Global Icons

Now that my final assignments are out of the way... Time to blog! ;)

Bon Jovi were in Madrid for the MTV Europe Music Awards on November 7, where they received the inaugural Global Icon Award. They were also up for Best Live Act, but Linkin Park won. Anyway, Bon Jovi performed a medley of "What Do You Got", "Bad Name" and "It's My Life"...



And here they are accepting the Global Icon Award (includes Tico Torres speaking Spanish). Apparently this was cut from the US broadcast.


Bon Jovi also performed in Madrid the night before. I posted the video of "Livin' on a Prayer" with Rihanna earlier... here is the set list.

Madrid, Spain - Teatro Circo Price - November 6, 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
Keep the Faith / Sympathy for the Devil [Rolling Stones cover]
Livin' on a Prayer [feat. Rihanna]

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

And here's a video of "Not Fade Away"...

Bon Jovi and Rihanna duet

Bon Jovi are in Madrid for the MTV Europe Music Awards and played a gig at Teatro Circo Price. The set list hasn't been confirmed yet but it did feature this performance of "Livin' on a Prayer" with Rihanna.

2011 tour dates, X Factor, EMAs!

I'm a little restricted in my home Internet use until next week which has affected my ability to blog among other things, but of course the big news in Bon Jovi land is the release of 2011 tour dates:

Hey Bon Jovi Fans,

We're all excited to announce the 2011 tour to all of you! We'll be starting in the US and Canada, and then will make our way to Europe to wrap it up. We've got some surprises in store for you for this tour and can't wait to share them with you. We thank you all for your continued support and are excited to see you soon.

Jon, Richie, David, & Tico

North America:

• Feb 9 - University Park, PA, USA - Bryce Jordan Center
• Feb 11 - Pittsburgh, PA, USA - Consol Energy Center
• Feb 14 - Toronto, ON, CA - Air Canada Centre
• Feb 18 - Montreal, Quebec, CA - Bell Centre
• Feb 21 - Raleigh, NC, USA - RBC Center
• Feb 24 - New York, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden
• Feb 25 - New York, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden
• Feb 27 - Washington, DC, USA - Verizon Center
• Mar 1 - Boston, MA, USA - TD Garden
• Mar 2 - Philadelphia, PA, USA - Wells Fargo Center
• Mar 4 - Uncasville, CT, USA - Mohegan Sun Arena
• Mar 8 - Chicago, IL, USA - United Center
• Mar 17 - San Antonio, TX, USA - AT&T Center
• Mar 19 - Las Vegas, NV, USA - MGM Grand - Garden Arena
• Mar 22 - Salt Lake City, UT, USA - Energy Solutions Arena
• Mar 25 - Vancouver, British Columbia, CA - Rogers Arena

Europe:

• Jun 8 - Zagreb, HR - Maximir Stadium
• Jun 10 - Dresden, DE - Ostragehege
• Jun 12 - Munich, DE - Olympic Stadium
• Jun 15 - Oslo, NO - Ullevaal Stadium
• Jun 17 - Helsinki, FI - Olympic Stadium
• Jun 19 - Horsens, DK - Horsens Stadium
• Jun 22 - Edinburgh, GB - Murrayfield Stadium
• Jun 24 - Manchester, GB - Old Trafford Cricket Ground
• Jun 25 - London, GB - Hard Rock Calling
• Jun 29 - Dublin, IE - RDS Arena
• Jul 8 - Istanbul, TR - Kazlicesme Festival Site
• Jul 10 - Bucharest, RO - Piata Constitutiei
• Jul 13 - Dusseldorf, DE - Esprit Arena
• Jul 14 - Zurich, CH - Letzigrund Stadium
• Jul 16 - Mannheim, DE - Maimarktgelande
• Jul 17 - Udine, IT - Stadio Frilui
• Jul 20 - Athens, GR - Olympic Stadium
• Jul 22 - Vienna, AT - Ernst Happel Stadium
• Jul 24 - Bruges, BE - Zeebrugge Beach
• Jul 27 - Barcelona, ES - Estadio Olympico
• Jul 29 - San Sebastian, ES - Estadio Anoeta
• Jul 31 - Lisbon, PT - Parque De Belavista

For more details, check out this page.

Meanwhile Bob Lefsetz, who has had a bit to say about Bon Jovi in the past, has weighed in on the ticket price controversy again:

Last time around Bon Jovi didn’t sell out, and blew out and gave away tickets. What in hell makes the band think business will be better next year?

What are the indicators? When a product fades in the marketplace, the only way to juice sales is to reboot, refresh…

Instead, we get Bon Jovi doing "Wanted Dead Or Alive" and "Livin’ On A Prayer" one more time.

I guess they could always do albums. Then again, after "Slippery When Wet", then..?

If you’re a major act going out next year for a big ticket price, you’d better reevaluate. First you can drop the price. Dylan doesn’t charge much. If it’s about your greed, needing to make money to keep up your payments, you’re in trouble. It’s got to be about the music. And since you are a musician, you’ve got to do a different show.

What if Bon Jovi went out acoustic. Every number with wooden instruments as CSN&Y used to say. Maybe the venues would be smaller, but people would overpay for this, it’d be a special event.

Read the full article on the Lefsetz Letter.

In other news, Bon Jovi will be on The X Factor in the UK this Sunday, October 31 (Halloween). Rihanna and Jamiroquai will also perform. I'd love Bon Jovi to appear on the Australian X Factor but I don't think they'd be able to fit it into their schedule... not to mention, they'd probably do "What Do You Got?". I actually enjoy the song, but I'm not too keen on having it represent my favourite band to the masses, if you get what I mean.

And finally, I mentioned this a while ago but Bon Jovi are nominated for Best Live Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards, so vote vote vote!

Thank yous, EMAs and Greatest Hits news

Hi Joviacs,

Let me first extend my apologies for not being as "on the ball" with this blog as I'd like to be. I'm in my final month of the semester so with assignments, as well as my other (paid) writing commitments, I haven't had as much time to scour videos and news as I'd like. But after this month, I'll be free to feed the blog with all the Jersey boy nutrition it deserves. ;)

Thanks for the continued readership, support, comments, tweets, likes, etc. They do not go unappreciated! I blog as much for you guys as I do for my own crazy love. ;)

Secondly, Bon Jovi will be presented with the Global Icon award at MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid on November 7, 2010:

"There's no question that Bon Jovi has achieved iconic status across the globe and is widely recognized as one of the most beloved and influential rock bands of all time," said Bruce Gillmer, Executive Vice President, Music and Talent, Programming/Events, MTV Networks International.

"Over the years, MTV and Bon Jovi have given fans an incredible array of amazing and unique experiences and we are thrilled to honour such a seminal act as Bon Jovi with the first-ever MTV EMA Global Icon award."

Read the full article here.

Thirdly, Australian fans can pre-order the Greatest Hits from JB Hi-Fi for the chance to win 2 VIP packages to the third Sydney show on December 19. You can listen to some more clips of the new songs on Amazon.

Based on these, the previews on iTunes, and previously released snippets -- which Savvi has kindly edited together -- here are the lyrics (I think) for each song so far:

"No Apologies" --

Double down the devil at Three-Card Monte
No apology, he just knew when to quit
Push your luck, say your prayers
Make believe you don't care
Take a chance, sometimes it's all you need
No apologies
No apologies (no apologies)
We will not back down (no apologies)
We are not afraid (no apologies)
Not a drop of doubt (no apologies)
Hand in hand across this land
Our voices shouting out...

"This Is Love, This Is Life" --

We ain't got much but what we got is all that matters
We're pickin' up the pieces, tryin' to put 'em back where they belong
Ohh, it's gonna be alright
This is love, this is life
When times get tough we're still worth the fight
This is love, this is life
The road here's paved with the brokenhearted
We gotta finish what we started
Ohhh, better hold on tight
This is love, this is life
These days it seems like there's...

"The More Things Change" --

I tell you one more time with feeling
Even though this world is reeling
You're still you and I'm still me
I didn't mean to cause a scene
But I guess it's time to roll up our sleeves
The more things change the more they stay the same
The same sunrise, it's just another day
If you hang in long enough they say you're coming back
Just take a look, we're living proof and baby that's a fact
You know the more things change the more they stay the same
The more things change the more they stay the same
You're either runnin' round in circles or you're runnin' out of time
Everybody somewhere either...

Based on these previews, which songs do you like/dislike?