After a month off, Bon Jovi headed to Scotland to kick off the next leg of the Forever Tour. (I say next leg, but it could well be the final leg, given no further shows have been confirmed after Wembley in September.) There were plenty of questions, like:
- did the break do Jon's voice any good? (Hopefully, yes.)
- will Europe get better sets than the US? (Reasonably likely and I'd love to see it, but that also sucks for American fans who were paying a pretty penny for these concerts.)
- will they do something crappy like "save themselves" for Wembley? (Hopefully not.)
Anyway, the first show of this leg was in Edinburgh, and here's what unfolded.
Edinburgh, Scotland - Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium - 28 August 2026
- With a Little Help from My Friends - The Beatles cover
- Beautiful Drug
- We Weren't Born to Follow
- Lost Highway
- You Give Love a Bad Name
- Born to Be My Baby
- Legendary
- Whole Lot of Leavin'
- Bed of Roses
- In These Arms
- These Days
- This House Is Not For Sale
- It's My Life
- Livin' on a Prayer
- Raise Your Hands
- I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
- Hey God
- Keep the Faith
Encore: - I'll Be There for You
- Wanted Dead or Alive
- Bad Medicine
- Always
Legit couldn't believe we got freaking "Hey God" and "These Days" for the first time since 2013 and 2019, respectively. Phil X rocking the kilt was a fun touch, too.
Selected videos from Edinburgh
These Days - Let's not pretend this is the greatest performance ever, but vocally, I'd say Jon's roughly on par with when I saw them do this song live in Melbourne in 2013.
Hey God - Now this sounded better than I was expecting... and it's a killer track. But perhaps more to the point, Jon was using the stage, getting into the song, showing some passion... and that can make the world of difference to a performance when your vocals aren't the best, because being rooted to the spot and clinging to the microphone only highlights any weaknesses. So yeah, good on you, JBJ.
In These Arms - Arguably the best performance of this song on the tour so far. But why can't Phil X play the solo instead of John Shanks? Like c'mon, dude.
Thinkin' on a prayer
The first half of the main set, as it was in New York, seems to be mostly "get
Jon settled in with something that's not too challenging" time... but there are better songs you could use for
that. Hell, maybe even something from the album you're meant to be promoting, like "Waves", "Walls of Jericho", "Seeds", or that neglected single "Living Proof"?
But overall, a decent start to the UK/European leg. Dublin's up next, and hopefully they get a good show.
Feel free to share your thoughts below. 😊
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My biggest takeaway from this show was just how much Jon was enjoying himself and that was so lush to see. Massive smile throughout, joking around with the band but also really appreciative and humble of everyone’s patience and for being able to be there. These Days and Hey God were special, and Always felt like an unplanned second encore in response to the crowd. Phil X was honouring the solos and then going off on his own extensions and Jon was really enjoying this with pride. And Tico playing 2.5 hours and still hitting just as hard during the encores was brilliant. Really really great.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest takeaway from this show was just how much Jon was enjoying himself and that was so lush to see. Massive smile throughout, joking around with the band but also really appreciative and humble of everyone’s patience and for being able to be there. These Days and Hey God were special, and Always felt like an unplanned second encore in response to the crowd. Phil X was honouring the solos and then going off on his own extensions and Jon was really enjoying this with pride. And Tico playing 2.5 hours and still hitting just as hard during the encores was brilliant. Really really great.
ReplyDeleteApparently "I Don't Like Mondays" was rehearsed before the show, which probably means Bob Geldof will be making an appearance at one of the Wembley shows.
ReplyDelete