Hugh McDonald to be inducted into the Rock Hall?

Hugh McDonald (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

When the 2018 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced, the band members eligible for induction were also revealed on the Rock Hall website. For Bon Jovi, it would be the original five: Jon, David, Tico, Richie, and Alec. I understood why, but have always maintained that if Bon Jovi got into the Rock Hall, Hugh McDonald deserved to be inducted with them. And I was quite upset that some people were saying no one but the original five had ever done anything worthy.

But some eagle-eyed fans noticed in the last 24 hours that, if you click on Bon Jovi's inductee bio on the Rock Hall website, Hugh McDonald's name has now been added to the list of band members. Which hopefully means he'll be inducted as well. I can't adequately express how over the moon I am about that prospect.

When David Bryan and Tico Torres were interviewed about Bon Jovi's impending induction, they said Hugh deserved acknowledgement for the role he's played in the band, so maybe they had something to do with this. Or maybe Jon pointed out to the Rock Hall that it was Hugh who played on the first ever Bon Jovi song and had played in the studio on the band's most important records. Who knows?

Hugh apparently only learnt of his likely induction after his wife Kelli got wind of it on Twitter:

I honestly had NO idea! I called Hugh and told him! Thanks for the heads up! It’s so exciting! I’m bawling like a baby!

— Kelli McDonald (@saintlyedge) December 19, 2017

Denny Laine, an original member of the Moody Blues, was also quietly added to their page after initially being left out.

UPDATE 21/12/17: According to a statement from the Rock Hall that was published by the Asbury Park Press, Hugh's and Denny's belated inclusions came about as follows:

“Once the Inductees were determined, the members of the Nominating Committee reviewed the list of artists and made the decision to add Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Hugh McDonald of Bon Jovi to acknowledge their significant contributions,” said a spokesperson for the Rock Hall via email. “We’re honored to induct them at the ceremony in April.”

UPDATE 15/03/18: This Deseret News article talks about how Jon appealed to the Rock Hall to get Hugh inducted. It was meant to be a Christmas surprise but the cat was let out of the bag when people noticed Hugh's name on the Rock Hall website!

New RSO EP, Making History, out now

Following the release of their debut EP in September, RSO's second EP Making History came out on December 15. It features the following tracks:

1. Making History
2. We Are Magic
3. Walk With Me
4. Together on the Outside
5. I Don't Want to Have to Need You

Making History is available on iTunes and the RSO website. A Richie Sambora solo track, "One Night of Peace", was included if you pre-ordered the EP from RSO's website, but is now available on iTunes as an RSO track.

Making History is a bit more rock, and therefore probably not as unexpected, as Rise was. Based on the first couple of listens, I think I prefer it to Rise.

You can listen to Making History on Spotify:


"One Night of Peace" can also be streamed on Spotify:

Bon Jovi to be 2018 Rock Hall inductees

2018 Rock Hall inductees (L-R):
Richie Sambora, Alec John Such,
Jon Bon Jovi, Tico Torres,
David Bryan.

They're in! (Well, they will be very soon.)

First of all, Bon Jovi fans made sure the band won the fan ballot. The top five in the fan vote were:

1. Bon Jovi - 1.16M votes
2. Moody Blues - 947K
3. Dire Straits - 613K
4. The Cars - 552K
5. Judas Priest - 538K

Each of the top five gets one additional vote in the official induction vote. But ever since the fan vote was introduced, whoever finished on top has been inducted into the Rock Hall, while others in the top five have been known to miss out. So this was the first step. 

Still, there are certain committee members who have worked to keep Bon Jovi and other bands they don't take seriously out of the Rock Hall, so that was another hurdle to overcome. But today, it was announced that Bon Jovi will be one of next year's inductees. The Class of 2018 is as follows:

• Bon Jovi
• The Cars
• Dire Straits
• Moody Blues
• Nina Simone
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe

The induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland, Ohio on April 14, 2018. As previously mentioned, it will be the original lineup of Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, Richie Sambora, and Alec John Such who are officially inducted. In an interview with the Asbury Park Press, Jon indicated that Richie and Alec would be part of the ceremony:

“I haven’t had the opportunity to hear from either of them (Sambora and Such) but without a doubt, they both will be invited and asked to not only come and share it, but to perform,” Bon Jovi said. 

The article also revealed that the two upcoming songs are called "When We Were Us" and "Walls", and that a tour announcement is imminent (though it feels like we've been hearing that for months!).

Read the full article at this link.

UPDATE: Rolling Stone posted an interview with Tico and David. Among other things, they talk about how the original and current lineups fit into the band's legacy:

Bands often play with former members at the induction ceremony. Are you down to play with Richie Sambora and Alec John Such that night?

Tico Torres: Absolutely.
David Bryan: Yeah. Why not?
Tico Torres: They are a huge part of us. We'd love it if they played with us.

Do you keep in touch with Alec?

Tico Torres: Honestly, he's a mystery sometimes. The hard part is finding him.
David Bryan: Alec is definitely a moving target.

He played with you guys in 2001. The fans are always very curious about him. He's the mystery man of Bon Jovi to so many people.

Tico Torres: He's always been the mystery man of Bon Jovi, even then he was like 007.

Do you think he'll show up?

Tico Torres: I think so.
David Bryan: I would hope so. The idea is that it's a celebration of what we were and what we are, so that was definitely what we were and we are what we are now. I think its a celebration of both those things. You'll see the current lineup and then see the original. It should be a fun night.

Many people will argue that Hugh McDonald should be inducted since he's been there for so long.

Tico Torres: He's a big part of the band. They should acknowledge that.

Read the full interview at this link.

Jon was also interviewed on Sirius XM, and you can listen to the highlights via Soundcloud on Bon Jovi's website.

UPDATE 20/12/17: Looks like Hugh might be inducted after all!

New Bon Jovi music on the way: JBJ on Facebook Live

Rehearsing for next year's tour (Photo: Jon Bon Jovi/Instagram)

Jon Bon Jovi did a Facebook Live video yesterday to answer some fan questions. A big announcement had been teased, which turned out to be that new Bon Jovi music is on the way. Here are the main takeaways from the video:

• Bon Jovi will be releasing two new songs soon. No release date was given, but Jon said the tracks were "to support what we hope to be sharing with you soon in 2018". He followed that statement with a very obvious wink.
• Current events have influenced one of the new songs, but not in a way that's too obviously political.
• The band has been rehearsing songs from the back catalogue, including album tracks from Keep the Faith and These Days. Jon says rehearsals are sounding great and specifically mentioned "Dry County", "Blaze of Glory", "Hey God", and "These Days" as tracks they've been practising.
• Bon Jovi has been approached numerous times about doing a musical based on the band's music. Jon says he's more focused on writing new music than a play, but isn't completely ruling it out.

You can watch the full video below, or on Bon Jovi's Facebook page:

Flashback: Jon Bon Jovi hosts SNL

Jon Bon Jovi hosted Saturday Night Live 10 years ago, on October 13, 2007.

Since we're currently on a break in the tour and no new dates have been confirmed, I thought I'd share a few clips from that episode.

Amy's Bedroom (cold open) - JBJ emerges from a teenage Amy Poehler's poster:

New Jersey Game Show - Jon plays a stereotypical Jersey native:

Where's My Purse? - Jon plays an alien:

Naming the Band - A fictional account of how Bon Jovi got their name:

I couldn't find Jon's monologue, where Richie Sambora forgot his scripted line. (This stuff-up was supposedly the reason why Bon Jovi ended up performing two songs in the episode and Foo Fighters only did one, despite Foo Fighters being the musical guests.)

Anyway, Phil X said on Twitter a few days ago that more tour dates would be announced "soon" so fingers crossed:

When can we expect BJ tour dates to be announced?

— Jerry Braden (@Jerrybraden92) 7 October 2017

soon. & i think a lot of fans are going to be EXCITED!! https://t.co/y1iRI1aQbc

— Phil X (@TheRealPhilX) 7 October 2017

Bon Jovi nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Image: Bon Jovi/Facebook

Bon Jovi is one of the 2018 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They have been eligible since 2008 (Artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record) and were previously nominated in 2011, but obviously weren't inducted.

The 2018 nominees are:

• Bon Jovi 
• Kate Bush 
• The Cars
• Depeche Mode
• Dire Straits
• Eurythmics
• The J. Geils Band
• Judas Priest
• LL Cool J
• MC5
• The Meters
• The Moody Blues
• Radiohead
• Rage Against the Machine
• Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
• Nina Simone
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe
• Link Wray
• The Zombies

If Bon Jovi were to get in, Richie Sambora and Alec John Such would be the ones inducted, alongside Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, and Tico Torres. This could mean the original lineup performs together at the induction ceremony, which would be interesting... I have no idea if Alec even plays anymore.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that Hugh McDonald won't be inducted with Bon Jovi. I know Alec was the bassist during their most influential period, but Hugh contributed to every album except 7800° Fahrenheit; played uncredited on Slippery When Wet, New Jersey, and Keep the Faith; and has been in the band longer than Alec was (albeit not classified as an official member until 2016). I don't mean to sell Alec short either; I think they should both be included, but I can't do anything about it.

Of course, that's all moot if the committee overlooks Bon Jovi again.

Anyway, the fan vote for who you think should be inducted into the Rock Hall is now open. Until December 5, 2017, you can vote once a day for up to five artists. The results of the fan ballot count as one vote.

UPDATE 20/12/17: Not only is Bon Jovi joining the Class of 2018, it looks like Hugh might be inducted after all!

RSO EP Rise out now

Rise, the debut EP by Richie Sambora and Orianthi's duo RSO has finally been released. (It's been four-and-a-half years since Richie left Bon Jovi, and almost four years since he met Orianthi. Plus we've heard a lot of "soons" in response to when their new music was coming out.) The track list is as follows:

1. Rise
2. Masterpiece
3. Truth
4. Take Me
5. Good Times (feat. k-os)

I know some fans are a bit disappointed that after such a long wait, there are only five tracks being released. But it's been reported (though not officially announced as far as I'm aware) that Rise will be followed by a second EP, before a full album in 2018.

(UPDATE 30/09/17: RSO's e-newsletter and website confirm that Rise is the first of two projects to be released in 2017, with a full-length album coming next year.)

Rise was leaked last weekend so I've actually been listening to it for a few days. It's far from the guitar-driven record I was expecting when I first heard that Richie and Ori were working on new music together, but not a total shock after they debuted "Truth" live at NAMM earlier this year:

Anyway, Rise is a pretty diverse collection of songs. I'm hearing some country and RnB influences, among other things. It's grown on me over the past few days, and I have now bought a copy.

Listen to "Masterpiece":

You can purchase Rise on iTunes and Amazon. (UPDATE 30/09/17: If you get it via the RSO website, you'll receive a reggae remix of "Good Times" as a bonus track.)

You can also stream Rise in its entirety on Spotify:


Have you downloaded or listened to the EP? What do you think?

Bon Jovi in Sao Paulo 23/09/17 + Where to next?

Bon Jovi wrapped up the South American leg of their This House Is Not For Sale Tour in São Paulo. Here's what was played:

São Paulo, Brazil - Allianz Parque - September 23, 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. Knockout
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. Born to Be My Baby
6. Lost Highway
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. Lay Your Hands on Me
9. In These Arms
10. New Year's Day
11. (You Want To) Make a Memory
12. Bed of Roses
13. It's My Life
14. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
15. Wanted Dead or Alive
16. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
17. Have a Nice Day
18. Keep the Faith
19. Bad Medicine
    
    encore:
20. Always
21. Livin' on a Prayer
22. These Days

Jon danced with a fan during "Bed of Roses", while "Make a Memory" made its tour debut.

Videos from São Paulo

"Bed of Roses" (I was pretty much grinning through for most of this):

Here's most of "Make a Memory":

"You Give Love a Bad Name"... and Jon working the catwalk with some nice mic stand twirls:

"Lay Your Hands on Me":

"Always":

"These Days":

"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" (including a reflective speech for Jon mid-song):

If you'd like to share more videos from this show, feel free to link to them in the comments.🙂

Jon's voice has been the subject of plenty of discussion in fan circles over the last few years (for good reason), but there have been signs during the South American leg that it's improving. It's nice to see a bit of rock star swagger in these videos too. 😉

Were you in São Paulo?

There's been no official word on any other tour dates, but Phil X tweeted that Europe is on the cards for 2018:

Is it true that you're coming to Europe on May next year? We're desperate to have you guys here!

— maría tt trash (@jonsmanager) September 22, 2017

i'm not sure it'll be May but it will be next year. https://t.co/R7riqJXUFR

— Phil X (@TheRealPhilX) September 22, 2017

Meanwhile, the Gold Coast Bulletin is reporting that an Australian tour is set for late 2018:

BON Jovi are set to answer Gold Coast music fans’ prayers next year when they bring their 2018 Australian tour to Metricon Stadium.

Leading promoter Paul Dainty, president and CEO of TEG Dainty, said he had been working to deliver local music fans a stadium show at the home of the Gold Coast Suns AFL team.

“When Bon Jovi tours next year, I’ll bring them to Metricon,” he said.

“We had something for February next year but we couldn’t get it in there with the Commonwealth Games but we’ve got Bon Jovi coming in 2018/2019.”

Bon Jovi at Rock in Rio 22/09/17

Image: Rock in Rio Facebook

Bon Jovi performed to a massive crowd at Rock in Rio 2017, and here's what they played:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Barra Olympic Park - September 22, 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. Knockout
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. Born to Be My Baby
6. Lost Highway
7. Because We Can
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Runaway
10. We Got It Goin' On
11. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - acoustic
12. Bed of Roses
13. It's My Life
14. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
15. Roller Coaster
16. Wanted Dead or Alive
17. Lay Your Hands on Me
18. Keep the Faith
19. Bad Medicine
    
    encore:
20. Have a Nice Day
21. Livin' on a Prayer

There was a broadcast of this set after all, though not for international audiences. The band was on fire and seemed to be having a great time. The crowd looked really into it, even on songs I didn't expect them to want to hear. Jon was still patchy, but there were times, like during "Lay Your Hands on Me" and "Keep the Faith" when I really felt like The Frontman was on his way back.

Videos from Rio

I believe Rock in Rio videos are being blocked in certain countries, but here goes.

Main set (from broadcast):

Encore (from broadcast):

Were you at Rock in Rio?

The South American leg of Bon Jovi's This House Is Not For Sale Tour wraps up tonight in São Paulo.

Bon Jovi in Porto Alegre 19/09/17

Bon Jovi began the first of three dates in Brazil, starting with Porto Alegre. I'd be lying if I said I kept detailed records of Bon Jovi's touring history over the past three decades (I haven't even been alive that long, lol), but I've been told this was the band's first ever visit to Porto Alegre. Here's what was played:

Set list: Porto Alegre, Brazil - Estádio Beira-Rio - September 19, 2017

1. This House Is Not for Sale 
2. Raise Your Hands 
3. Knockout 
4. You Give Love a Bad Name 
5. Born to Be My Baby 
6. Lost Highway 
7. Because We Can
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead 
9. Runaway 
10. We Got It Goin' On
11. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - acoustic 
12. Bed of Roses
13. It's My Life 
14. Who Says You Can't Go Home 
15. Roller Coaster
16. Wanted Dead or Alive 
17. Lay Your Hands on Me 
18. Have a Nice Day 
19. Keep the Faith
20. Bad Medicine
    
    encore: 
21. Olé, Olé, Olé
22. In These Arms 
23. Blood on Blood
24. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Porto Alegre

"It's My Life":

"In These Arms" (includes a few pans to Phil X's epic facial expressions 😜):

If you'd like to share any videos from the show, feel free to link to them in the comments. 🙂

Bon Jovi's next show is Rock in Rio, which will apparently be streamed live at this link. (UPDATE 21/09/17: The band's performance was not cleared for international broadcast, so the live web stream is no longer happening.)

Bon Jovi in Bueno Aires 16/09/17

Bon Jovi headed to Bueno Aires on the next stop of their South American tour. Here's what was played:

Set list: Bueno Aires, Argentina - Estadio José Amalfitani - September 16, 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. Knockout
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. Born to Be My Baby
6. Lost Highway
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Runaway
10. We Don't Run
11. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - acoustic
12. Bed of Roses / Cama de Rosas
13. It's My Life
14. Who Says You Can't Go Home
15. God Bless This Mess
16. Wanted Dead or Alive
17. Lay Your Hands on Me
18. Have a Nice Day
19. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars
20. Bad Medicine
    
    encore 1:
21. In These Arms
22. I'll Be There for You
23. Livin' on a Prayer
    
    encore 2:
24. These Days
25. Keep the Faith

It was the same set list as the previous show in Santiago. 

Videos from Bueno Aires

"In These Arms":

"You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Born to Be My Baby":

"I'll Be There For You":

"Bed of Roses":

UPDATE 18/09/17: "Captain Crash" and "Bad Medicine", with Jon using the "catwalk" to interact with the crowd:

If you'd like to share any videos from this concert, feel free to link to them in the comments. 🙂

Were you at this show?

Bon Jovi in Santiago 14/09/17

Bon Jovi kicked off the South American leg of their This House Is Not For Sale in Chile. Here's what was played:

Set list: Santiago, Chile - Estadio Monumental - 14 September 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. Knockout
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. Born to Be My Baby
6. Lost Highway
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Runaway
10. We Don't Run
11. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - acoustic
12. Bed of Roses / Cama de Rosas
13. It's My Life
14. Who Says You Can't Go Home
15. God Bless This Mess
16. Wanted Dead or Alive
17. Lay Your Hands on Me
18. Have a Nice Day
19. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars
20. Bad Medicine
    
    encore 1:
21. In These Arms
22. I'll Be There for You
23. Livin' on a Prayer
    
    encore 2:
24. These Days
25. Keep the Faith

First of all, I know they do this every tour... but I must admit, I'm a little disappointed that they've dropped all but three This House Is Not For Sale songs, and one of the ones left is the worst song on the album. 😜

However, despite my bitching, I was actually impressed to see a set list like this, after the stagnant sets of the first leg. I was also anxious to hear how Jon would sound.

Videos from Santiago

"Bed of Roses" (with the chorus sung in Spanish):

"I'll Be There For You":

"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night":

UPDATE 17/09/17: Here's "These Days". I'd be lying if I said it sounded amazing but hopefully it gets better each time:

If you'd like to share any videos from Santiago, feel free to link to them in the comments. 🙂

Were you at this show?

Bon Jovi at Dick's Sporting Goods Open 18/08/17

It's been four months since the end of the first leg of the This House Is Not For Sale Tour, but Bon Jovi came out of hibernation to perform at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open. The band started about 90 minutes late due to a storm that left them temporarily stranded in New Jersey, and once the gig got underway, there were comments on social media about the sound being terrible.

Here's what was eventually played:

Set list: Endicott, NY, USA - En-Joie Golf Club - 18 August 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. Knockout
4. You Give Love A Bad Name
5. Lost Highway
6. We Weren't Born To Follow
7. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
8. Runaway
9. Who Says You Can't Go Home
10. It's My Life
11. Bed of Roses
12. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
13. Born To Be My Baby
14. In These Arms 
15. Bad Medicine
16. These Days
17. I'll Be There For You
18. Wanted Dead or Alive
19. Livin' On A Prayer

I don't know if this show technically counts as part of the tour, but if we say that it does, it marks the tour debut of "Bed of Roses", "In These Arms", "These Days", and "I'll Be There For You".  The tour resumes with five South American dates next month.

Videos from Endicott

This video contains snippets of "These Days" and "In These Arms":

"Livin' on a Prayer":

UPDATE: Here's most of "These Days":

UPDATE 20/8/17: Here are some of the other videos that have since been uploaded.

"I'll Be There For You":

"Bed of Roses":

"In These Arms":

If you'd like to share links to any videos from this concert, feel free to include them in the comments below.

Were you at this show?

Reddit AMA with Phil X

Earlier this week, Phil X participated in a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) to promote the Hired Gun documentary. Naturally, he answered a few questions about Bon Jovi.

When asked if he might have greater input in the next Bon Jovi album, Phil said he'd like to be involved in writing:

[–]bossiecat 2 points 2 days ago 

Phil, I love what you bring to Bon Jovi. Will you be more involved in their next album? Have you and Jon written anything together?

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[–]TheRealPhilX[S] 3 points 2 days ago 

that would be great. we haven't yet. we spoke about it for the last record but it was already written. i'm hoping we explore writing for the next one.

Phil also explained that the reason he didn't play on all of This House Is Not For Sale was because the album had already been recorded when the band decided to bring him in:

[–]Matticus84 2 points 2 days ago 

Phil, was there any particular reason you played on a chunk of "This house..." instead of the whole thing? Would love to hear you on a full record with the guys.

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[–]TheRealPhilX[S] 2 points 2 days ago 

actually, it was all recorded when the band decided to have me involved so JBJ picked 4 songs where he felt the guitars could be stronger and i went in and did my thing. it was a thrilling experience to just do that and i'm very excited to do more.

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[–]TheRealPhilX[S] 1 point 2 days ago 

p.s. me too. thanks.

You can check out the whole AMA, featuring Phil X, Liberty DeVitto, and Rudy Sarzo, at this link.

Here's the trailer for Hired Gun:

Bon Jovi crashes Fairleigh Dickinson's commencement

Bon Jovi (with Lorenza Ponce on violin in David Bryan's usual place) performed an acoustic version of "Reunion" at Fairleigh Dickinson University's commencement ceremony on May 16. Fairleigh Dickinson won the Reunion Contest, which began in March. The ceremony took place at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium.

You can watch Good Morning America's coverage of the commencement, which includes Bon Jovi's performance of "Reunion" in full, at this link. ("Reunion" starts about 2:23 into the video.)

As a side note, Jon's two eldest kids, Stephanie and Jesse Bongiovi, are also graduating this week.

‪Before we crashed FDU's Graduation Day at MetLife! Congrats FDU Grads 🎓We had a blast. Be sure to check out tomorrow's Good Morning America for an inside look. #fdugrad

A post shared by Bon Jovi (@bonjovi) on May 16, 2017 at 7:55am PDT

Bon Jovi in New York 15/04/17 (night 2)

Bon Jovi wrapped up the first leg of their This House Is Not For Sale Tour with a second show at Madison Square Garden. Here's what they played:

New York, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden - 15 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout 
3. You Give Love a Bad Name 
4. Lost Highway 
5. Whole Lot of Leavin' 
6. Roller Coaster 
7. We Weren't Born to Follow 
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead 
9. We Got It Going On 
10. Who Says You Can't Go Home 
11. It's My Life 
12. We Don't Run 
13. God Bless This Mess 
14. New Year's Day 
15. Lay Your Hands On Me 
16. Born to Be My Baby 
17. Have a Nice Day 
18. Bad Medicine 
19. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore: 
20. Raise Your Hands 
21. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night 
22. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars 
23. Wanted Dead Or Alive 
24. Livin' On A Prayer 

While the only other Bon Jovi shows that have been announced so far are Rock in Rio and the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, David Bryan tweeted that this was the last show of this leg of the tour, indicating that more gigs should be announced before too long.

Videos from New York, Night #2

"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" (with a little false start):

"Keep the Faith":

If you have any videos you'd like to share from the second night at MSG, feel free to link to them in the comments.

Were you at this show?

Bon Jovi in New York 13/04/17 (night 1)

Bon Jovi brought their This House Is Not For Sale "home" for the first of two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. (These were, of course, the concerts that were rescheduled after Jon got sick.) Here's what was played on the first night at MSG:

New York, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden - 13 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. We Got It Going On
10. Who Says You Can't Go Home
11. It's My Life
12. We Don't Run
13. God Bless This Mess
14. Scars on This Guitar
15. New Year's Day
16. Lay Your Hands On Me
17. Born to Be My Baby
18. Have a Nice Day
19. Bad Medicine
20. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
21. Runaway
22. Blood On Blood
23. Wanted Dead Or Alive
24. Livin' On A Prayer

If you've been following the set lists at all, the main set should be quite familiar to you by now. There were a couple of changes in the encore. 

Videos from New York, Night #1

"Runaway":

"Scars on this Guitar":

If you'd like to share any videos from the first night at MSG, feel free to link to them in the comments.

Were you at this show?

Bon Jovi in Toronto 11/04/17 (night 2)

Bon Jovi performed the second of two consecutive shows in Toronto on their This House Is Not For Sale Tour, and here's what was played:

Toronto, ON, Canada - Air Canada Centre - 11 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. We Got It Going On
10. Who Says You Can't Go Home
11. It's My Life
12. We Don't Run
13. God Bless This Mess
14. Scars on This Guitar
15. New Year's Day
16. Lay Your Hands On Me
17. Born to Be My Baby
18. Have a Nice Day
19. Bad Medicine
20. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
21. Always
22. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
23. Wanted Dead or Alive [Phil X vox on 2nd verse]
24. Livin' on a Prayer

The main set was identical to that of the first night (I kind of thought they'd at least swap "New Year's Day" out for "The Devil's in the Temple", which used to be in that slot. Maybe I'm overly optimistic!). But we did get "Always" and "Captain Crash" for the third and second time this tour respectively -- they replaced "Raise Your Hands" in the encore. Phil sang the second verse of "Wanted" again, presumably because he's originally from Toronto, but he does sound good... Dare I say a lot stronger than Jon does these days. 😞 (However, I've said on various forums that the Lost Highway Tour proved Jon could get back to sounding awesome after a period of deterioration in his voice, so I'm hopeful that he could return to that level again.)

Videos from Toronto, Night #2

In my opinion, this is the best "Always" of the tour thus far:

"Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars":

"Wanted Dead or Alive":

If you'd like to share any videos from the second night in Toronto, feel free to link to them in the comments.

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Bon Jovi in Toronto 10/04/17 (night 1)

After a few days off due to bronchitis, Bon Jovi resumed their This House Is Not For Sale Tour with the first of two consecutive nights in Toronto, the only Canadian (and indeed non-US) shows of this leg. Here's what was played:

Set list: Toronto, ON, Canada - Air Canada Centre - 10 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. We Got It Goin' On
10. Who Says You Can't Go Home
11. It's My Life
12. We Don't Run
13. God Bless This Mess
14. Scars on This Guitar
15. New Year's Day
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. Born to Be My Baby
18. Have a Nice Day
19. Bad Medicine
20. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
21. Raise Your Hands
22. Wanted Dead or Alive [Phil X vox on 2nd verse]
23. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Toronto, Night #1

Here's "Raise Your Hands" and "Wanted Dead or Alive", with Phil singing the second verse of "Wanted":

If you'd like to share any videos from the first night in Toronto, feel free to link to them in the comments.

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Bon Jovi in Pittsburgh 05/04/17

Hot on the heels of the "playback" scandal in Uncasville, Bon Jovi played a short (approximately 90-minute) show due to Jon being ill. Jon pulled a fan from the crowd up to sing "Born to Be My Baby" and David Bryan sang "Livin' on a Prayer" from the second verse onwards. Here's what was performed:

Set list: Pittsburg, PA, USA - PPG Paints Arena - 5 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Runaway
10. We Got It Going On
11. Who Says You Can't Go Home
12. It's My Life
13. Lay Your Hands On Me
14. Born to Be My Baby [ft. Brad]
15. Bad Medicine
16. Livin' on a Prayer [David Bryan vox on 2nd verse]

"God Bless This Mess", "New Year's Day", "Keep the Faith", "Raise Your Hands", and of course "Wanted Dead or Alive" were the songs cut from the planned set list. Jon apologised midway through the show for "singing like shit". He has reportedly been sick since Saturday night, which is concerning with the Madison Square Garden shows coming up.

Now, I'm kind of torn here. Part of me is thinking, "This is your damn instrument, Jon, stop wrecking it. Reschedule the show, take the hit on social media. There's no point being a 'fighter' when you're a professional singer who can't sing." Plus, as a fan, if you'd saved up to go to this one show, it wouldn't be unreasonable to feel a bit ripped off. But then there are fans who have travelled for the show and can't get refunds on accommodation and airfares. And aside from the fact that Jon doesn't typically cancel when he's sick, he probably felt like he had more to prove after what happened in Uncasville. It got picked up quite a bit online, and now casual fans, former fans, and non-fans alike seem to think Jon routinely mimes entire shows, which is patently false. Even now, there are people claiming Jon is "conveniently" sick because he "got caught lip syncing". So whether he did the show poorly or cancelled it, it was a no-win situation for him.

UPDATE 07/04/17: Jon has bronchitis. On doctor's orders, the two Madison Square Garden shows have been postponed until April 13 and 15 respectively. Bon Jovi's website still has the previously-rescheduled Denver show going ahead on April 14.

UPDATE 08/04/17: Denver has now been cancelled. I'm assuming it wasn't logistically possible to go from NYC to Denver and back again. And doing so many shows in close succession whilst recovering from bronchitis may not have been the best idea. But cancelling a show that had already been postponed, in favour of the two MSG shows, effectively tells Denver fans that they are worth less than New York fans. I'd feel pretty hurt in that situation.

Videos from Pittsburgh

"Born to Be My Baby" featuring a fan from the crowd:


UPDATE 7/04/17: More videos have been uploaded. Thanks to the commenter below for links.

Here's "Livin' on a Prayer" with Dave on the second verse:

"It's My Life":

"Bad Medicine":

This is another angle of "Born to Be My Baby" with Brad:

If you'd like to share any videos from Pittsburgh, feel free to link to them in the comments.

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Bon Jovi in Uncasville 01/04/17

Bon Jovi rehearsed for their This House Is Not For Sale Tour at Uncasville's Mohegan Sun Arena, and they returned there on April Fool's Day for a proper show. Here's what was played:

Set list: Uncasville, CT, USA - Mohegan Sun Arena - 1 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. We Got It Going On
10. Who Says You Can't Go Home
11. It's My Life
12. We Don't Run
13. God Bless This Mess
14. Scars on this Guitar
15. Lay Your Hands on Me
16. Born to Be My Baby
17. Have a Nice Day
18. Bad Medicine
19. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
20. Wanted Dead or Alive
21. Livin' on a Prayer

Apparently the venue has a strict curfew, but nevertheless, it was a very short set with no surprises. (Previous shows there have also been short, but in the past, they've often thrown a bone to the diehards anyway. Not so much this time.)

There were actually two songs that were on the printed set list and crossed out. One was the song after "Scars on this Guitar", which I presume (based on other shows) was either "The Devil's in the Temple" or "New Year's Day". The other was the first song in the encore, which I'm guessing was "Raise Your Hands".

Videos from Uncasville

"You Give Love a Bad Name" (it's a bit shaky but the sound is fine):

If you'd like to share any videos from Uncasville, feel free to link to them in the comments.

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UPDATE 04/04/17: After I posted this, some videos of "This House Is Not For Sale" from this show were posted online, causing an uproar over possible lip syncing. You can view the discussion thread on JoviTalk. Basically there was a studio version of the song playing during the live performance, that went out of sync with the band:

Given he's always going on about integrity, the idea that Jon could be lip syncing a song that should sit comfortably in his current range would break my heart (particularly when he doesn't even sing the higher parts of the chorus; the rest of the band does). It would hurt more than the thought of his once good voice being gone forever. But... if he were lip syncing, they would only need a vocal track, not the full band. And they'd use a recording that sounded live, not a studio version.

Jon's brother, Matt Bongiovi, provided this explanation on Twitter:

pic.twitter.com/vj3dr5PuNm

— Matthew Bongiovi (@TheMattBongiovi) 4 April 2017

In case the image doesn't load, it reads:

"Sound Crew recorded soundcheck so the lighting crew can reset lighting marks. They were able to reset timecode to the recording and reprogram lights. The recorded program was not closed so when the lighting ques started the soundcheck started to play over the band performing. Therefor a cluster fuck of sound. They quickly realized program was closed and the show went on. Nothing to do with background tracks or vocals or anything other then a tech that fucked up" (sic).

Bon Jovi in Philadelphia 31/03/17

Bon Jovi headed to Philly on their This House Is Not For Sale Tour, and here's what was played:

Set list: Philadelphia, PA, USA - Wells Fargo Center - 31 March 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born To Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Runaway
10. We Got It Goin' On
11. Who Says You Can't Go Home
12. It's My Life
13. We Don't Run
14. God Bless This Mess
15. Scars On This Guitar
16. New Year's Day
17. Lay Your Hands On Me
18. Born To Be My Baby
19. Have a Nice Day
20. Bad Medicine
21. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
22. Raise Your Hands
23. The Fighter [acoustic]
24. Wanted Dead or Alive
25. Livin' on a Prayer

An acoustic snippet of "The Fighter" was the big surprise of the night, making its tour debut. And "Runaway" was played for the second concert in a row, despite not being on the printed set list.

Videos from Philadelphia

Here's "The Fighter" and "Wanted Dead or Alive":

"New Year's Day":

"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and "Runaway" (including the "time machine" intro):

"This House Is Not For Sale", shot from about a 45-degree angle from the stage as the curtain goes up:

"Bad Medicine", in which Jon gets up close and personal with the crowd:

If you'd like to share any videos from Philly, feel free to link to them in the comments.

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Bon Jovi in Detroit 29/03/17

Bon Jovi brought their This House Is Not For Sale Tour to Detroit, performing at Joe Louis Arena (which is set to be demolished this year) and paying tribute to hometown hero Bob Seger. Here's what they played:

Set list: Detroit, MI, USA - Joe Louis Arena - 29 March 2017

1. This House is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Old Time Rock 'n' Roll [Bob Seger cover]
9. Runaway
10. We Got It Going On
11. Who Says You Can't Go Home
12. It's My Life
13. We Don't Run
14. God Bless this Mess
15. Scars on this Guitar
16. New Year's Day
17. Lay Your Hands On Me
18. Born to Be My Baby
19. Have a Nice Day
20. Bad Medicine
21. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
22. Raise Your Hands
23. Wanted Dead or Alive
24. Livin' on a Prayer

"Runaway" made its tour debut, as did "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll".

Videos from Detroit

MLive produced this highlights video. It features snippets of "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll", "Runaway", "We Got It Going On", "Lay Your Hands on Me", "Wanted Dead or Alive", and "Livin' on a Prayer":

Bon Jovi in Detroit with a farewell to Joe Louis Arena

Here's "Runaway":

Bon Jovi - Runaway (Joe Louis Arena Detroit)

If you'd like to share any videos from Detroit, feel free to link to them in the comments.

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