Facebook banned us!

Update (25/02/2021): We're back online! 🥳

Update (23/02/2021): I can no longer view any of the Facebook page content despite being an admin. 🙁 Asked a friend in the US to check and they could still see it all -- so it looks like it's still fine internationally but not in Australia. However, the news ban is set to be lifted in the coming days, so fingers crossed that all the banned pages (including ours) are back up soon.

Original Post:

I'll try to keep this short and sweet because we're a Bon Jovi blog, not a media blog. But long story short, Blame It On The Love's Facebook page has been blocked in Australia.

Basically, Facebook has reacted to the Australian Government's proposed News Media Bargaining Code by imposing a blanket ban on news content in Australia. That includes blocking news links from being shared and the removal of all content on Australian news pages.

Unfortunately, many non-news pages have been incorrectly taken down as well, including charities, community groups, health and emergency services, and small businesses. The disability organisation I work for has had its page wiped and is waiting to hopefully be restored. They're not alone.

And as I mentioned at the top of this post, Blame It On The Love got caught up in it too.

As far as I can tell, everything on our page shows up normally for the rest of the world, and I can still post to the page as an Australian-based admin. I've put in a support request so hopefully it will be sorted out soon.

But in the meantime, I wanted to fill people in on what was happening. Our Instagram appears to be unaffected, despite Instagram being owned by Facebook, so that's good.

Anyway, I suppose it's a good reminder of the pitfalls of being too reliant on a social media platform. "I Believe" might have alluded to that if it were released now... 

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Feel free to share your thoughts below. 😊

Want to stay connected? You can find us on Facebook @blameitonthelove, Instagram @blameitonthelove and Twitter @bonjoviblog.

Winding back the clock in Lisbon (last tour video post!)

Bon Jovi wrapped up their year-and-a-half-long tour in Lisbon on July 31, 2011... Here's a selection of videos, as promised. :)

Get Ready

I don't know how hard I was listening but back when I was a high school kid who couldn't wait to grow up (Ah, the naivety of youth!) I used to blast this song in my room a lot. Probably why it's one of my favourites from Bon Jovi's eponymous first album. It's not exactly a deep thinking song... but it is fun. And it was really great to see something/anything (other than Runaway) from those early albums pop up again, even if it was on the last show of the tour.

(It's Hard) Letting You Go

Perfect song? Yes. (Well... in my opinion, of course.)

Any Other Day

One of the best songs on Lost Highway was played for the first (and obviously last) time on the tour in Lisbon. Jon seemed pretty relaxed performing it (especially given he's apparently not a fan of it) and I enjoyed the jam at the end too.

I Believe

Passionate performance. And it might be the post-tour high talking, but if I close my eyes I'd almost swear it was the 90s.

This Ain't a Love Song

If Jon had just whacked that microphone stand out of the way and dropped to his knees a la Wembley '95, it would have been perfect... although given the recent knee injury, that probably wouldn't have been advisable. :P

More videos from every show of The Circle/Greatest Hits/Open Air Tour are on Hath's Circle Tour Blog.

***

It's with a tinge of sadness that I hit 'Publish' on this video post. I started Blame It On The Love back in 2008 -- at the end of the Lost Highway Tour -- and it's strange to think that another tour has come and gone. We don't know when the next album or tour (either band or solo) will be. We don't know what the future holds. But we will probably be on the ride anyway.

I want to thank each and every one of you who has read this blog... whether you've followed it or just popped in once or twice. And for everyone who's commented or emailed me, I do read what you write and I appreciate that you took the time to leave your thoughts.

And finally... the tour may be over but I ain't going anywhere. ;) There's always something happening in Jovi Land, and Bon Jovi's never far from my mind anyway.

Until next time... keep the faith and never say goodbye!

I Believe, Roses, Santa Fe + more from Barcelona

As promised... Bon Jovi videos from Barcelona (July 27, 2011).

I Believe

Love this song! Looks like it's fun to play too. And Jon sounds awesome here.

Bed of Roses / Cama de Rosas

Bed of Roses with the Spanish chorus... a treat for the local crowd. I'm willing to bet Jon's Spanish pronunciation isn't exactly perfect, but sometimes it's more about the effort and heart than the polish. Case in point: Stick to Your Guns in Amsterdam 2008.

Santa Fe

This has only been played one other time (during Bon Jovi's residency at London's O2 arena). Just to give you fair warning, the Barcelona rendition also features an audible female voice from the crowd. ;)

Something to Believe In

Still one of my faves. I don't know what it is but the "hey hey hey heys" give me goosebumps.

Hey God

Energetic performance.

Always


There are more awesome videos over at Hath's Circle Tour Blog.

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).

LH Magic Memory #7: I Believe in London

June 28, 2008 at Twickenham Stadium in London marked the final show of the European leg of the Lost Highway tour. People expected this show to go off with a bang and for a lot of them, ending with "I Love This Town" and "Twist & Shout" was probably not quite what they had in mind. There were some real gems in this set though, including "Blood Money" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" but the one that stands out comes from a killer album called Keep the Faith. "I Believe" hadn't been played in about five years. The video below opens with a speech from Jon before the band crescendos into that cool rocking intro. It's a tough one to sing, and it's a song with plenty of passion but I think Bon Jovi managed to do it justice after all this time.