Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my regular and casual readers (or Happy Holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas). Here's a video of Bon Jovi performing "Run, Run Rudolph" in Sydney on December 18 (their only Christmas song for 2010).


Hope everyone has a safe holiday season, wherever you are. It's not just about amassing material wealth or getting drunk this time of year. Be sure to take a moment to remember what's most important. :)

And because I've somehow managed to not showcase this song for Blame It On The Love's previous two Christmases, here is "R2-D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas"... John Bongiovi's first professional recording at the tender age of 17.

Monday, December 20, 2010

More Sydney 3rd night videos

Here are some more cool videos from Bon Jovi's third Sydney show (December 19, 2010) and the final show of 2010.

Raise Your Hands - A high-energy opener that set the pace for the rest of the show.


I Believe - The first of several shocks of the night. Maybe it's my Oz bias, but Jon sounds much better than he did the last time they performed this, London/Twickenham 2008.


Something to Believe In - Jon made a better fist of the screaming "somethiiiiiiing" than I thought he ever could again. Incredible performance.


These Days
- An unexpectedly awesome way to end the show and a passionate performance.


My other Sydney video posts:
  1. Reclaiming The Circle in Sydney
  2. Unplugged gems in Sydney
  3. More Sydney 2nd night videos

Visit Hath's Circle Tour blog for more goodies... not just from Sydney, but the entire tour (so far).

More Sydney 2nd night videos

Here are some more videos from Bon Jovi's second Sydney show (December 18, 2010).

Last Man Standing
- I'm not 100% sold on this as an opener, but I do like the song so I'm glad they brought it back on this tour.


Just Older + I'd Die For You - I've always wondered why "Just Older" wasn't a single. It's nice to get a Slippery When Wet album track too.


Homebound Train - This is a perfect Richie Sambora song, both vocally and... guitarily (yes, I just coined a word). Suits him much better than "Lay Your Hands on Me".


Lay Your Hands on Me - Jon on lead vocals, the way it was supposed to be. ;)


Wanted Dead or Alive - I don't showcase "Wanted" on the blog too often, since it's played at every show anyway, but this was basically a duet between the crowd and Richie. A few people have mentioned that David Bryan looks annoyed about Richie getting to sing the second verse. I don't think I'd read too much into his expression though.


In These Arms
- If there was one "major" criticism about the three-night stand in Sydney, it would be that neither of the big ballads "Always" and "Bed of Roses" were played. They did at least get "In These Arms" though.

Videos: Unplugged gems in Sydney

Part two of the bumper Sydney videos showcase features songs from the acoustic section of the shows.

Make a Memory (Night #1: December 17, 2010)


Living in Sin / Chapel of Love (Night #2: December 18, 2010) - My favourite New Jersey song, even sans screams. But I'd like to see them use "Diamond Ring" for the outtro. I first suggested this back in 2008 and it's never happened, but you never know, one day Jon might read my pleas and give a damn. :P


Never Say Goodbye (Night #2: December 18, 2010)


Hallelujah (Night #3: December 19, 2010) - An special moment for Sydney in the summer rain.


What Do You Got (partial) + Squeeze Box (Night #3: December 19, 2010)


Part one is at this link, with plenty more videos to come. Remember, you can also check out Hath's Circle Tour blog to stay up to date with vids.

Videos: Reclaiming The Circle in Sydney

As you may have already heard/read, Bon Jovi's three-night stand in Sydney was out of this world from a diehard's perspective, especially the second and third nights. I've been falling over myself trying to figure out what to showcase and how to split the posts up. And given Bon Jovi finally realised that this is The Circle tour, I thought some songs from that album that haven't been played that often might be a good place to start.

Happy Now (Night #3: December 19, 2010)- One of the best songs from The Circle (IMHO of course). I loved it when they used to open shows with this but I think it still works later in the set.


Thorn In My Side (Night #3: December 19, 2010) - Not one of my favourites on the album, but I've always liked it live, especially the twin jam session between JBJ and Richie Sambora at the end... although you can tell which one is the truly comfortable guitarist, haha.


Love's the Only Rule (Night #2: December 18, 2010) - Of all The Circle tracks, this is the one that "grows" the most live. Should have been a single.


I'd Die For You (partial) + Superman Tonight (Night #2: December 18, 2010) - I still think "Superman" could have done better with smarter promotion, but I guess it's a dead horse now.


More videos to come. Also check out Hath's Circle Tour blog for vids.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Sydney 3 set list

After pulling out so many surprises last night, I was afraid that Bon Jovi was going to end the year with a fizzer instead of a bang. Looks like I was wrong. Among many other things, my mate Anthony, who'd made the trip from Perth to Sydney, got his wish of "I Believe" (which made its tour debut). "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (which I've said numerous times didn't chart in Australia) was NOT played... I think for the first time since it was released? Unfortunately it was replaced with "I Love This Town", a song I was hoping would be retired, but they played a lot of favourites so I can't complain too much.

Why can't every show be like Christmas? ;)

Sydney, Australia - Sydney Football Stadium - December 19, 2010
Raise Your Hands
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
I Believe
Thorn In My Side
Blaze of Glory
It's My Life
No Apologies
We Got It Goin' On
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
Bad Medicine / Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Hallelujah [Leonard Cohen cover]
What Do You Got?
Squeeze Box [The Who cover; acoustic]
Love for Sale
Happy Now
Something to Believe In
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
I Love This Town
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Dry County
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
These Days

Hath's Circle Tour blog will have all the videos and media links, but there'll be plenty of Sydney videos right here, too. I was originally going to do one massive video post covering all three shows, but I think I may have to split them up now. ;)

Sydney 2 set list

Bon Jovi's second of three shows in Sydney and all I can say is... HOLY CRAP. If you're a diehard, this was the show to be at. Jon apparently took requests during the fan club Q&A session before the show, and my jaw is still on the floor hours later. Who was at the concert?

Hopefully the final Sydney show (also the last show of 2010 and the final concert under "The Circle Tour" name) will be great too. I'm kind of hoping for "Happy Now" as an opener again.

Sydney, Australia - Sydney Football Stadium - December 18, 2010
Last Man Standing
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
Just Older
I'd Die For You
Superman Tonight
It's My Life
No Apologies
We Got It Goin' On
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Rockin' All Over the World [John Fogerty cover]
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Homebound Train [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Living in Sin / Chapel of Love [The Dixie Cups cover]
Never Say Goodbye [acoustic]
Love For Sale
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
Lay Your Hands on Me
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
When We Were Beautiful
Wanted Dead or Alive [Richie Sambora on lead vocals for 2nd verse]
Livin' on a Prayer
Run Run Rudolph
In These Arms
Love's the Only Rule

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos and links, but I assure you I'll be showcasing as much from this show as I can. Fingers crossed that there were some great diehard fan YouTubers at the gig. ;)

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sydney 1 set list

Bon Jovi played the first of three nights in Sydney tonight. Not a mindblowing set per se, but some nice inclusions, especially "These Days". Who was at the show?

Sydney, Australia - Sydney Football Stadium - December 17, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
In These Arms
It's My Life
No Apologies
We Got It Goin' On
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
Bad Medicine / Old Time Rock 'n' Roll [Bob Seger cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want to) Make a Memory
I'll Be There For You
Something for the Pain [acoustic]
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
Work for the Working Man
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
These Days
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos and other related links as they come.

Bon Jovi also played a VIP concert at Star City Casino the night before. Jon even sported a South Sydney Rabbitohs (Russell Crowe's NRL team) jersey. Here is reportedly what they played:

Not Fade Away [Buddy Holly cover]
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Wanted Dead or Alive
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Livin' on a Prayer
Bad Medicine / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]

Thursday, December 16, 2010

No Bon Jovi in Rock Hall, White House council, Aussie VIP gig

Bon Jovi will not be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, which should come as a surprise to absolutely no one who's a realist. ;)
The votes are in and next year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class will include Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Darlene Love and Dr. John. Leon Russell will be receive The Award For Musical Excellence (formerly the sideman category) and industry legends Jac Holzman and Art Rupe will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The ceremony will be held March 14 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel and it will be broadcast live on Fuse.
Read the full article here.

Truth is, Bon Jovi most likely won't get into the Rock Hall anytime soon. Not to mention Dave Marsh is on the committee, and he hates Jon so I'm sure he'll be doing all he can until his final breath to stop our boys getting inducted. Diamond, Cooper and Waits have been eligible for much longer anyway (and until this year, I had thought Waits was already in there).

Meanwhile, Jon mentioned this in interviews he's done in Australia, but he has been appointed to President Obama's White House Council on Community Solutions:
President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Council for Community Solutions. The Council will provide advice to the President on the best ways to mobilize citizens, nonprofits, businesses and government to work more effectively together to solve specific community needs.

But obviously Jon can't be at the White House right now because he's in Australia. ;) The band performed as part of a VIP concert at Star City's Lyric Theater for Oprah's touring party, and just released a photo of Jon with Russell Crowe via Facebook and Twitter.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Brisbane set list

A pretty busy day for Bon Jovi today, with the boys down in Sydney for the Oprah taping before travelling back up to Brisbane for this show (although the flight is only about an hour and a half). It was Bon Jovi's first gig in Brizzy since 2002's Rumba festival, and the first proper concert there since 1995.

The PBP was incomplete, so thanks to Despina76 for the setlist. She also heard that Richie had a problem with his guitar at the beginning of "Wanted"... Is there anyone who attended the show who can shed some light on that?

Brisbane, Australia - Suncorp Stadium - December 14, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
No Apologies
We Got It Goin' On
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Bad Medicine
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
What Do You Got?
Diamond Ring
I'll Be There For You
Work for the Working Man
Runaway
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
In These Arms
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos and media links in due course.

Oprah and "going indie"

Bon Jovi's in Australia. Oprah Winfrey's in Australia. I'm personally more interested in the former, but there's no doubt the Land Down Under has been touched by the Oprah Effect and that she's probably the best thing to happen to Australian tourism since... well, I don't know, Crocodile Dundee? :P Anyway, Oprah filmed a couple of shows at the Sydney Opera House today and Bon Jovi was part of the first. They reportedly performed "It's My Life" and "Livin' on a Prayer" before Oprah interviewed Jon. Triple M has a photo gallery from the show which you can check out on their blog.

Meanwhile, a story about Bon Jovi possibly ditching the record label to become independent artists has been doing the rounds. It's actually based on an interview that Tico Torres gave during the Lost Highway tour, in which he said:
“We are still on a major label but we can see the writing on the wall,” Tico tells Undercover News.

Part of the problem, he says, is that the old model doesn’t work in the current world. “It was a conglomerate machine that was invented many years ago which in essence owned and manipulated bands but also gave bands a chance to get some upfront money that was again recoupable,” he says. “The companies always made a lot of money of it. It got to a point where the price of records were so dear for the buying public that as soon as the internet came in there was there was another avenue for people to listen to music”.
For what it's worth, I think there could be great potential in being free of a record label. Jon would most likely want to start his own label if they chose to part ways with Island, and the main issue would be distribution, which shouldn't be a major problem for a band with such a massive existing fanbase. But to reap the benefits, it would also require Bon Jovi to be a lot more proactive and innovative with their promotion. It would mean utilising social media far more than the occasional "Hello Facebookland" message, and generally trying a lot of things that I don't think Jon is particularly comfortable with. If Radiohead's and Nine Inch Nails' methods are the "new model", Bon Jovi have a long way to go.

Videos from Melbourne

As you would know if you've been following the tour, or this blog, or if you were there, Bon Jovi played two nights in Melbourne on December 10 and December 11. I promised some videos, so here we go. :)

Diamond Ring, December 11 - Some people find this song a snoozefest, but I never get bored of "Diamond Ring". Jon and Richie sound great on it. Though I will say I appreciate it a lot more now than I did the first time I listened to it. Bon Jovi played it both nights in Melbourne; this video is from the second night.


Always (partial), December 11 - The start of the song is missing, but it's a pretty good video. They should always play this. I've said it a few times and I'll say it again because... well, c'mon, it's your biggest worldwide hit, guys!


Love's the Only Rule (partial), December 10 - I was hoping someone would capture the whole song; it's been far too long. Should have been a single. Anyway, this video documents the part of the song where Jon enters the crowd and everyone tries to cop a feel. ;)


Have a Nice Day (December 11) - After being played every show on the Have a Nice Day and Lost Highway tours, this has actually become a little bit of a "rarity" on The Circle tour. I personally prefer it to "It's My Life" but I guess they can't really not play "It's My Life"... although they can apparently drop "Always" for five years!


Check out Hath's Circle Tour blog for more videos from Rod Laver Arena and Etihad Stadium.

Also, leave a comment below if you find videos of "Love's the Only Rule", "Thorn in my Side", "Dry County", "Last Man Standing" and "Superman Tonight" from Rod Laver (December 10).

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Another Melbourne review + JBJ on Extra

Here's another review of Bon Jovi's December 11 show at Etihad Stadium, by Undercover's Paul Cashmere. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to see this, not even on Undercover:
I’d live to hear something from Richie Sambora’s solo album ‘Stranger In This Town’ just once. ‘Ballad Of Youth’ would be a great inclusion in their set. Richie’s one and only starring role last night was taking lead vocal on ‘Lay Your Hands On Me.
Read the full review here. There's also video of an interview with Tico Torres from the Lost Highway tour there.

Also, here's an interview that Jon did last month. He says the usual stuff about the Greatest Hits, his career, sexiness, and amusingly urges the interviewer (I think it's Renee Bargh but I'm not sure) who has recently moved from Sydney to Los Angeles to "GO BACK! Get outta here! Save yourself!" :P


Videos from Melbourne in my next post. :)

Jon Bon Jovi on Larry King + Billboard's top tour

CNN.com has some video clips up of Jon's interview with Larry King, which aired on December 9, 2010:
Thanks to NJGirl4523 for the heads-up. The videos cover about half the interview. A transcript of the full interview is also available. Perhaps the most interesting thing Jon says is that they're taking the tour to Israel, which hadn't been officially announced yet.

(EDIT: You can now download the full interview from Hath.)

Meanwhile, The Circle Tour is the top grossing tour of 2010 according to Billboard:
Bon Jovi's Circle tour (which has morphed into a greatest-hits tour that extends into 2011) leads all touring artists. Grossing $146.5 million, the four New Jersey boys played for 1,591,154 people at 69 reported shows.

Reviews from Melbourne

Andrew Murfett's review of Bon Jovi's December 10 show at Rod Laver Arena for Fairfax Media is mostly positive but has a thick air of condescension to it:
ONE of the most amusing books this holiday season is Things Bogans Like. Like the blog of the same name, it deftly details the likes and cultural touchstones of a significant number of Australians.

Last night at Rod Laver Arena, a good number of the 16,000 in attendance could safely be described as either the book's targets or target market. And based on the hysteria Jon Bon Jovi and his bandmates from New Jersey generated, that was just fine.
(A bogan, for the unitiated, is the Aussie or New Zealand equivalent of "white trash".) Read the rest of the review here.

Meanwhile, in the Herald Sun, Nui Te Koha said of December 11's Etihad Stadium show:
[T]here were subtle differences in the way Bon Jovi's Circle show unfolded at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night compared to their performance at Rod Laver Arena on Friday.

Then there was the obvious contrast - last night was the full-scale stadium experience, with massive video screens and enough production bells and whistles to justify a world tour schedule of 130 shows in 30 countries.

"That was like a club gig compared to this," Bon Jovi said last night. "This is going to be better."

And how.

There was no claw stage. Instead, Bon Jovi grips its believers with sweaty, back to basics rock, and upbeat anthems about better days.
Read the full article here.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Melbourne 2 set list

During the live webcast (which actually went for almost 45 minutes and cut off midway through "Runaway"), Jon promised that Bon Jovi's second night in Melbourne would be even better than the first. I'm curious to see what people who attended both shows thought. On paper, December 10 at Rod Laver Arena had more treats for the diehards but at the end of the day it's still about the performance and atmosphere more than anything.

There didn't seem to be a PBP tonight, so thanks to Despina76 for the set. Some very interesting song placements!

Melbourne, Australia - Etihad Stadium - December 11, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
When We Were Beautiful
Runaway
It's My Life
No Apologies
We Got It Goin' On
Keep the Faith
Bad Medicine / Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
(You Want to) Make a Memory
Diamond Ring
I'll Be There For You
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
Raise Your Hands
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Livin' on a Prayer

ENCORE:
Always
Wanted Dead or Alive
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for video and media links in due course.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Melbourne 1 set list

No "Always" or "Bed of Roses", but Bon Jovi's first show in Melbourne has to be the best set of the Asian/Australasian leg so far. Some real gems for the diehards, and The Circle album finally got some decent representation again on the tour that bears its name.

Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena - December 10, 2010
Last Man Standing
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
We Weren't Born to Follow
In These Arms
Superman Tonight
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
No Apologies
We Got It Goin' On
Keep the Faith
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
What Do You Got?
Diamond Ring
I'll Be There For You
Something for the Pain [acoustic]
Work for the Working Man
Thorn In My Side
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Love's the Only Rule

ENCORE:
Dry County
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos and links as they come. Bon Jovi play Melbourne again tomorrow, this time at Etihad Stadium, with a live webcast for the first half hour.

Jon Bon Jovi on Triple M

Triple M's Byron Cooke caught up with Jon backstage ahead of the Australian tour.

Jon talking about the show's elaborate production:


Jon on the pursuit of perfection:

Jon Bon Jovi interview in Perth

I posted the teaser of Jon's interview with Kathy McCabe for the News.com.au network yesterday. The interview itself has now surfaced ahead of Bon Jovi's first show in Melbourne. Jon talks about ageing, Oprah mania Down Under, his pre-show ritual, touring and promoting a new record (*cough* unless it's called The Circle!), hobbies, and golfer John Daly's fashion sense.

Jon Bon Jovi on Sunrise/Today Tonight

Jon was interviewed by Channel 7 when Bon Jovi was in Perth. He talks about the power of music to bring people together, philanthropy, and getting old. The embed code isn't working for me but (hopefully) you can watch the segment at this link.

Videos from Perth

A small selection of videos from what has now jumped to the top of the list of favourite concerts I've been to: Bon Jovi's Perth show at Subiaco Oval/Patersons Stadium on December 8, 2010. In all honesty, the acoustics at Subi are pretty average but it's the only venue big enough for huge acts like Bon Jovi and U2, and there is at least one worse sounding major venue in Perth. A good show is still a good show.

No Apologies - Not a huge fan of this song, but I've enjoyed it live.


Bad Medicine / Shout! - I would have preferred a different medley song, but the crowd lapped this up and so did I. Jon flirting with someone in the crowd about 3:33 into the video.


Something for the Pain - YESSSSSSSSSS!! ;)


Livin' on a Prayer - The grand finale... and yes, that's your friendly neighbourhood Jovi blogger at about 3:45. What a knob. :P


Check out Hath's Circle Tour blog for more video links and multimedia from the show.

Also, here's a teaser video for an interview with Jon. It was shot in one of the boxes at Subi... but I'm not sure when the actual interview is going to pop up.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Reviews from Perth

Just read my after hours review of Bon Jovi's concert in Perth last night (December 8, 2010). Whoa, I hadn't realised how fangirly I sound, haha. For what it's worth, I didn't shed any tears for "Always" -- not that there's anything wrong with crying. I was very happy though. ;)

Anyway, here are some other reviews (with photo galleries and/or videos)...

Mara Fox alluded to Bon Jovi's formulaic song structures and the exorbitant ticket prices that we probably all know about by now, but her review for PerthNow is positive overall:
With blond hair waving, blue eyes flashing - and a honed white smile that was just too darn rock-star-ish to resist - legendary rocker Jon Bon Jovi got 38,000 fans to their feet at Subiaco's Patersons Stadium last night.

'If finger-lickin' mainstream rock, lashings of musical apple pie with dollops of whipped sentiment on top - delivered in an '80s blow-dried package (hell yeh!) - isn't your thing, then possibly the Bon Jovi concert is one to avoid.
Read the full review here.

Daile Pepper wrote a positive review too:
Patersons Stadium in Perth was packed with long-loving fans of rock superstar Jon Bon Jovi last night as the band kicked off their Australian tour with one almighty rocking gig.

Wearing a leather/snakeskin shirt unbuttoned to reveal his manly chest, tight black pants with added rock star sparkle and his trademark sexy stare, Bon Jovi lead the band through a set that spanned their three-decade career.
Read the full review at WA Today.

Dan the Internut (online content producer at Mix 94.5, the radio station that presented Bon Jovi in Perth) also blogged a review at the Mix website:
The crowd went bananas as the band hit their straps on the very first song of the night, the band (and Jon Bon Jovi in particular) looking in fine form. What is it about rock stars? They just don't seem to age.

When the band hit crowd favourite "It's My Life", something obviously kicked in for Jon. "Now they're waking up", he remarked to the band... You've got to give it to Jon Bon Jovi, he is the front man's front man... Jon was forever inciting the crowd to put their hands in the air, and even cracking out some Daryl Somers style moves to keep the band in check. Just like Daryl, only way cooler.
Dan, even the daggiest rock star in the universe is cooler than Daryl Somers. No offense, Daryl. Read the rest of Dan's review here (includes a pro shot video of "We Weren't Born to Follow" and "You Give Love a Bad Name").

Meanwhile, this article appeared in The West Australian as Bon Jovi hit Perth:
Globetrotting rock’n’roller Jon Bon Jovi is acclimatising to Perth ahead of the start of his seven-date Australia tour which kicks off with a gig at Patersons Stadium tonight.

Bon Jovi and other band members enjoyed a meal at The Raffles Hotel in Applecross last night with the lead singer appearing relaxed and friendly as he was driven away.
Read the rest of the article here.

I'll have some videos up in my next post. :)

Perth set list (and my late night review)

After contemplating my own little Bon Jovi tour around Australia, I had decided to hedge my bets on this one show in Perth... luckily for me, it was great. (Sydney and Melbourne will probably get better shows but let's not talk about that now, lol). Could the set have had more gems and rarities in it? Of course, but this is probably as good as I could have realistically hoped for in Perth and most importantly, it was a good performance. The band seemed to be in a great mood and they came on at 7:45pm so they didn't have to rush through the set like they did back in 2008 to beat the 10:30 curfew. It was a much better show than two years ago, not that 2008 was bad or anything. This was also the first show in which two of the new Greatest Hits songs were played.

Perth, Australia - Patersons Stadium - December 8, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
No Apologies
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
What Do You Got?
I'll Be There For You
Something for the Pain [acoustic]
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
Work for the Working Man
Raise Your Hands
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Always
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos in due course. I haven't seen how my vids turned out yet.

My highlights were the acoustic set -- especially "Something for the Pain" -- and "Always" in the encore (I think I screamed and nearly cried when the drum intro started, haha). I had heard the boys soundchecking "No Apologies" and "Something for the Pain" when I arrived just before 5pm, and swore at a security guard when I heard the latter because it meant I had a decent shot of seeing something from These Days live in Perth (A couple of years ago, I had given up on that ever happening). Well, I didn't actually swear AT the security guard; I was asking him how to get to my gate because the usual paths I'd have taken for a football match had been blocked off. When Bon Jovi started playing "Pain", I just reacted. Luckily, the guard didn't take any offense. :P

Obviously certain songs got a better reaction than others, but there weren't any real lowlights as far as I'm concerned. Although all the "Who Says" haters would have got a kick out of the reaction that song receives here. It didn't chart, so when Jon starts his "it's alrights", no one obliges. Actually, I was in such a good mood by this point that I decided to do some "s'alrights" with him at the beginning of the song... but stopped when some guys in front of me turned around and gave me weird looks. :P

Oh, and I was the "Livin' on a Prayer" contest winner for Perth which meant my completely over-the-top miming of "Prayer" was splashed on the big screen for all to see. (Maybe that's why that woman on the train home was staring at me?) Anyway, I won a couple of free tickets, a VIP bag and a tour program, but ended up using my original ticket because it was a better seat. However, I got to play Santa; my mates got to see Bon Jovi for free, and I didn't have to pay $30 for a program so everyone's happy. :)

Anyway I've got to get up fairly early tomorrow, so I better try to come down from this high and get some sleep.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Live webcast from Melbourne on December 11

A press release has just come out today about a live webcast from Etihad Stadium:
Bon Jovi is having a LIVE webcast all the way from Etihad Stadium on Saturday December 11 – 8pm (EDST)

As an Australian exclusive, Bon Jovi in partnership with News Limited, MCM Media and Movideo will stream LIVE the first 30min of their Melbourne concert this Saturday December 11 from Etihad Stadium at 8pm (EDST). Through the websites below, fans all over Australia will be able to have a taste of a LIVE Bon Jovi concert in their own home.

Exclusive LIVE Bon Jovi Webcast
Saturday December 11 - 8pm (EDST)
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au
http://www.couriermail.com.au
http://www.heraldsun.com.au
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au
http://www.perthnow.com.au
News.com.au
http://www.take40.com
http://www.bonjovi.com
Read the rest here. The media release also names "No Apologies" as the new single "out now".

And for anyone who's wondering, I believe 8pm EDST is equivalent to GMT+11. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Bon JovWe: The Power of We

Want to keep the Bon JovWe sign in New Jersey? They need your help:
In the state of New Jersey you sponsor a piece of road or highway, but they maintain it. They put a sign up for your sponsored area. Our sign is off Exit 3 of the NJ Turnpike on the way to the New Meadowlands Stadium.

We are huge fans of Bon Jovi and thought it would be great to do this sign for the fans as well as hoping the band themselves would see it and know the fans are doing something to help out. Jon is always talking about the power of we, drop the 'I' add the 'we', that's how we came up with Bon JovWe. We being the great fans of this band.

Here is how you can help. In order to keep this sign up we need donations. It costs $295 a month to keep this sign up and that part of the road clean. If you love Bon Jovi and want to help out by keeping this sign up and a road clean please make your donations via PayPal. Our email address is: bonjovwe@ymail.com The money donated is used strictly for this sign and nothing else.

Please visit the Bon JovWe website for more information and follow Bon JovWe on Twitter.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Auckland review + videos

Scott Kara has reviewed the December 5 Auckland gig for the New Zealand Herald. It criticises parts of Bon Jovi's catalogue but ultimately it's not a negative review:
There are times where it's more like Bruce Hornsby and the Range than Bon Jovi.

These later songs sound sedate and a little bland in comparison to the rousing Bad Medicine and It's My Life from 2000, which was the band's last truly memorable anthem.

But despite the bouts of blandness, Bon Jovi are still superstars, even in their late 40s, early 50s.
Check out the full article here.

Speaking of Auckland, that was the best set of this leg so far, so let's have a few videos, shall we? ;)

NO APOLOGIES - Making its live debut. Not exactly my favourite song, but this is the track that Jon had wanted as the lead single from the Greatest Hits, and it's not a bad first up performance. Another video of this was uploaded to Bon Jovi's Facebook page, so you can check it out if you haven't already seen it.


ALWAYS - Yes! Very nice Richie Sambora solo too. Please play this in Perth.


BAD MEDICINE - Jon compares himself to Justin Timberlake, lol.


WHEN WE WERE BEAUTIFUL (partial) - Jon's dedication to the Pike River Miners.

Richie and Jon interviews

Here are a couple of recent interviews with Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi.

Richie spoke with Hugh Sundae from the New Zealand Herald ahead of the Auckland concert on December 5. Topics include sequencing a record, iTunes and digital music, support acts, the "hair metal" scene, musical influences, playing live and tour withdrawals.


Meanwhile,Jon has spoken to Indian media in promotion of the Greatest Hits. Most of the responses are pretty standard to all the Greatest Hits promo interviews, but there is a bit of localised flavour to the questioning:
You’re yet to visit India. why’s that?
I would like to visit India, but we keep our touring schedule such that it does not really get too exhaustive or excessive. We’d like to tour in a manner that is not excessive and so, we haven’t.

Have you ever considered collaborating for a Bollywood project?
I’d love to collaborate. I’m always excited about the prospect of collaborative efforts because music is a universal language and doesn’t have to do anything with borders or even language barriers.
Read the rest of the article here.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Wellington review + Gearing up for Perth

Short, positive review of Bon Jovi's December 4 Wellington show from Karen Hurley for the New Zealand Herald:
It was an all-singing, all-dancing cowboy and cougar convention as Bon Jovi fans "whoa whoaed" along to the pop rock band's greatest hits at Wellington's Westpac Stadium last night.

"Is this New Zealand or New Jersey?" said the band's frontman: Jon Bon Jovi felt so at home for his first North Island concert in 15 years that he could barely tell the difference.
Read the full article here. She mentioned something about Richie Sambora's guitars being the fifth member of the band, which is nice praise for Richie, but a bit insulting to my boy Hugh McDonald if I do say so myself.

In news closer to home, literally, Bon Jovi's next show is in Perth on December 8. I'm not expecting anything crazily rare, but hopefully it won't be completely vanilla either. I'm not sure what the Subiaco Oval -- I mean, Patersons Stadium -- security will be like on Wednesday, but I'll do my best to get videos especially if anything a bit out of the ordinary occurs.

Here are my requests, in case anyone from the Bon Jovi camp reads this:
  • "Bed of Roses" and "Always" (or at least one of the two). We didn't get either in 2008 and prior to that Bon Jovi hadn't played in Perth since 1992. The one recurring complaint I heard after the '08 show was the lack of "Bed of Roses" and "Always". And both are on the Greatest Hits, so it makes sense.
  • ANYTHING from These Days. And while I have my preferences, I really do mean anything.
  • Anything from The Circle that isn't played at every show. "Love's the Only Rule" would be a good song to do. This IS still technically The Circle tour. And Lost Highway re-entered the ARIA charts after the last Australian tour, peaking at #2. It can't hurt to give The Circle a chance, even if it's now competing with a Greatest Hits compilation.
  • A new song from the Greatest Hits and Ultimate Collection other than "What Do You Got?". As of the December 5 Auckland show, "No Apologies" looks a real possibility. I'm keen to hear "This Is Love, This Is Life" or "The More Things Change" though.
  • No "I Love This Town". Jon, even if we serve you up some great weather and a great crowd and you start feeling around 10pm that you actually do love Perth, please do not sing this song. And even if we deliver crappy weather and a boring crowd, please do not punish us with this song. :P
Anyway, three sleeps to go. For all my cynicism online, I can't wait!

Meanwhile, here's "Summertime Blues" from the Lost Highway tour in Perth... January 25, 2008:

Auckland set list

Finally, something different! Jon started out in the crowd, as Bon Jovi opened with "Last Man Standing" instead of "Blood on Blood". "No Apologies" also made its live debut and you can watch the video via Bon Jovi's Facebook page.

"Bed of Roses" and "Always" were both played and I'm desperately hoping that will also be the case in Perth on Wednesday night. ;)

"When We Were Beautiful" was again dedicated to the 29 men who were killed in the Pike River Mine disaster. Cheers to @Super_Kiwi for supplying the PBP.

Auckland, New Zealand - Vector Arena - December 5, 2010

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'
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
No Apologies
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Start Me Up [Rolling Stones cover]
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
Bed of Roses
I'll Be There For You
Work for the Working Man
Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
Runaway
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Always
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Check out Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos as they come.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Wellington set list

Bon Jovi played the first of two shows for their New Zealand fans tonight. They did visit NZ on the Lost Highway tour but I think this was the band's first show in Wellington. The set is kind of short and will probably seem familiar to anyone who was been following them (or anyone who had a look at the Tokyo set list). Over at JoviTalk it was speculated that Jon had made a playlist on his trusty iPhone and just figured out how to "shuffle" late in the set. ;)

Apparently Jon did make mention of the recent New Zealand mine tragedy at Pike River. Thanks to @Super_Kiwi for the PBP.

Wellington, New Zealand - Westpac Stadium - December 4, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
What Do You Got?
I'll Be There For You
Work for the Working Man
Raise Your Hands
Runaway
Who Says You Can't Go Home?
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Check Hath's Circle Tour blog for videos as they come.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tokyo 2 set list

The second of Bon Jovi's two nights in Tokyo. Maybe I'm naturally deluded, but I actually thought "Tokyo Road" might get a run here... After all, Bon Jovi has officially given up on The Circle and "Tokyo Road" is on the Japanese release of the Greatest Hits. Wonder if we'll get any new Greatest Hits tracks apart from "What Do You Got" before the end of the year (i.e. in New Zealand or Australia), or if they are saving them for 2011.

Tokyo, Japan - Tokyo Dome - December 1, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
We Got It Goin' On
Bad Medicine / Roadhouse Blues [The Doors cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Lay Your Hands on Me [Richie Sambora on lead vocals]
What Do You Got?
(You Want to) Make a Memory
I'll Be There For You
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night [acoustic]
Work for the Working Man
Runaway
Raise Your Hands
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Video links on Hath's Circle Tour blog as they come.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tokyo 1 set list

Bon Jovi headed to the Tokyo Dome tonight for the first of two Japan shows. I'm still flabbergasted that they chose to overlook Osaka in favour of an apparently failed attempt to sell out the Dome twice, but I'm no CEO.

Tokyo, Japan - Tokyo Dome - November 30, 2010
Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
Whole Lot of Leavin'
When We Were Beautiful
It's My Life
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
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]
What Do You Got?
(You Want To) Make a Memory
I'll Be There For You
Something for the Pain
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Work for the Working Man
Runaway
Have a Nice Day
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep the Faith

ENCORE:
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

Videos and other media links will pop up on Hath's Circle Tour blog in due course.

It's a week before Bon Jovi hits my town. Frankly I'm not expecting a gem-packed set, but if they keep "Something for the Pain" I'll be very happy. Actually, if they play "Always" and "Bed of Roses" I'll be happy.

Monday, November 29, 2010

CNN Heroes - What Do You Got

Here's Bon Jovi's performance of "What Do You Got?" from the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.


The Circle/Greatest Hits Tour resumes tomorrow in one of my favourite cities in the world, Tokyo. :)

Friday, November 26, 2010

Bon Jovi on Ellen

Bon Jovi was on Ellen on November 23. Here are some videos.

"You Give Love a Bad Name"


"What Do You Got?"


Interview with Jon, where he mentions the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

AMAs, Altiyan wins X Factor, Aussie VIP gig, GH vinyl

Bon Jovi performed at the American Music Awards on Sunday, November 21. They played a medley of "What Do You Got?", "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "It's My Life".



Also on November 21, was the first half of a two-night grand finale on The X Factor Australia which culminated in "my boy" Altiyan Childs being crowned the winner on Monday night. I've been shamelessly plugging him on Twitter for the past couple of months, as well as posting his performances of "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Blaze of Glory" on this blog. Anyway, Altiyan reprised "Prayer" on the Sunday night show so here's more blog fodder. :P


In more Down Under news, I remember watching with amusement as we went into frenzy over Oprah Winfrey's visit in December... Seems Bon Jovi, who are also in Australia in December, will be doing a private VIP concert at Star City for Oprah's touring party:
The new management of Star City want to make a statement . . . the private Bon Jovi concert show and the after-party will be one of the biggest VIP events Sydney has seen in more than a decade, a source said.

Invited guests include Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman, James and Erica Packer, Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch, Hugh Jackman and Deborah-Lee Furness.

And Sydney Confidential readers should stay tuned for a special offer.

And for old school audiophiles, the Greatest Hits has also been released in vinyl.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Bon Jovi still rocking 'n' rolling (interview)

This interview with Jon from the Malay Mail is a few days old, but it's in promotion of the Greatest Hits which is still current.

Jon talking about the new songs:
Well to be honest we wanted those who already had the songs from previous albums to have something extra to look forward to. The new material needed to fit what the Greatest Hits was, which was a representation of a body of our work thus far. They are mostly anthemic rock songs about who we are, where we are (or were) in late 2008. They're very lifting and optimistic and they befit the Greatest Hits, which is a "celebration" album.

This part cracked me up to no end:
You have over five million fans on your Facebook page. What do you think about social networks and are you a frequent Facebook or Twitter user?

There was an occasion when my kids were texting while watch­ing something on YouTube, and in the distance the TV was on and they claimed to be watching a programme. And I asked my daughter "How is it that you think you are doing all these three things well?"

And she looked at me like I was an idiot and said "Can't you do all that at the same time?"

And I just shook my head and took my newspapers into the next room and felt like an old man. I can't even read when the TVis on but it's very natural for kids nowadays to multitask. I do not Tweet but it is an amazing way to reach five million people who are interested in you with just a touch of a button.

Doesn't really look like there'll be an Asian tour (apart from Japan) anytime soon though:
You last toured Asia (more specifical­ly Malaysia) 15 years ago. Any plans to tour here again?

We would love to but we're trying to keep our touring to a schedule that doesn't really inflict too much pain. Err... how I can put that better? We like to tour in a manner that is not too ex­cessive and since the Crush tour, we've kept the touring schedule to about a hundred shows a year but because of the success of The Circle and hopefully The Greatest Hits, we've extended it by about 30 shows, so Asia may play into our plans in the coming year.
I know that response kind of left the door open, and it's hard to read the tone when you only have text in front of you, but I interpreted this as a diplomatic way of saying "no". Hopefully for fans in Asia I'm wrong though!

Anyway, check out the full article here.

Friday, November 19, 2010

CNN Heroes + Greatest Hits hits #1

Bon Jovi will be among the stars appearing on CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute which will air in the US on Thanksgiving night and on CNN International on November 25 and 26:
Rock legends Bon Jovi also will be part of a two-hour celebrity-studded tribute to the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010.

The supergroup will perform "What Do You Got?" a new song from their greatest hits album which debuted November 9.
I was under the impression that "supergroup" referred to a band whose individual members had already achieved fame prior to the band's formation (e.g. Traveling Wilburys, CSNY, Chickenfoot, Velvet Revolver) which would preclude Bon Jovi, but whatever. It's not very often you'll see Bon Jovi described as "rock legends", so savour the moment, folks. :P

In other news, the Greatest Hits has topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, and my native Australia.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Today Show, Private Sessions + more 2011 dates!

First up, new tour dates have been added. I thought I'd posted this already but apparently not. From BonJovi.com:
Due to popular demand additional Montreal, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and New York shows have been added to the 2011 Tour.

2/12/11 -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Consol Energy Center
2/15/11 -- Toronto, ON -- Air Canada Center
2/19/11 -- Montreal, QB -- Bell Centre
3/05/11 -- New York, NY -- Madison Square Garden
3/09/11 -- Chicago, IL -- United Center

Tickets and Backstage JBJ VIP Packages are on-sale now! For more information regarding these new shows and to get your tickets, please visit BonJovi.com/Tour and BonJovi.com/VIP.

Bon Jovi also performed in New York City for The Today Show on November 12, 2010. Here are some videos:

What Do You Got?


It's My Life


You Give Love a Bad Name


The boys were also on A&E Private Sessions on November 14. Hath has links and downloads from the show on her blog.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Altiyan Childs sings Blaze of Glory

About five weeks ago, I posted a video of The X Factor Australia contestant Altiyan Childs' performance of "Livin' on a Prayer". Well, I'm beginning to wonder if his mentor Ronan Keating has a slight man-crush on Jon Bon Jovi, because he gave Altiyan a JBJ solo hit to cover last night. :P The theme was "Chart Toppers" and I think this is the only Bon Jovi/Jon Bon Jovi single to actually get to number one in Australia (The band has had a few number one albums here, but no singles to my knowledge).

Here is Altiyan's rendition of "Blaze of Glory" (including a few words from the Bee Gees' Robin Gibb at the start, and the judges' comments at the end):

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Extra Dublin, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Chicago shows in 2011

From BonJovi.com:
Due to Phenomenal Demand an Extra Date has been added for Bon Jovi Live at the RDS, Dublin on 30th June 2011, the first date 29th June Sold Out just under 2 hours after going on sale this morning at 9am. For more information regarding this new show, please visit BonJovi.com/Tour.

Backstage JBJ Pre-sale tickets and VIP Packages will be available starting Monday, November 15th at 8:00PM Dublin time. Backstage JBJ Pre-sale tickets and VIP Packages are exclusively available for members--to become one today, visit BonJovi.com/Join.

And again:
Due to popular demand additional Pittsburgh and Toronto shows have been added to the 2011 Tour.

2/12/11 -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Consol Energy Center
2/15/11 -- Toronto, ON -- Air Canada Center
3/09/11 -- Chicago, IL -- Bell Centre

Tickets and Backstage JBJ VIP Packages are on-sale now! For more information regarding these new shows and to get your tickets, please visit BonJovi.com/Tour and BonJovi.com/VIP.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Not Fade Away from Best Buy Theater

Here's Bon Jovi opening the November 10 YouTube webcast from New York City with "Not Fade Away". Maybe I'm affected by the fact that this was the rarest thing the band played, but I reckon this is a great opener for an intimate venue. Amazing build-up. How good is that Bo Diddley beat? And the only way Jon's one-and-a-half minute emotional death stare for the camera could be improved is if he glued his eyes open so he couldn't blink. :P

New York City (YouTube webcast) set list

Bon Jovi's promo gig at Times Square today was broadcast live on YouTube (and will be replayed twice every six hours for 24 hours, but I'm not sure of the times). The set was a pretty vanilla (and familiar!) from a diehard's perspective, especially after fans were asked to send requests, but obviously they were only planning to play stuff from the Greatest Hits which they can claim they did. I did actually think we'd get more 90s representation though. Oh well. It was a good performance.

New York City, USA - Best Buy Theater - November 10, 2010
Not Fade Away [Buddy Holly cover]
You Give Love a Bad Name
We Weren't Born to Follow
Lost Highway
It's My Life
What Do You Got?
When We Were Beautiful
Wanted Dead or Alive
Who Says You Can't Go Home?
Keep the Faith
Livin' on a Prayer

ENCORE:
Have a Nice Day
Bad Medicine / Oh, Pretty Woman [Roy Orbison cover] / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]

Letterman, Richie and Dave interview + a trip down memory lane

Bon Jovi performed on "What Do You Got?" and "It's My Life" Late Night with David Letterman overnight. Videos below.

What Do You Got


It's My Life


Here's a cool 10-minute Radio Nova interview with Richie Sambora and David Bryan in Madrid. They talk about the band's sexless marriage, live performances and style through the years, Lady Gaga, touching people's lives, and charity work.


And finally, with the Greatest Hits now out around the world, I guess now is as good a time as any for reflection (I know how Jon hates the word "nostalgia"). NJGirl4523 dropped this into my inbox about a fortnight ago... It's an old series of videos of Jon giving a driving tour of the New Jersey neighbourhoods where he and the band grew up and got their start:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Inboxed updates...

Until yesterday, I've been pretty crazily busy. At the time of writing this post, I have 106 unread e-mails. No joke. Granted, only a handful of these are actually e-mails from people... the others being e-newsletters and things like that. But here are some bits that Blame It On The Love readers and marketers have sent me, as well as a couple of Google Alerts.




Oh, and the YouTube webcast is on tonight/tomorrow (depending on your timezone). If I'm not mistaken, it begins at 1am GMT on November 11. If I am mistaken, I'm sorry; I haven't really done any maths in five years and I sucked at it then, so I asked someone else. ;) Bon Jovi really ought to give GMT times, especially for global events, since that's kind of the world standard, and it would be easier to work out your own time from there instead of figuring out which American timezone to convert from.

Greatest Hits worldwide, Bon Jovi movie review, VEVO webcast, iheartradio

With the release of Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits and The Ultimate Collection (the 2-disc version) in North America on November 9, it should now be available worldwide. I actually only received mine today, having pre-ordered it along with The Ultimate Video Colletion, but seeing as it wasn't a brand new studio album, waiting a few days wasn't such a big deal. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet but Hath posted Catte's review of the DVD over at her blog.

Hath's blog also features a review of the Bon Jovi movie that screened in the US on November 8.

There was also a webcast last night courtesy of VEVO and Letterman. I didn't get to see it but I've been told Richie Sambora was on fire. Did anyone record this by any chance? ;) Apparently the set list was:
You Give Love a Bad Name
We Weren't Born To Follow
Lost Highway
It's My Life
What Do You Got?
When We Were Beautiful
Wanted Dead or Alive
Who Says You Can't Go Home?
Keep The Faith
Bad Medicine / Shout! [Isley Brothers cover]
Livin' on a Prayer

A four-song "stripped" set for iheartradio was also broadcast on 450 US radio stations. If you're in the US you should be able to watch the performances here.

Glee covers Livin' on a Prayer

I admit it, I love Glee. Sure it can be cheesy and silly, but it's also quite witty and even dark and dramatic at other times. Not unlike the different shades of Bon Jovi's discography. ;)

Anyway, here are the Glee girls led by Rachel (Lea Michele) and Mercedes (Amber Riley) performing a mash-up of "Livin' on a Prayer" with "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones.


As a point of comparison, here is last year's mash-up of "It's My Life" and Usher's "Confessions" featuring the boys. If you're wondering about the over-the-top cheesy grins, they were actually all high at the time... the characters, not the actors. :P


I have a few more general updates to catch up on but that's a task for tomorrow, methinks... :)

ITV One Night Only

The ITV Bon Jovi One Night Only special aired in the UK on November 6.

Here's an interview with the band prior to their televised gig:


Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora's cool acoustic cover of Elvis' "That's Alright, Mama":


Here are links to all the songs that went to air:

The show also featured a chat with Jon:
  • Part 1: Jon talks about growing up in New Jersey

  • Part 2: Jon on songwriting and the cross-generational appeal of "Livin' on a Prayer"

  • Part 3: Jon on surviving the post-New Jersey tour burnout

  • Part 4: Jon on the pursuit of perfection