Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Jon Bon Jovi to duet with Glee star Lea Michele

New Year's Eve director Garry Marshall has revealed that JBJ and Glee's Lea Michele (aka "Rachel Berry") will sing together in the film:
Although it's not a musical, Lea Michele will sing in the upcoming New Year's Eve, her first big-screen movie. Director Garry Marshall told Broadway.com that the Glee star and Broadway favorite will perform at least two songs in the still-filming feature, including a big duet with co-star Jon Bon Jovi. "It's quite a number," he said.

Marshall had high praise for Michele's work on the film. “Lea is just terrific,” he said. “You know, she’s from the Bronx and so am I!” In the ensemble film, Michele plays Elise, a back-up singer for Jensen, a rock star played by actual rocker Bon Jovi.
Read the rest of the article on Broadway.com.

I know the show tends to spark some pretty strong reactions and quite a few rockers have expressed their dislike for it, but I'm a bit of Gleek and Lea is amazing so I'm interested to see what they do in the movie.

This is Lea in action on a recent episode of Glee:


I've also posted Glee's Bon Jovi covers in an earlier post.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

How Bon Jovi's David Bryan got to Broadway with MEMPHIS

There's a great article about Dave and Memphis in the Columbus Dispatch:
The road to Memphis - just announced to tour Columbus next season - was a long one for musician David Bryan.

"It took me eight years to get to Broadway, so for me it doesn’t feel like an explosion. It feels like a slow burn," Bryan said.

A founding musician with Bon Jovi who continues to tour with the gold-record group, Bryan made his Broadway debut last season as composer of the bluesy and rockin' score of the 2010 Tony winner for best musical.

So how did a guy who grew up in New Jersey, studied classical music for 15 years, played in a 10-piece band as a teenager and toured the world as a rocker wind up winning the 2010 Tony award for best score in his Broadway debut?

Check out the full story here.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Vancouver 2 set list

A pretty good set for Bon Jovi's second Vancouver show... the biggest surprise and highlight (from my perspective, anyway) being an encore that opened with Something to Believe In (one of my top five Jovi songs). I'm a sucker for anything These Days, so the fact that the title track popped up there too, makes me a very happy camper. The main set wasn't too shabby either though. ;)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Rogers Arena - March 26, 2011
Last Man Standing
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
Whole Lot Of Leavin'
It's My Life
Runaway
Raise Your Hands
We Got it Going On
Bad Medicine / Hot Legs [Rod Stewart cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want To) Make A Memory
Living In Sin / Chapel Of Love [Dixie Cups cover]
Squeeze Box [The Who cover/acoustic]
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Captain Crash And The Beauty Queen from Mars
Work For The Working Man
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

Encore:
Something To Believe In
Wanted Dead Or Alive
These Days
Livin' On A Prayer

Videos and more on the Circle Tour Blog in due course.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Songs For Japan

The Songs For Japan compilation album to raise money for the earthquake/tsunami relief effort is now available on iTunes. Prices vary depending on what country you're in. The full track list is:
  1. Imagine [remastered] - John Lennon
  2. Walk On [radio edit] - U2
  3. Shelter from the Storm - Bob Dylan
  4. Around the World [live] - Red Hot Chili Peppers
  5. Born This Way [Starsmith remix] - Lady GaGa
  6. Irreplaceable - Beyoncé
  7. Talking to the Moon [acoustic piano version] - Bruno Mars
  8. Firework - Katy Perry
  9. Only Girl (In the World) - Rihanna
  10. Like I Love You - Justin Timberlake
  11. Miles Away [live] - Madonna
  12. When Love Takes Over - David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland
  13. Love the Way You Lie [clean version] - Rihanna & Eminem
  14. Human Touch - Bruce Springsteen
  15. Awake [live] - Josh Groban
  16. Better Life - Keith Urban
  17. One Tribe - The Black Eyed Peas
  18. Sober - P!nk
  19. It's OK - Cee Lo Green
  20. I Run to You - Lady Antebellum
  21. What Do You Got? - Bon Jovi
  22. My Hero - Foo Fighters
  23. Man on the Moon [live] - R.E.M.
  24. Save Me [clean version] - Nicki Minaj
  25. By Your Side - Sade
  26. Hold On [radio edit] - Michael Bublé
  27. Pray [acoustic] - Justin Bieber
  28. Make You Feel My Love - Adele
  29. If I Could Be Where You Are - Enya
  30. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John

Vancouver 1 set list

Bon Jovi played Lost Highway in its entirety in Canada in 2007... and I'm reminded of the promise of full album nights at the start of The Circle Tour which never eventuated. But Vancouver did get at least get the awesome Love's the Only Rule from The Circle, and an even bigger surprise/shock with underrated Crush track Mystery Train.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Rogers Arena - March 25, 2011
Blood On Blood
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got it Going On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Bed Of Roses
I'll Be There For You
Mystery Train [acoustic]
Love For Sale
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
Blaze Of Glory
Love's The Only Rule
Keep The Faith

Encore #1:
Have A Nice Day
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Livin' On A Prayer

Encore #2:
Always

Videos and more on the Circle Tour Blog in due course.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

JBJ makes a dream come true, sends a message to Japan

For all the bashing (sometimes justified, sometimes over the top) that Jon Bon Jovi gets, the man is not devoid of a heart. The feelgood story to come out of Bon Jovi's Salt Lake City show was the fact that Justin Mitton, an Idaho fan with Down's syndrome, finally got to meet his idol after a campaign by his family. Read the article here.

Jon has also recorded a message of support for the band's Nihon no tomodachi, or Japanese friends, in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. You can watch the video on Bon Jovi's Facebook page. Bon Jovi will also be one of the artists donating a track for a Japan disaster relief album.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Salt Lake City set list

Bon Jovi hit Salt Lake City for the first time since the Bounce tour.

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA - EnergySolutions Arena - March 22, 2011
Blood On Blood
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
Whole Lot Of Leavin'
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
What Do You Got?
I'll Be There For You
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Blaze Of Glory
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

ENCORE:
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Love This Town
Livin' On A Prayer

Check Hath & Co's Circle Tour blog for videos and other related links.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Las Vegas set list

Bon Jovi headed to Vegas. Better set than I was expecting, to be honest. :) One of my friends was there and met Obie O'Brien.

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - MGM Grand Garden Arena - March 19, 2011
Livin' On A Prayer
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Blaze Of Glory
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Hot Legs [Rod Stewart cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want To) Make A Memory
Bed Of Roses
I'll Be There For You
Love For Sale
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
Blood On Blood
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

ENCORE:
Dry County
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Love This Town
In These Arms

Saturday, March 19, 2011

More from Lefsetz + Memphis hits the big screen

I've posted a few things from the Lefsetz Letter on this blog in the past, most recently the Jon Bon Jovi vs Steve Jobs hoo-hah. Actually, when Lefsetz writes about Bon Jovi it's pretty much always about one of two things:
  1. They're old school and need to get with the social media program; or
  2. They're greedy and rip fans off.
I've expressed similar sentiments about my boys (on both counts) in the past, though I did think the abuse that raged all over the blogosphere after Jon's Apple Attack was a bit over the top. I haven't even seen the original article that started everything, and given it's sitting behind a pay wall, I suspect I'm not the only one who hasn't. But anyway, Lefsetz is writing about Bon Jovi again, and it's centred on a familiar theme:
You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

And it appears Bon Jovi is the former.

As he laments the passing of vinyl records and cover art, he’s overcharging and overtouring to the point where tickets have to be sold at a discount. This is good for business how?

And the reason I’m picking on Bon Jovi is he’s number one, the biggest touring act. And we depend on our leaders to lead, not to undermine the business.
Full post at this link.

In brighter news, David Bryan and Joe DiPietro's Tony-award winning hit Memphis will be screened exclusively at selected cinemas in the US:
The musical will show on 530 screens nationwide during an exclusive run on April 28 & 30 and May 3 at 7:30PM, and a special matinee on May 1 at 12:30PM.

As previously announced, the original Broadway cast of Memphis was captured live in performance from January 18 to January 21 at the Shubert Theatre, using multiple high definition cameras and 96 tracks of sound recording for this special Fathom event presentation.
For more info, visit Fathom Events. And check out the teaser trailer (yes, Dave is in it :P ).

Friday, March 18, 2011

San Antonio set list

It was a short set for Bon Jovi's first show in San Antonio in 22 years, but very nice to see Thorn In My Side get a run here.

San Antonio, Texas, USA - AT&T Center - March 17, 2010
Lost Highway
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Thorn In My Side
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want To) Make A Memory
What Do You Got
I'll Be There For You
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Work For The Working Man
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

ENCORE:
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Livin On A Prayer

Videos and other media links on Hath & Co's Circle Tour blog in due course.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

In defence of JBJ (Bon Jovi vs Apple continued)

When Jon Bon Jovi reportedly apportioned blame for the music industry's death to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Bob Lefsetz was just one high profile member in a mass of cool, net-savvy iFans to ridicule him. Not that "cool" people have ever needed a reason to bag Bon Jovi, but I'm sure they appreciated the ammunition nonetheless.

However, Moses Avalon, author of Confessions of a Record Producer has taken a different stance:
Now, what did Bon Jovi say that was so terrible? Well, he spoke the truth for one thing. iTunes has helped devalue the business model that made music an industry. It may not have started the fire, but it poured gasoline on it in gallons.

Let’s look at some iFacts:

1) iTunes has not, as some have suggested “saved the record business.” iTunes has made up less than 10% of sales over the years since launch.

2) Nor did Steve Jobs “invent” a way for artists to get paid from the internet, (I think Al Gore did that.)

3) Finally, I believe it was Lawrence Lessig or some fool like him who promised—“If you give people a legal way to buy music they won’t steel it.” Remember that one? Not true: P2P file sharing did not decrease since iTunes went on-line — it actually increased.

What iTunes did that sucks most for music is it destabilized the “album model.” Yeah, yeah, I know, many of you think that that is good for the consumer, but it’s really not in the long run. Not if you’re a true music fan.
Read the full blog post here. He is a bit condescending at times (not unlike our friend Lefsetz), and he trashed Larry Lessig, whom I happen to have a lot of respect for... but amidst the flood of "Jon Nob Jovi [sic] is inherently evil" posts, it's kind of nice to have a peak at the other side of the coin too. ;)

Livin' on a Prayer opening Chicago

In a rare move, Bon Jovi opened with "Livin' on a Prayer" at their second Chicago concert on March 9, 2011. Here's the Greatest Hits intro video, followed by the performance.

Dry County, sound issues, and JBJ playing Dad in New York City (MSG 3)

Yes, I know I'm two weeks late for videos from Bon Jovi's Madison Square Garden show on March 5, 2011... What can I say? Love alone doesn't pay the bills. ;) I wasn't originally going to post vids from this show because while the set list was still good, it's not like they played something I haven't already showcased on this tour.

But I decided it was worth posting a couple of videos of this incredible "Dry County" from that night. Might well be one of the best versions they've done in recent years; everyone sounds great.



There were also technical issues at this show with the PA system dying as it had in Boston. Jon took the band off stage once he realised no one could hear anything.


And this is "Who Says You Can't Go Home" immediately after they returned to the stage. One of the very few times I will post a video of this song on Blame It On The Love, because I know how passionately many of you hate it. :P


The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" is a cool song , but the real reason I posted this here was because of Jon's comment: "I gotta keep Jakey entertained over there so he don't play his DS game!" I guess when your father's just always been a rock star, it's not terribly exciting anymore. ;)

James Durbin performs I'll Be There For You

Here's American Idol contestant James Durbin performing "I'll Be There For You" (after the customary intro package and workshop footage). The theme was songs from the year you were born.

Haven't been following this series, but I do like that he didn't do a straight karaoke copy, and that he went for the big scream at the end. There's some discussion going on about whether Steven Tyler's "You made Desmond Child proud with that" comment was meant as a deliberate dig at Bon Jovi... especially given Desmond was never credited as a writer on the song.

Anyway what do you think of James' performance?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Bon Jovi vs Apple

"Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."

That's the quote that's been attributed to Jon Bon Jovi overnight in the UK's Sunday Times as he lamented the fact that kids will grow up never enjoying the "experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it."

Since then, Jon's infamous dinosaur quote has popped up everywhere and influential music industry writer Bob Lefsetz was quick to pounce:
Bon Jovi On Jobs.

That's Steve Jobs. Responsible for the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

Not responsible for broadband, Napster, CD burning, hard-drive swapping and the rest of the elements that contributed to the demise of the old recording industry. As a matter of fact, Jobs was last. Macs came without CD burners. And Rio released the first MP3 player. All Steve Jobs did was make the experience easier and more elegant. And provided a way for the rights holders to get paid via the iTunes Store. Yes, before then, music online was FREE! There was nowhere to pay.

But you know all this.

It's only Jon Bongiovi who does not.

That's what happens when you surround yourself with yes-men, you lose contact with reality. You start to believe you're a grand pooh-bah with all the answers when really you're an uneducated nitwit with too much money and fans lost in the same old century you are.

Too bad Bon Jovi is not informed. If he were, he could make a difference. Instead, he's revealed himself to be in bed with Doug Morris and the rest of the music industry antiques who just don't get it.

I'm not saying an act has to know everything. But if it knows nothing, it shouldn't open its mouth.

Bon Jovi is old school. New school acts are Net-savvy. They have to be, that's where their fans are. You reach people online, you cement the relationship with them via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail... It's much more efficient than the old way. You know who your fans are. And they'll give you all their money if you treat them right.

But like the RIAA before him, Jon Bongiovi wants to place blame. Wants to find a scapegoat for the end of an era. As if overpriced CDs could go on forever.

Yes, in case you missed it, in yesterday's "Times", the English version, Jon Bongiovi said:

"Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."

Funny how when Bongiovi finally decides to say something negative he gets it wrong.

In an era where electric cars are not only imminent, but available, when modern communications allow you to speak to friends across the world for free, Jon Bongiovi is lamenting the fact that we all don't buy vinyl records and get spoon-fed by radio.

The landscape might be murky now. But we're going to a better place. Where bland, written by committee confections like Bon Jovi's work will be the exception instead of the rule.

With one dumb statement Bon Jovi has become a laughingstock. This quote is all over the Web. My inbox is filling up.

What did they used to say in the sixties? You're either with us or against us?

Turns out Bongiovi is against us. He doesn't want more music for more people at a cheaper price, which the Internet affords, he just wants to maintain his private plane lifestyle.

He's what's wrong with America today. Ignorance.

You find it rampant amongst adults.

But not with kids. They read the news all day long online. They know which way the wind blows. They know Steve Jobs is a hero, not a zero.

Kids don't go to see Bon Jovi.

They're into something new. Or something old of value, true classic rock.

It's not Steve Jobs who killed the music business, it's the audience. An audience that had been ripped off for years, sold overpriced junk, who used new technologies to get what they wanted for free. If anything, as stated above, Mr. Jobs should be lauded for establishing a way for rights holders to get paid!

Some day in the future, Bongiovi and Jobs are going to die.

And who do you think will be remembered?

The guy with the feathered hairdo from New Jersey or the college dropout who revolutionized society by providing tools?

That's all Steve Jobs did, provide tools. Now people can use computers to create music, they don't need a rich uncle with a recording studio. Tunecore makes labels unnecessary.

If you don't think we're in a better place now than in the heyday of Bon Jovi then I sentence you to twenty four hours straight of "New Jersey". Hopefully, after that, you'll see the light.

The truth is slippery.

But the key is to keep trying to unearth it, to not be afraid of the future but to embrace it.

Bongiovi is living in a vacuum. And if he keeps coming out with heinous comments like this, his career will be living on a prayer.
To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical as to whether Jon even said this (or at least said it in quite the way it's been portrayed), given the age of his children and his apparent acceptance (if not complete understanding) of the changing music business landscape in the past. Hell, Richie Sambora uses iTunes, even though he's a vinyl boy. And the music business "died" way before iTunes, when it tried to kill Napster and sue music fans instead of recognising the fact that people wanted a cheap, convenient way to obtain music and giving them a place to do it legally.

But there's no doubting Jon's nostalgic for those "magical" days, and while I didn't grow up in the era of vinyl, I do still like buying CDs and studying the album sleeve, so I can relate to that. Having said that, I'm in my early 20s and practically grew up on the Internet. And if Bon Jovi wants to be genuinely relevant going forward, they'll need to embrace social media and the digital revolution much more than they currently do. Staying relevant involves making good music that connects with people and making sure they can access it easily, not churning out watered-down pop tunes and using outdated (or non-existent) marketing strategies.

Getting the crew to tweet a link every few days or post a video every time you hit a milestone for Facebook likes may be enough for existing fans, but does nothing to bring in new ones. That said, compared to where they were a couple of years ago, they're virtually acing the new media class.

On a somewhat related note, Bon Jovi the band is now 28 years old, having formed on March 14, 1983. They celebrated by hitting 10 million Facebook fans and inviting fans to join the celebration.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Videos from Uncasville: A Day for Diehards

First up, I'd like to apologise for being late with these; blame it on a combination of work and, in the last couple of days, being unable to login to the Blogger dashboard from my usual browser. I'm typing this from IE right now, which is not something I like to do by choice. :P

Anyway, I promised a video showcase and it's time to deliver. I'm glad there's this break in the tour at the moment or I'd be even further behind. ;) Without further ado, here's a bunch of videos from Bon Jovi's amazing set in Uncasville on March 4, 2010.

The Radio Saved My Life Tonight

Surprising choice for opener, but I dig the song.

Thorn In My Side

The twin solo at the end just takes the song to another level every time. Sure, I'm biased because I loved The Circle from the start, but it's the live performances of "Thorn", along with "Love's the Only Rule", that convinced me that Jon gave up on the album way too easily.

Wild in the Streets


Some people were just about bursting blood vessels over the decision to let Bobby Bandiera take the solo on this. Thoughts?

I Got The Girl

This song is roundly hated but I don't mind it... Crush isn't a favourite album of mine, but when I think about it, there are really only two songs on it that I particularly dislike and this isn't one of them. I enjoyed the little jam at the end too.

In These Arms (David Bryan vox)

I ALWAYS love hearing Dave sing.

Superman Tonight (acoustic)

I absolutely adore the unplugged version of this. The touch of violin from special guest Lorenza Ponce worked nicely here.

Living in Sin

Ah, the forgotten New Jersey hit (it was one of five top 10 hits from that album, and the only one that didn't make the recent Greatest Hits).

Hey God

This was my favourite song at one point. It's now slipped down the list a bit but it's still comfortably in my top 10, so it's always great to see this pop up in a set.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Chicago 2 set list

No mindblowing inclusions, but there were a few tweaks for Bon Jovi's second night in Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois, USA - United Center - March 9, 2011
Livin' on a Prayer
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
Blaze of Glory
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Hot Legs [Rod Stewart cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Bed of Roses
Diamond Ring
I'll Be There For You
Love For Sale
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Work For The Working Man
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

ENCORE:
Dry County
Wanted
In These Arms
Always

Videos on the Circle Tour blog in due course.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Chicago 1 set list

Bit ordinary for Bon Jovi in Chicago, but there is a second show tomorrow night.

Chicago, Illinois, USA - United Center - March 8, 2011
Blood on Blood
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want To) Make a Memory
What Do You Got?
I'll Be There For You
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
No Apologies
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Wanted Dead or Alive
I Love This Town
Livin' on a Prayer

Check out Hath & Co's Circle Tour blog in due course for videos. I, of course, owe you some video showcases for previous shows, which I'll put up when I have a break today or tomorrow.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

New York City (MSG) 3 set list

Unlike the night before in Uncasville, I don't think there was anything entirely unpredictable in Bon Jovi's return to MSG. That said, it was still a solid set; it'd be a pipe dream to get half this stuff in Perth, for instance. But apparently technical issues, a la Boston during "Love for Sale" and "Saturday Night" saw Jon angrily lead the band off stage before "Who Says". There was also reportedly no proper encore break (where the whole band left and returned) due to the forced break earlier the set.

If you were at this show, I'm keen to hear your thoughts on it.

New York City, New York, USA - Madison Square Garden - March 5, 2011
Raise Your Hands
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Bed Of Roses
Diamond Ring
I'll Be There For You
Love For Sale
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
Work For The Working Man
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

ENCORE:
Dry County
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Love This Town
Livin' On A Prayer
In These Arms
Always

Video links on Hath & Co's Circle Tour blog in due course.

(PS - Linn: Sorry you didn't get "Just Older"... hopefully next time.)

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Uncasville set list

Holy frick. I'm floored. I don't know what was in the Uncasville water and I'm still not 100% certain this is not some kind of elaborate hoax, but let me say I was NOT expecting this from Bon Jovi. Behold...

Uncasville, Connecticut, USA - Mohegan Sun Arena - March 4, 2010
The Radio Saved My Life Tonight
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Whole Lot of Leavin' [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Thorn In My Side
Wild in the Streets
I Got The Girl
The More Things Change
Summertime [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Blaze of Glory
In These Arms [David Bryan on lead vocals]
Superman Tonight [acoustic, feat. Lorenza Ponce]
Living in Sin
Who Says You Can't Go Home [feat. Lorenza Ponce]
You Give Love a Bad Name
It's My Life
Wanted Dead or Alive [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Bad Medicine
Livin' on a Prayer

ENCORE:
Hey God
Raise Your Hands

The bar has sure been raised for the return to Madison Square Garden. Hath & Co will have all the videos up on the Circle Tour blog in due course.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Richie Cam: Bad Medicine / Hot Legs

Not the best sound, but this is a pretty entertaining Sambora-centric video from Bon Jovi's Philadelphia concert on Jon's birthday. Richie's usually fun to watch and much to the dual delight and envy of many women in that audience, even gets a kiss from Jon. ;)



Oh, and I love Huey McDonald's skull and roses shirt... Who says bassists have no style? ;)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Amazing Lay Your Hands on Me + Working Man audio troubles

This is "Lay Your Hands on Me" from Bon Jovi's Boston show (March 1, 2011).

Jon starts off the song, before handing over to Richie Sambora. During the song, he and David Bryan add a cool little instrumental/jam session. I'm a fan of letting the Jon-less song showcase the talents of the band, and it breathes new life into the song. I think they performed it like this in Washington, DC too; hopefully it's a regular thing now.

Another thing that happened in Boston was the speakers blowing out during "Work for the Working Man". It takes Jon half the song to realise it, but doesn't seem to ruin his mood. Here are a couple of videos.

This one depicts the actual moment the sound cuts off:


And here is the moment of realisation, and ensuing reaction:

Philadelphia set list

A pretty long set for Philly in Jon Bon Jovi's birthday show. Nice to see stuff like "Just Older" getting a few runs... and Linn from Connecticut would dearly love to finally experience it in New York this Saturday. So make it happen, Jon/anyone from the Jovi camp who might happen to stumble on my blog this week. ;)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA - Wells Fargo Center - March 2, 2011
Just Older
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
Runaway
The More Things Change
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Hot Legs [Rod Stewart cover]
Lay Your Hands On Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
What Do You Got?
Diamond Ring
I'll Be There For You
Love For Sale
Squeeze Box (The Who cover; acoustic)
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
No Apologies
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith

ENCORE #1:
In These Arms
Wanted Dead Or Alive
I Love This Town
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Livin' On A Prayer

ENCORE #2:
Blood On Blood

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Jon's birthday wish + This Is Our House NRL promo

So, Jon Bon Jovi is "just older" today and is calling for donations to the Soul Foundation:
Our Board Chairman, Jon Bon Jovi, is celebrating his birthday on Wednesday March 2nd and we have created this Birthday Wish campaign in celebration!

All donations are welcome and go a long way in helping those in need...every little bit helps!

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation exists to combat issues that force families & individuals into economic despair. It is our goal to recognize and maximize the human potential in those affected by poverty and homelessness by offering assistance in establishing programs that provide food and affordable housing while supporting social services and job training programs. For more information, please visit our website: www.jonbonjovisoulfoundation.org

Thank you for your support!

Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation
You can also leave a birthday card message.

In other news, the new NRL campaign featuring Bon Jovi sports anthem "This Is Our House" is out. I've never been a big fan of the song (which has of course been chopped up for the minute-long ad) or Rugby League personally, but it scrubs up alright.

Boston set list

Bon Jovi kicked off March with a trip to Boston. This was an interesting set. They played some awesome stuff including "Love's the Only Rule" from the maligned The Circle, but completely overlooked the new songs from the Greatest Hits. Oh, and in bad news, it looks like Jon's entered another "I Love This Town" phase. :P

Boston, Massachusetts, USA - TD Garden - March 1, 2011
Last Man Standing
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
Love's the Only Rule
Work for the Working Man
It's My Life
Runaway
Just Older
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
I'll Be There For You
Bed of Roses
Who Says You Can't Go Home
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Dry County
Wanted Dead or Alive
I Love This Town
Livin' on a Prayer

Videos and such on Hath & Co's Circle Tour blog in due course.

MSG, New York videos, JBJ's birthday

Bon Jovi... live from Madison Square Garden. I should really be in bed now, so instead of rambling on, I'll just let the videos do the talking. Most of them are from the second show (February 25) but "The More Things Change" is from February 24.

Dry County


Bed of Roses


Love for Sale


These Days


And because it's ticked over into March 2 where I'm from, meaning it's officially Jon Bon Jovi's 49th birthday...

The More Things Change


Just Older


Happy birthday, Jon! ;)