Monday, September 30, 2013

Bon Jovi Bueno Aires set list 26/9/13

Bon Jovi's Because We Can tour headed to Argentina... Were you at this show?

Bueno Aires, Argentina - Velez Sarsfield - September 26, 2013
  1. That's What the Water Made Me
  2. You Give Love a Bad Name
  3. Raise Your Hands
  4. Runaway
  5. Lost Highway
  6. Whole Lot of Leavin'
  7. It's My Life
  8. Because We Can
  9. What About Now
  10. We Got It Going On
  11. Keep the Faith
  12. (You Want To) Make a Memory
  13. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
  14. We Weren't Born to Follow
  15. Who Says You Can't Go Home
  16. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
    / Start Me Up - Rolling Stones cover
  17. Bad Medicine

  18. Encore:
  19. In These Arms
  20. Born to Be My Baby
  21. Wanted Dead or Alive
  22. Have a Nice Day
  23. Livin' on a Prayer
  24. I'll Be There For You

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Bon Jovi Santiago set list 24/9/13

Looks like Bon Jovi is going to play it very safe during the South American leg, which I guess is not surprising given much of the tour has been that way and now only half the band is on stage...

Were you at this show?

Santiago, Chile - Estadio Monumental - September 24, 2013
  1. That's What the Water Made Me
  2. You Give Love a Bad Name
  3. Raise Your Hands
  4. Runaway
  5. Lost Highway
  6. Whole Lot of Leavin'
  7. It's My Life
  8. Because We Can
  9. What About Now
  10. We Got It Going On
  11. Keep the Faith
  12. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
  13. We Weren't Born to Follow
  14. Who Says You Can't Go Home
  15. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
  16. Bad Medicine

  17. Encore:
  18. In These Arms
  19. Born to Be My Baby
  20. Wanted Dead or Alive
  21. Have a Nice Day
  22. Livin' on a Prayer
  23. Always

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Bon Jovi Sao Paulo set list 22/9/13

Bon Jovi headed to Sao Paulo for their second show minus Tico Torres. If you experience deja vu while reading the set list, that's probably because it's exactly the same as the set for Rock in Rio, except that Always was replaced with Pretty Woman and Born to Be My Baby.

Were you at the show?

Sao Paulo, Brazil - Morumbi Stadium - September 22, 2013
  1. That's What the Water Made Me
  2. You Give Love a Bad Name
  3. Raise Your Hands
  4. Runaway
  5. Lost Highway
  6. Whole Lot of Leavin'
  7. It's My Life
  8. Because We Can
  9. What About Now
  10. We Got It Going On
  11. Keep the Faith
  12. (You Want To) Make a Memory
  13. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
  14. We Weren't Born to Follow
  15. Who Says You Can't Go Home
  16. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
    / Start Me Up - Rolling Stones cover
  17. Bad Medicine
    / Shout! - Isley Brothers cover

  18. Encore:
  19. Wanted Dead or Alive
  20. Have a Nice Day
  21. Livin' on a Prayer
  22. Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison cover
  23. Born to Be My Baby

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Tico Torres back in hospital + Bon Jovi Rock in Rio set list 20/9/13

After an emergency appendectomy last week, Tico Torres was again rushed to hospital and will now undergo gall bladder surgery. This statement was issued on the Bon Jovi website:
Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres was rushed to the hospital for a second time with severe pain in his abdomen and will undergo gall bladder surgery. This follows an emergency appendectomy last week. He is expected to return to the stage and the Bon Jovi tour in the very near future.

“Tico Torres has been the heart and soul of our band since we started 30 years ago,” said Jon Bon Jovi. “He’s also one tough SOB and we look forward to him again pounding away brilliantly at the drums on remainder of this and future tours.”

Bon Jovi begins the current leg of their Because We Can tour at “Rock in Rio” in Rio De Janeiro on September 20th. New Jersey native Rich Scannella will fill in for Torres until his doctors clear him to play.

Message From Tico

Hello All,

I would like to say a quick Thank You to all of you who have kept me in your thoughts thus far. There is nothing that can prepare one for a medical emergency but I have been taken especially good care of and would again like to thank all my doctors and health care professionals.

I am very disappointed not to be able to perform but our friend Rich Scannella will stand in for me. You are in good hands.

I will be there in spirit and back on stage in soon

Enjoy the show. #RockinRio

-Tico Torres



Meanwhile, Bon Jovi's tour resumed at the Rock in Rio festival with Rich Scannella on drums and Phil X continuing in lieu of Richie Sambora, leaving only two official members of Bon Jovi on stage -- David Bryan and Jon (though anyone who knows me knows I think Hugh McDonald deserves to be a proper member by now). The set list was as follows:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Rock in Rio - September 20, 2013
  1. That's What the Water Made Me
  2. You Give Love a Bad Name
  3. Raise Your Hands
  4. Runaway
  5. Lost Highway
  6. Whole Lot of Leavin'
  7. It's My Life
  8. Because We Can
  9. What About Now
  10. We Got It Going On
  11. Keep the Faith
  12. (You Want To) Make a Memory
  13. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
  14. We Weren't Born to Follow
  15. Who Says You Can't Go Home
  16. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
    / Start Me Up - Rolling Stones cover
  17. Bad Medicine
    / Shout! - Isley Brothers cover
  18. Encore:
  19. Wanted Dead or Alive
  20. Have a Nice Day
  21. Livin' on a Prayer
  22. Always

I'm currently out of town and missed the live stream, but much of the feedback I've heard on Bon Jovi hasn't been great. Did you watch it, or were you at the show? What did you think?

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Hugh McDonald reflects on his musical career

Bon Jovi bass player Hugh McDonald spoke to The Park Record about his career. It's not often you get to hear from Huey, but this was a nice read:
Hugh McDonald fully supported his stepson Jake Johnson's desire to sell some CDs to raise money for the Rockport fire victims last month.

McDonald hosted a party at his home in Hoytsville where Johnson's band played and sold some CDs, raising more than $1,000. (See story entitled "Hoytsville resident Jake Johnson's world is music").

McDonald understands the need to do good things with music because he is a professional bass player who has appeared on records by Willie Nelson, Cher, Gladys Knight & the Pips, John Prine and Steve Goodman.

The bassist, whose ongoing gig is with multi-platinum-selling rock band Bon Jovi, said he was inspired to play music because of the Beatles.

"I saw them on the 'Ed Sullivan Show' because I'm that old," McDonald said with a grin during an interview in his home office in Hoytsville. "I saw them and that did it, and for me, Paul McCartney is 100 percent the reason why I play bass to this day."

Growing up in Philadelphia also helped feed McDonald's love of music.

"I don't even know if you can call music a hobby for me then, because our neighborhood kids just did it," he said. "We put bands together or played music, and everything grew from that."

McDonald would drive to New York for recording sessions and was referred from one job to the next.

Read the full article here.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Richie Sambora: Engine 19 (9/11 tribute)

On the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Richie Sambora released "Engine 19", a song he wrote with Bernie Taupin (best known for his collaborations with Elton John).

Listen to Richie Sambora - Engine 19


I've transcribed the lyrics as I heard them... Corrections welcome.

We come from the islands and boroughs
We grew up on these streets round here
Me and my brothers Pat and Danny
Been putting out fires for years

Our old man and his father before him
Rode out when the siren screamed
Now we work out of the same place together
That's Engine 19

Yeah, we're boys from New York doing our job
There's times we get hurt, there's those that we've lost
In the fire and the smoke from the roof caving in
When there's one less comes out from Engine 19

I'll admit when the summers get brutal
I see twisted steel in my dreams
And I hear the crack of old timber
and I know there's a hell that I've seen
But we go round the corner on Friday
To this little old neighbourhood bar
Drink us some beers and shoot pool
Turn in a game or play cards

We're the boys from New York doing our job
There's times we get hurt, there's those that we've lost
In the fire and the smoke from a roof caving in
When there's one less comes out from Engine 19

The boys from New York get on back up
And out of the shields in the ashes and dust
Every inch of that ladder, every man on this team
They all ride out together with Engine 19

Singing la dada dada, Engine 19

We're the boys from New York, Engine 19

Feels good to be a part of something, the chain of command
A brotherhood bound like a family, the strength of a wedding band
Every inch of that ladder, every man on this team
They all ride out together

Our old man and his father before him
Rode out when the siren screamed

We are boys from New York doing our Job
There's times we get hurt, there's those that we've lost
In the fire and the smoke from a roof caving in
When there's one less comes out from Engine 19

But boys from New York get on back up
And out of the shields in the ashes and dust
Every inch of that ladder, every man on this team
They all ride out together with Engine 19

Singing la dada dada, Engine 19
Singing la dada dada, Engine 19

We're boys from New York, Engine 19
We're the boys from New York


The storytelling is something wouldn't feel out of place with Elton John sitting at a piano -- not surprising, given the contribution of Elton's lyricist -- but my first thought upon hearing "Engine 19" was that it reminded me of Bruce Springsteen, particularly "Racing in the Street", despite the different subject matter.

Do you like the song? Is this the type of solo stuff you'd like from Richie in the future?

Bon Jovi reschedules concerts after Tico Torres surgery

Maybe Bon Jovi should have renamed this tour the Murphy's Law Tour...

The Because We Can Tour was scheduled to resume in Mexico City on September 10, but the band was forced to cancel when Tico Torres had an emergency appendectomy. New dates for this concert, as well as scheduled shows in Santiago, Chile and Bueno Aires, Argentina have been announced on BonJovi.com.

Jon Bon Jovi issued the following statement on the website:
Greetings from Mexico City.

Last night Tico Torres underwent an emergency appendectomy. Thankfully, the operation was a success and Tico is now recovering in the care of his doctors at the American British Cowdray Hospital. We’d like to thank the doctors, nurses and all the hospital staff who helped our friend through this difficult time.

We’ll remain here with Tico in Mexico City and will see him through his release. David and I spent the day with him at the hospital and Tico sends his thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. He wants everyone to know that it was his desire to perform. He even promised the doctors he would come back for the surgery right after the show but the doctors prevailed.

We know many of you make great efforts and travel from around the world to see us on tour. It remains our desire to give you the best that we have every night. We are sorry for any inconvenience this sudden change of plans may have caused. We’ll re-schedule any dates that we can and will continue the tour through December. Check BonJovi.com for tour updates.

On behalf of the band, I’d like to thank all of you who support us throughout these challenges.

See you soon. - JBJ

Phil X sent his best wishes when the concert was first postponed:


And it's been nearly impossible to get Richie Sambora to acknowledge Bon Jovi over the past five months, but he did send out a couple of tweets for Tico, too: