I'm happy to see "Knockout" gone again despite my affection for This House Is Not For Sale overall, and I think "Raise Your Hands" is a stronger choice for that second spot. "When We Were Us" was also back in the set, having not been performed since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
The ticket Gods work in mysterious ways and someone offered me a ticket to the show tonight. Tepid opening, quickly reversed by “Raise Your Hands” pic.twitter.com/tviiPqS68q
I’m behind the stage as a gift from someone, so aside from a perfect view of their asses, I can see the entire crowd. It’s very rough going so far aside from the SWW and NJ numbers.
Not going to lie, there’s a huge gap on that stage without @TheRealSambora , that being said Phil X is damn good and a lot of fun to watch. If Richie ever came back I’d like to see Phil take on some mean rhythm guitar. @BonJovi#KeepTheFaith#BonJovi
I adore “Make a Memory” but it’s not a great encore song. “Wanted” without Richie’s harmonies is blasphemous. In the end, most people formed over $100 to hear “Livin’ on a Prayer” which has the place on their feet.
Bon Jovi's Charlotte show brought a couple more surprises. "Living with the Ghost" was played for only the second time on the This House Is Not For Sale Tour, and the first time this year. "Raise Your Hands" also made its 2018 debut, while "Make a Memory" was back in the set. Here's what was played:
Charlotte, NC, USA - Spectrum Center - April 21, 2018
Bon Jovi's Atlanta show brought with it a couple of changes. "In These Arms" and "New Year's Day" were played for the first time this year, the latter replacing "God Bless This Mess". "We Don't Run" stayed in the spot that "Knockout" had occupied for most of the tour (which is fine by me, since I've said a few times that "Knockout" is my least favourite song on This House Is Not For Sale).
Here's the full set list:
Atlanta, GA, USA - Philips Arena - April 20, 2018
This House Is Not For Sale
We Don't Run
You Give Love a Bad Name
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Lost Highway
Born to Be My Baby
Who Says You Can't Go Home
It's My Life
We Weren't Born to Follow
Runaway
We Got It Going On
Keep the Faith
Amen
Bed of Roses
Lay Your Hands on Me
New Year's Day
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Bad Medicine
Encore:
In These Arms
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer
Videos from Atlanta
"In These Arms". In the same way that I don't really understand why Bobby Bandiera used to play the solo for this song when you had Richie Sambora in the band, I don't know why John Shanks is playing it now when Phil X is there... No disrespect intended to Bob or Shanks. As for Jon's voice, it is what it is; I remain hopeful he can turn it around like he did in 2008, but accept that may not be the case. It's still nice to see "In These Arms" in the set:
Fresh from their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and apparently sipping themed cocktails at the after-party), Bon Jovi resumed the tour in Orlando. "We Don't Run" was played for the first time this year, replacing "Knockout". A snippet of "Sympathy for the Devil" was thrown in, "Runaway" made another apperaance, and a few other songs were shuffled around. Here's the full set list: Orlando, FL, USA - Amway Center - April 18, 2018
This House Is Not For Sale
We Don't Run
You Give Love a Bad Name
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Lost Highway
Born to Be My Baby
Who Says You Can't Go Home
It's My Life
We Weren't Born to Follow
Because We Can
We Got It Goin' On
Keep the Faith / Sympathy for the Devil [Rolling Stones cover]
Bon Jovi was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2018 on April 14.
Then & now: Dave, Alec, Jon, Tico, Richie. Photo: David Bergman.
Howard Stern's hilarious, NSFW speech included such glorious soundbites as "Bon Jovi beats sperm". After Howard's introduction, the inducted band members each got to speak. Alec John Such went first, followed by Hugh McDonald, Richie Sambora, Tico Torres, David Bryan, and finally Jon Bon Jovi. The speeches ranged from the emotional to the nostalgic to the outright funny.
Everyone (the members who were inducted, plus Phil X, John Shanks, and Everett Bradley) took to the stage together, although I think Alec only played on "Livin' on a Prayer". The following songs were performed:
You Give Love a Bad Name
It's My Life
When We Were Us
Livin' on a Prayer
I know Jon wanted to do a new song but "When We Were Us" was still a bit unexpected and, as far as I'm aware, a pretty unconventional choice for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (artists usually stick to their hits or most influential songs). It was great to hear Richie's harmonies though, and to see him and Jon singing from the same microphone.
The official HBO telecast of the induction ceremony will air on May 5. Hopefully those of us not in the US will be able to watch it too.
In the meantime, there are some unofficial streams from fans in attendance, including this one:
Now I know there are plenty of fans who have harboured varying degrees of discontent with the state of Bon Jovi over the past few years. I'd be lying if I said I was completely happy about everything. But tonight that didn't matter. (I won't speak for anyone else, but it didn't matter to me.) Tonight was a celebration of what Bon Jovi's music has meant to me for so long. All the times they lifted me up, consoled me, saved me. And that history won't change, no matter what happens going forward.
Bon Jovi's second of two consecutive nights in Newark brought with it a couple of nice surprises, namely "Runaway" in the main set (replacing "Have a Nice Day") and "These Days" and "Blood on Blood" in the encore. "These Days" was played for the first time this year.
Here's the full set list:
Newark, NJ, USA - Prudential Center - April 7, 2018
Richie was recently interviewed by Billboard ahead of Bon Jovi's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, among other things, he talked about rehearsing with the original lineup:
What has it been like rehearsing with the rest of Bon Jovi? It must bring back memories.
RS: We played live to millions of people over 31 years. Do I miss it? No -- but the memories are good. It feels great to see everybody. We already rehearsed and it was wonderful, it wasn't awkward. The chemistry came back very quickly; it’s matrixed into our muscle memory at this point. If you’re on the road performing and touring for 30 years, [the Rock Hall ceremony] is just another cycle -- and it’s a good one, so here we go.
Newark, NJ, USA - Prudential Center - April 7, 2018
This House Is Not For Sale
Knockout
You Give Love A Bad Name
Whole Lot Of Leavin'
Lost Highway
When We Were Us
Born To Be My Baby
Who Says You Can't Go Home
It's My Life
We Weren't Born To Follow
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
We Got It Goin' On
Keep The Faith
Amen
Bed Of Roses
Lay Your Hands On Me
God Bless This Mess
Have A Nice Day
Bad Medicine
Encore:
Runaway
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Livin' On A Prayer
"Runaway" was performed for the first time this year. The band has another gig at the same venue coming up tomorrow, before the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland this Saturday, April 14.
"Lost Highway". Jon also mentions the 10 shows Bon Jovi played to open the Prudential Center at the start of the Lost Highway Tour and thanks fans for their support ahead of the upcoming Rock Hall induction:
After about a week off, during which the "Walls" music video dropped on YouTube, Bon Jovi resumed their This House Is Not For Sale Tour in Boston. If you've been following the set lists at all, this one was pretty predictable:
