Bon Jovi resumes the Forever Tour in Edinburgh

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

1. With a Little Help from My Friends - The Beatles cover
2. Beautiful Drug
3. We Weren't Born to Follow
4. Lost Highway
5. You Give Love a Bad Name
6. Born to Be My Baby
7. Legendary
8. Whole Lot of Leavin'
9. Bed of Roses
10. In These Arms
11. These Days
12. This House Is Not For Sale
13. It's My Life
14. Livin' on a Prayer
15. Raise Your Hands
16. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
17. Hey God
18. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
19. I'll Be There for You
20. Wanted Dead or Alive
21. Bad Medicine - featuring Everett Bradley
22. 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.

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Feel free to share your thoughts below. 😊

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Bon Jovi's big comeback in New York

And we're back! We as in this blog, but also we as in Bon Jovi the band. 

I'm actually away on a Muay Thai camp at the moment, doing two two-hour sessions a day in the heat, which is why my published thoughts on the comeback shows are delayed by several days. Training like this, plus showering and doing laundry ASAP after each session, is tiring and time-consuming, y'all!

Anyway. Jon Bon Jovi's vocal issues, and his subsequent vocal cord surgery in 2022 have been fairly well documented at this point. There was a certain buzz and trepidation about their closest thing to a tour since then. 

Jon has performed live here and there over the last few years... but to be perfectly honest, it's been a bit heartbreaking and underwhelming most of the time. So while I'm sure I would have bought tickets if they'd announced a show in Australia, I can't say I've been expecting much from this run of shows. 

But here's what they played:

New York City, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden - 7 July 2026 setlist

1. With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles cover
2. Beautiful Drug
3. We Weren't Born to Follow
4. Lost Highway
5. Who Says You Can't Go Home
6. You Give Love a Bad Name
7. Born to Be My Baby
8. Legendary
9. Whole Lot of Leavin'
10. In These Arms
11. Have a Nice Day
12. It's My Life
13. Livin' on a Prayer
14. Lay Your Hands on Me
15. Blood on Blood
16. Living Proof
17. This House Is Not for Sale
18. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
19. I'll Be There for You
20. Wanted Dead or Alive
21. Bad Medicine

Selected videos from MSG

With a Little Help from My Friends - including the video intro. With lines like "What would you do if I sang out of tune?" and "I'll try not to sing out of key", it may seem a little on the nose to open with it. And it's not exactly a high energy rocker. But in this case, it felt fitting somehow, especially with everyone coming together to sing the chorus. 

Living Proof - finally, the neglected single! Actually sounds pretty decent, if I do say so myself. I can't turn back time but I so wish this had been the song that got any promotion from Forever, rather than "Legendary".

In These Arms - Jon honestly sounded way better than I was expecting here and I'm so weirdly proud of this man who doesn't know me from a bar of soap and whose achievements I have absolutely nothing to do with.

Blood on Blood - Hmm he's trying, but this sounds pretty fragile. I don't know if we can maybe bump Everett Bradley up in the mix? I know Everett's not Richie Sambora, but Richie left of his own accord and Everett does make the current lineup sound better vocally than they otherwise would.

Livin' on a Prayer - between the click track and the entire venue always singing along, "Prayer" has arguably been spared to a large extent as Jon's vocals declined, despite being a painfully difficult song to sing. But I do think he sounds a bit better here than he has in recent times?

Final thoughts

It was a solid return, not perfect but I don't think anyone's expecting that anymore. Though I do really hope Jon gives me the finger and surprises us all. The set list could be stronger but I guess it's okay. Hopefully we get some deep cuts during this short run of shows. 

I honestly don't know how much of a future my beloved band has. Or how I feel about it all. A lot has been made of Jon's voice but I'm also considering the band as a whole -- no one's getting any younger, and it's probably Phil X and Everett bringing the bulk of the animation and energy on stage. I still rate Jon as a songwriter but people don't buy music the way they used to.

Anyway, what did you think of the comeback show? Were you there, or watching from somewhere in the world?

And which Bon Jovi song should be my walkout song if I could pick one for a hypothetical fight? 😉

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Feel free to share your thoughts below. 😊

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We're all alright! Hello Wisconsin! Bon Jovi in Milwaukee

Sorry about the title, I was just thinking about That 70s Show for some reason. 😜

But after two identical sets to start the tour, we got a few set list changes when Bon Jovi played in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA - April 5, 2022

Fiserv Forum

1. Limitless
2. The Radio Saved My Life Tonight
3. You Give Love a Bad Name 
4. We Weren't Born to Follow
5. It's My Life
6. Just Older
7. Born to Be My Baby
8. Beautiful Drug
9. I'll Be There For You
10. Let it Rain
11. Keep the Faith
12. Lower the Flag - acoustic
    
13. We Don't Run - acoustic
14. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night - acoustic
15. Who Says You Can't Go Home
16. Lost Highway
17. Wanted Dead or Alive
18. Roller Coaster
19. This House Is Not For Sale
20. Have a Nice Day
21. Livin' on a Prayer
    
    encore:
22. In These Arms
23. Bad Medicine

Selected videos from Milwaukee

"Bad Medicine". Well, Jon's moving around a bit, the backing vocals sound pretty good, and the band members seem to have a good vibe with each other:

"Lower the Flag". One of my favourite songs from 2020, and I'm glad it's made its tour debut. Plus, Jon's current tone actually kind of works to convey the mood of a song like this:

"Just Older" comes with added "sha-la-las" on this tour:

"In These Arms". Part of me wants David Bryan to sing this one permanently, but unfortunately that would just highlight the difference between him and Jon vocally:

"I'll Be There For You". This is an emotional experience for me, honestly, but probably not in the way it's supposed to be:

Anyway, we're a week into the tour but no dates have been announced beyond this month so I don't know what happens after April. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

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Feel free to share your thoughts below. 😊

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David Bryan's COVID-19 experience

In just a few short weeks, the world has become a wildly different place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the illness first touched Bon Jovi when David Bryan revealed on Instagram on March 21 that he had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

View this post on Instagram

I just got my results back today and tested positive for corona virus. I’ve been sick for a week and feeling better each day. Please don’t be afraid!!! It’s the flu not the plague. I’ve have been quarantined for a week and will for another week. And when I feel better I’ll get tested again to make sure I’m free of this nasty virus. Please help out each other. This will be over soon... with the help of every American !!😎💪❤️

A post shared by David Bryan (@davidbryanmusic) on Mar 21, 2020 at 1:50pm PDT

I know he's copped a fair bit of flak for his "Please don't be afraid!!! It's the flu not the plague" line, given how many people have died and how many people are likely to still die. I'm thinking David was trying to reduce panic (like the kind that has resulted in supermarket assaults over toilet paper?) rather than be irresponsibly flippant. But he is also lucky he seems to have a relatively mild case (and as a fan, I'm grateful for that too).

David provided an update on Dana Perino's show a couple of days later, where he sounded more sombre, talking about his symptoms and how differently the virus has affected different people (e.g. his wife Lexi, who also tested positive but has no symptoms, versus others who have obviously been extremely sick).

Hope you're back to feeling 100% soon, DB!

While we're all staying home, here's something to watch and listen to... David singing "In These Arms" with Bon Jovi at Rock in Rio 2019:

And here's David's own version of "In These Arms" from his solo album Lunar Eclipse:

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Bon Jovi in Lima 2/10/19

After three years, Bon Jovi's This House is Not For Sale Tour drew to a close in Lima. It was a short set to end the tour; here's what was played:

Lima, Peru - Estadio Nacional del Perú - October 2, 2019 set list

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Born To Be My Baby
3. Lost Highway
4. You Give Love a Bad Name
5. Roller Coaster
6. We Weren't Born to Follow
7. Blood on Blood
8. In These Arms - David Bryan on lead vocals
9. We Got It Goin' On
10. Keep the Faith
11. It's My Life
12. Lay Your Hands On Me
13. We Don't Run
14. Wanted Dead Or Alive
15. Bad Medicine - Everett Bradley on lead vocals 2nd verse
    
    Encore:
16. I'll Be There For You
17. Livin' on a Prayer

Selected videos from Lima

"In These Arms" - I've always loved David singing this over the years so yep, I'm sharing it again:

"Livin' on a Prayer" - Must admit, all the phones made me laugh. I'm not knocking the Lima crowd at all, because it happens everywhere, and I take pictures/videos at gigs too... I just looked at it and thought "that's so 2019" 😜 :

Feel free to share any other videos and/or your thoughts in general.

What now?

We already know there's a new Bon Jovi album on the way, so there'll probably be another tour starting next year. I'm a little nervous about it all, but that's not a negative thing.

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Bon Jovi in Recife 22/09/19

After a month off, Bon Jovi resumed their tour in Brazil, performing in Recife for the first time.

Recife, Brazil - Estadio do Arruda - September 22, 2019 set list

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Born to Be My Baby
3. Lost Highway
4. Knockout
5. You Give Love a Bad Name
6. Roller Coaster
7. Whole Lot of Leavin'
8. We Weren't Born to Follow
9. Runaway
10. It's My Life
11. In These Arms - David Bryan on lead vocals
12. Have a Nice Day
13. Keep the Faith
14. Amen
15. Bed of Roses
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. We Don't Run
18. Wanted Dead or Alive
19. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
20. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
21. Blood on Blood
22. Livin' on a Prayer

The band's next stop is a return to Sao Paulo.

Selected videos from Recife

If you want to just block out some time and watch the concert, someone's uploaded it:

But here are a couple of individual songs...

David singing "In These Arms". Jon also acknowledged Richie Sambora (and David obviously) as the co-writers when introducing the song:

"Blood on Blood" opening the encore:

Feel free to share any other videos and/or your thoughts in general.

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

Bon Jovi in Munich 05/07/19

Bon Jovi took their tour to Munich's Olympic Stadium and here's what was played:

Munich, Germany - Olympiastadion - July 5, 2019 set list

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Born to Be My Baby
5. Roller Coaster
6. Lost Highway
7. Runaway
8. We Weren't Born to Follow
9. Have a Nice Day
10. Keep the Faith
11. These Days
12. Who Says You Can't Go Home
13. In These Arms
14. It's My Life
15. We Don't Run
16. Wanted Dead or Alive
17. Lay Your Hands on Me
18. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
19. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
20. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
21. I'll Be There For You
22. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Munich

"These Days":

"In These Arms" - David Bryan sang the first verse, though his mic was turned down at the beginning so you couldn't hear him initially:

"Runaway":

Feel free to share your thoughts, other videos, etc. 😊

Extras

Phil X posted a picture of himself with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen ahead of the Munich show. I usually only ever see images of Collen on stage with his shirt off so I probably wouldn't have recognised him had X not specified who it was. 🤣

View this post on Instagram

@bonjovi & @defleppard hang last night before Munich's show tonight. i just HAD to get a shot of the PHILs. me & @therealphilcollen talking string gauges of all things at this very moment. ARE YOU READY, MUNICH???

A post shared by Phil X (@philx1111) on Jul 4, 2019 at 11:20pm PDT

Everett Bradley also posted a picture of himself and Tico Torres with Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen.

View this post on Instagram

Honored to be amongst rhythmic greatness with BonJovi’s Tico Torres and Def Leppard’s Rick Allen!! #rickallen #ticotorres #drummers #badass #80srock #bonjovitour2019 #igotrhythm

A post shared by Everett Bradley (@everettbradley) on Jul 4, 2019 at 11:45am PDT

Here's vocal coach Mary Jo DuPrey's post from the Bon Jovi/Def Leppard dinner in Munich.

View this post on Instagram

Having dinner with Bon Jovi AND Def Leppard. Munich.

A post shared by Mary Jo Agresta DuPrey (@maryjoagrestaduprey) on Jul 4, 2019 at 11:55am PDT

And finally, Phil responded to a fan request to demonstrate how he played the "Born Again Tomorrow" solo. Wouldn't mind the band playing this, since this is supposed to still be the This House Is Not For Sale Tour. 😉

View this post on Instagram

had a fan request a quick lesson on the solo for Born Again Tomorrow from THINFS. here she be.

A post shared by Phil X (@philx1111) on Jul 5, 2019 at 10:22am PDT

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Bon Jovi in Nijmegen 13/06/19

Bon Jovi took its This House Is Not For Sale Tour to the Netherlands, where "Always" was finally performed for the first time since the Sao Paolo show in 2017. Here's the full set:

Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands - Goffertpark - June 13, 2019 set list

1. This House is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Born to Be My Baby
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Lost Highway
7. Runaway
8. We Weren't Born to Follow
9. Have a Nice Day
10. Keep the Faith
11. I'll Be There For You
12. In These Arms
13. It's My Life
14. We Don't Run
15. Wanted Dead or Alive
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars
18. Who Says You Can't Go Home
19. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
20. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore: 
21. Always
22. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Nijmegen

"Always" - It may not be perfect, and Jon is squeezing some of those notes out like they're going to kill him, but I still got a little emotional in a good way:

"I'll Be There For You":

"In These Arms":

"Wanted Dead or Alive":

Feel free to share your thoughts, video links, etc.

Bon Jovi have two consecutive shows in Dublin coming up. I don't know if they'll bring any pleasant or exciting surprises but one can hope. 🙂

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

Bon Jovi in Sønderborg 11/06/19

Bon Jovi's This House Is Not For Sale Tour headed to Denmark and here's what was played:

Sønderborg, Denmark - Slagmarken - June 11, 2019 set list

1. This House is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Born to Be My Baby
5. Roller Coaster
6. Lost Highway
7. Runaway
8. We Weren't Born to Follow
9. Have a Nice Day
10. Keep the Faith
11. Amen
12. In These Arms
13. It's My Life
14. We Don't Run
15. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars
18. We Got it Goin' on
19. Blood on Blood
20. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore: 
21. I'd Die For You
22. Livin' on a Prayer

Yes, you read that correctly. No "Wanted Dead or Alive", but "I'd Die For You" was played.

Def Leppard opened for Bon Jovi on this show, the first time they've played together since 1986. I've seen both bands live, but it would be kind of cool to see them on the same bill (probably more so in their respective peaks though). Def Leppard posted these pics on their social media accounts:

View this post on Instagram

Fun catching up with #BonJovi. 📸 @rsebastyan

A post shared by Def Leppard (@defleppard) on Jun 11, 2019 at 3:44pm PDT

Videos from Sønderborg

"I'd Die For You" (it's only 26 not-great-sounding seconds, but I had to include it since it was the biggest surprise of the night):

"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" (most of it):

"In These Arms" (partial, with the screen oriented the wrong way but you get the idea):

Feel free to share your thoughts, video links, etc. in the comments below.

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

Bon Jovi in Moscow 1/06/19

We're back! After a five-and-a-half month break, Bon Jovi resumed their This House Is Not For Sale Tour. And they did it in Moscow, which they last visited back in 1989 for the Moscow Music Peace Festival in the then-Soviet Union, an event organised by then-manager Doc McGhee. Needless to say, plenty has changed in the last 30 years, but here's what was played at Bon Jovi's most recent trip to Moscow:

Moscow, Russia - Luzhniki Stadium - June 1, 2019 set list

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Born to Be My Baby
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Lost Highway
7. Runaway
8. We Weren't Born to Follow
9. Have a Nice Day
10. Keep the Faith
11. Amen
12. Bed of Roses
13. It's My Life
14. We Don't Run
15. These Days
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. God Bless This Mess
18. Blood on Blood
19. We Got It Goin' On
20. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
21. In These Arms
22. Wanted Dead or Alive
23. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Moscow

You can block out 2.5 hours and watch the full show:

But if you're pressed for time at the moment, here are a few shorter videos.

"These Days":

"In These Arms" (yes, Shanks is still playing the solo instead of Phil but I don't think that's going to change):

"Blood on Blood":

"Bed of Roses":

Bon Jovi next heads to Estonia for the first time.

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

Bon Jovi in Osaka 27/11/18

Bon Jovi followed their Tokyo show with a gig in Osaka. Here's what was played:

Osaka, Japan - Kyocera Dome Osaka - November 27, 2018 set list

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

Videos from Osaka

"This House Is Not For Sale" and "Knockout". If you were following the blog when THINFS came out, you might recall that I... strongly dislike "Knockout". But I thought this outro was cool:

"In These Arms", with Jon throwing to David Bryan on the second verse and John Shanks still playing the guitar solo:

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

Were you at the show?

Other notes

Meanwhile, David joined Instagram about three weeks ago and has been uploading some behind-the-scenes posts, like this video, shot on the plane heading to Australia:

View this post on Instagram

Melbourne Australia. Here we come ....😎💪🎹🥁🎙🎸🎶🎶💥

A post shared by David Bryan (@davidbryanmusic) on Nov 27, 2018 at 6:26pm PST

Dave's sitting next to Matt Bongiovi, who's indicated that this leg will be his final Bon Jovi tour:

Looking forward to my last stint of touring. What better way then a run in Japan and Australia. #bonjovi

— Matthew Bongiovi (@TheMattBongiovi) 18 November 2018

Bon Jovi in Montreal 18/05/18 + What next?

Bon Jovi's second of two consecutive nights in Montreal marked a) the end of this leg of the tour, b) possibly the last show of the tour, and c) probably the most surprising set of the tour. They signalled it early -- This is the first show of the This House Is Not For Sale Tour not to open with the title track. Jon started the concert in the crowd, while the B-stage where he's been singing "Amen" and "Bed of Roses" was not used (and those two songs were dropped).

Here's what was played:

Montreal, QC, Canada - Bell Centre - May 18, 2018

1. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
2. You Give Love a Bad Name
3. This House Is Not For Sale
4. Whole Lot of Leavin'
5. Lost Highway
6. Roller Coaster
7. Because We Can
8. Runaway
9. It's My Life
10. We Weren't Born to Follow
11. We Got It Goin' On
12. Keep the Faith
13. Who Says You Can't Go Home
14. Born to Be My Baby
15. Lay Your Hands on Me
16. New Year's Day
17. I'd Die For You
18. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore #1:
19. (You Want To) Make a Memory
20. In These Arms
21. Wanted Dead or Alive
22. Livin' on a Prayer
    
    Encore #2:
23. Blood on Blood
24. I'll Be There For You

Videos from Montreal, night #2

"Blood on Blood":

"I'll Be There For You":

"I'd Die For You":

"In These Arms":

"New Year's Day":

"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead":

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

At this stage, no other shows have been announced. Jon did mention Japan and Australia to an interviewer at the iHeartRadio Awards, but there was talk (and expectation) of a 2018 European tour, which ultimately fell through. So who knows? Will they make it to the rest of the world? Will there be another album?

Jon's latest Instagram post implies there'll at least be more shows (whether that's for this album cycle or the next) so I guess we'll wait and see...

What a flawless end to the #thinfstour. Thank you to the fans and each city for showing us why @bonjovi fans are the best in the world. We’ll see you soon! #bonjovi Images 📷: @davidbergman

A post shared by Jon Bon Jovi (@jonbonjovi) on May 19, 2018 at 12:48pm PDT

Bon Jovi in New York 10/05/18

Bon Jovi returned to Madison Square Garden to play the second of two consecutive shows. Here's the set list from night 2:

New York City, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden - May 10, 2018

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Whole Lot of Leavin'
5. Lost Highway
6. Roller Coaster
7. Who Says You Can't Go Home
8. Born to Be My Baby
9. It's My Life
10. We Weren't Born to Follow
11. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
12. Keep the Faith
13. Amen
14. Bed of Roses
15. Lay Your Hands on Me
16. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
17. When We Were Us
18. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
19. In These Arms
20. (You Want To) Make a Memory
21. Wanted Dead or Alive
22. These Days
23. Livin' on a Prayer

"These Days" and "Captain Crash" made their second appearances of the year. "In These Arms" was listed as an audible, but ended up being played.

Videos from New York City, night #2

Jon talks about Bon Jovi opening for ZZ Top at Madison Square Garden before performing "When We Were Us":

"These Days":

"Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars":

"In These Arms":

"Make a Memory":

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

Bon Jovi in Allentown 2/05/18

Bon Jovi (as a band) hadn't played in Allentown since 1984, when they were Scorpions' support act. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora played solo shows there in the 90s, but either way it's been a while. One might have expected a very predictable set list for Bon Jovi's first ever headlining gig there. It turned out to be the most surprising set of the year (so far). Here's what they played:

Allentown, PA, USA - PPL Center - May 2, 2018

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Raise Your Hands
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Whole Lot of Leavin'
5. Lost Highway
6. In These Arms
7. Born to Be My Baby
8. Who Says You Can't Go Home
9. It's My Life
10. We Weren't Born to Follow
11. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
12. Keep the Faith
13. Amen
14. Bed of Roses
15. Lay Your Hands on Me
16. Runaway
17. Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars
18. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
19. Dry County
20. Wanted Dead or Alive
21. Livin' on a Prayer

"Dry County" made its tour debut, having not been played since the Because We Can Tour. "Saturday Night" and "Captain Crash" were played for the first time this year. "In These Arms" made its second appearance of 2018. And "We Got It Goin' On" was dropped (which I'm not at all sad about, but it was a surprise given it's pretty much been a staple for over a decade now).

Videos from Allentown

"Dry County". Won't lie, this is pretty rough vocally, though I think Jon sounds marginally better as the song progresses. But I love the song so much I probably wouldn't have cared if I were there:

"In These Arms". A decent performance by current standards. The camera pans to Phil X during the solo but it's definitely John Shanks playing it:

UPDATE: "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night":

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