talkbox.
I love I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. It’s such a move-your-butt song. I think they should pair it with “Blame it on the Love”, but they don’t let me make the set lists yet. HIGH energy, great guitars, good time.
We Got It Goin' On was a rockin’ good time, though I’m a bit tired of this one, too. There are other great heavy guitar songs they could play. Though Jon did give props to Richie at the end of this one.
During Bad Medicine, Kid Rock joined the guys for the Juke insert (Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll), along with his femme backup singers who were just awesome. I caught a cute (short) sequence of photos on this: First, Jon asking David (though he didn’t get called Tony Bryan this time – Davey left his pretty trophies at home) if he had something, the second from when David started the opening riff.
Sadly, I think this insert got one of the best responses from the crowd. Not sure if it was because Kid Rock was coming out, and there were TONS of Rock fans out there, or if it was because it was just a cool, cool cover. When they were through, and Kid went back down into the pit, Jon gave us Shout! Usually, it’s just a teaser, so he can whip his head back and forth and try to dry the sweat (ha ha) but this time we got the whole thing. Very fun. It’s fun to see the guys playing someone else’s music that they enjoy.
Shallow note, this is by far the best picture I took the whole night. Freaking HELL, he is beautiful here.
It was then time for a little worshipping at the feet of the King of Swing as he gave us his all with Lay Your Hands on Me. I adore this song, and love that he’s doing it as his solo, but why drop Homebound Train from the rotation? If you want to talk about Bon Jovi songs for which Richie’s own bluesy style is perfect, you talk about Homebound Train. But, still, LYHOM is fantastic. What would make it better, is when the stage does dark, Richie does a growly intro… “They say that to really free your body. . . you’ve got to free your mind. . .” YIKES! For the other Richie Girls out there, how damned sexy would that be?
When Jon came back out, it was with a heavy suede shirt. What the heck was he thinking? Someone told me that performers (in general) wear long sleeves are because there are fans on stage (and I could see hair blowing around, so I guess that could be why) and they get cold. Uh, COLD? It was something ridiculous like 90 degrees with 87% humidity on Saturday night. COLD is not one of the adjectives I’d use. Still, Bed of Roses out on the circle was very nice. No dance with anyone, but he did take a seat on the stage. Richie’s solo was off-the-hook powerful, and I swear I felt my soul quiver a little.
Jon then called Richie out to join him for I'll Be There For You. I know I’ve said in the past that Richie’s voice is better suited to this than Jon’s and I loved it when Richie sang this as his solo last tour. BUT, nothing compares to the two of them together at the mic on this. It was absolutely gorgeous.
The other guys joined the Dynamic Duo on the circle for Someday I'll Be Saturday Night. I like the acoustic version of this song, though when Tico came out with his tambourines, and nobody put the big box up on stage, I knew we weren’t getting Something For The Pain, which is too bad.
When the guys went back to the main stage, the world became cracked, and they sang When We Were Beautiful. This is second of the three songs from the Circle that was performed last night, and we didn’t get the whole Me Generation speech, which made it far more enjoyable.
I will admit to sitting down for Work for the Working Man (third and final Circle song). I just hate this song. It’s a must-skip on the iPod, and the propaganda graphics irritate the hell out of me. Of course, that didn’t keep me from singing along, lemming that I am. Some things, you just can’t help doing.
A nice, loud, Have a Nice Day got me back on my feet. This is a fantastic live song. Lots of energy, and of course, Richie flipping off the crowd always makes me giggle. Jon came over to our side of the stage – the first time he did that in the show, and was right in front of our section. He wasn’t moving around as much as he usually does, so we figured either his leg was bothering him somewhat, or it was feeling just good enough that he thought he’d better not over do it. It in no way detracted from the greatness of this song or the show in general.
Since I don’t’ like Who Says You Can't Go Home either, I sat for this one, too, though I did stand to take a few photos. This is one song I absolutely REFUSE to sing along to. As an ironic twist of fate, it’s one of Hathlet’s very favorite songs ever.
The bassline of Keep the Faith had me up again, and looking forward to the fireworks at the end. Alas, ‘twas not to be. What with the rain and the forecast (including heavy fog), I think they decided it wasn’t a good idea. Kid Rock has pyrotechnics, though, so they could have done the fireworks. Who knows, maybe Bob Kraft put the kibosh on that. In any event, the song was amazing, and even though Jon had to have sweat away at least five pounds under that now sopping-wet swede shirt, he gave it his ass-shaking all. There was a pole in front of us during this song, so some maneuvers had to be undertaken to see the fun on stage, but we managed.
When the lights came up to the opening chords of Always, the first song in the encore, the crowd went crazy. So did we. T, my girlfriend from Arkansas absolutely adores this song. I’m so glad she got the chance to hear it live. Jon appeared to struggle with the vocals, but when we went back and looked at the video we found, it looked more like his mic was misbehaving. The band seemed to miss a few beats too, so I’m not sure if the problems were widespread, or they were just tired ;)
The little boy in front of us – couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 – had been waiting all night for Wanted. He danced on his seat the whole time and was utterly adorable, if not in the way. But none of us had the heart to ask his mother to move him out of our way. He’s a kid enjoying a rock show (though during Kid Rock, we cringed for his poor little ears) and we were not going to mess it up for him. The anthem was beautiful, as usual, and when they were done, when the boys raised their guitars at the end of the song, I actually got tears in my eyes. The crowd went crazy at the end of the song, cheering like they hadn’t all night. Jon and Richie took a few moments to bask in the adoration, as is their right, and their smiles were genuine and heartfelt.
I Love This Town was another crowd pleaser, and everyone really got into it. This is one song that I’ll admit I’m tired of, but is far better live than on the record.
When Livin' on a Prayer started, I was shocked to see people start to leave, to ostensibly try beat the traffic home. Come on people! Prayer! The Karaoke song of the century! Everyone, even people who don’t like Bon Jovi (all six of them) know this song. How can you leave during it?
But they did, which left more room for us to sing and dance, and when it was over, and the band came to take their bows, we were all a bit saddened to see the evening over, but jazzed at such a good performance.
Over the weekend, I was asked if the show was good, if it was all I’d hoped for. I answered honestly that it was a solid show, and what I’d expected, but not what I’d hoped for. Toronto got some fabulous songs (*coughDAMNEDcough*) and I was hoping that would set the tone of the Gillette show. But we got two fantastic ballads in Bed of Roses and Always, and the band was in a great mood so there were lots of smiles. Jon’s leg was feeling good, or at least good enough, and he led us through one hell of a good show. We could tell he was babying it a little, though; anyone who’s seen the Jovi Machine perform live knows how active and mobile Jon is. He was a lot more stationary this show (which made for fantastic pictures) but it did not detract at all from the evening.
Our encore was supposed to be only two songs (as per the printed setlist).
However, after the “main set” was complete, we think Jon saw that he was going to have more time before the 11:45 curfew than he originally suspected, so we got the four-song encore. Mission Hill and Kid Rock did start earlier than anticipated, and the boys took the stage at 9:15. We were all thrown for a loop, because we were waiting for “This is our House” to signal the start of the Main Event. Thankfully, we all pee fast (TMI, I know) and were back in plenty of time for the start of the show.
Here’s a break down of the show. I wasn’t keeping track at the time, but it looks like the band is already switching gears for the Greatest Hits tour.
Only three songs from the Circle? And Superman Tonight, the “current single” was left out? For a record that Jon is so proud of, I would expect more of the songs from it to have been played. Not that I don’t like the classics, but I didn’t buy my ticket for the GH tour yet.
Overall, of the seven arcs that made up my circle tour this year, this show would rank at the bottom. It didn’t suck at all, just wasn’t as good as the others.
Sorry this went on forever. Guess I had a lot to say.
~ Hath