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

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

Bon Jovi in Stockholm 05/06/19

After starting their European tour in a couple of places they never visit, Bon Jovi headed to Stockholm. Here's what they played:

Stockholm, Sweden - Tele2 Arena - June 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. 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. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. God Bless This Mess
18. Blood on Blood
19. Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars
20. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
21. Wanted Dead or Alive
22. In These Arms
23. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Stockholm

"This House Is Not For Sale":

"Runaway":

"Someday I'll Be Saturday Night":

Were you at the show?

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

Bon Jovi in Chicago 26/04/18

Here's what Bon Jovi played in Chicago:

Chicago, IL, USA - United Center - April 26, 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. When We Were Us
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. Runaway
12. We Got It Goin' On
13. Keep the Faith
14. Amen
15. Bed of Roses
16. Lay Your Hands on Me
17. God Bless This Mess
18. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
19. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
20. (You Want To) Make a Memory
21. Wanted Dead or Alive
22. Livin' on a Prayer

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.

Videos from Chicago

"Wanted Dead or Alive":

"Runaway":

"Raise Your Hands":

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

A few days ago, Anthony Kuzminski sparked some debate by ranking each song in the Bon Jovi and Jon Bon Jovi back catalogue for Ultimate Classic Rock. He was also at this show and live tweeted from behind the stage. Here are a few of those tweets:

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

— The Screen Door (@thescreendoor) April 27, 2018

Ok, after a lot of blank stares from a good performance of “When We Were Us”, crowd wakes from their nap for “Born To Be My Baby”

— The Screen Door (@thescreendoor) April 27, 2018

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.

— The Screen Door (@thescreendoor) April 27, 2018

“It’s My Life” plays like the mega hit it is. Now it’s “We Weren’t Born To Follow”. People back in their seats and on their phones.

— The Screen Door (@thescreendoor) April 27, 2018

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

— The Screen Door (@thescreendoor) April 27, 2018

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.

— The Screen Door (@thescreendoor) April 27, 2018

Bon Jovi in Orlando 18/04/18

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

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. We Don't Run
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Whole Lot of Leavin'
5. Lost Highway
6. Born to Be My Baby
7. Who Says You Can't Go Home
8. It's My Life
9. We Weren't Born to Follow
10. Because We Can
11. We Got It Goin' On
12. Keep the Faith / Sympathy for the Devil [Rolling Stones cover]
13. Amen
14. Bed of Roses
15. Lay Your Hands on Me
16. God Bless This Mess
17. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
18. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
19. Runaway
20. Wanted Dead or Alive
21. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Orlando

"Keep the Faith" with "Sympathy for the Devil":

"Lay Your Hands on Me":

"Runaway":

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

Bon Jovi in Newark 8/04/18 + Richie Sambora on Rock Hall rehearsals

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

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Because We Can
5. Lost Highway
6. Born to Be My Baby
7. Who Says You Can't Go Home
8. It's My Life
9. We Weren't Born to Follow
10. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
11. We Got It Goin' On
12. Keep the Faith
13. Amen
14. Bed of Roses
15. Lay Your Hands on Me
16. God Bless This Mess
17. Runaway
18. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
19. These Days
20. Wanted Dead or Alive
21. Blood on Blood
22. Livin' on a Prayer

Videos from Newark (night #2)

"These Days":

"Blood on Blood":

"Runaway":

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

Richie Sambora was evidently at the Prudential Center but didn't make an appearance on stage.

98% sure this was Richie Sambora stage right tonight #BonJovi pic.twitter.com/4BiX4Li2g7

— George Miller (@gmiller311) 9 April 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.

You can read the full interview with Richie and Orianthi (The interview also covers RSO's upcoming album) here.

Bon Jovi in Newark 7/04/18

After the postponement of two scheduled Montreal shows due to illness, Bon Jovi resumed their tour in their home state of New Jersey. Here's what was played:

Newark, NJ, USA - Prudential Center - April 7, 2018

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. When We Were Us
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. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
12. We Got It Goin' On
13. Keep The Faith
14. Amen
15. Bed Of Roses
16. Lay Your Hands On Me
17. God Bless This Mess
18. Have A Nice Day
19. Bad Medicine
    
    Encore:
20. Runaway
21. Wanted Dead Or Alive
22. 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.

Videos from Newark (night #1)

"Runaway":

"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:

"Bed of Roses":

"Amen":

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

Bon Jovi in New York 13/04/17 (night 1)

Bon Jovi brought their This House Is Not For Sale "home" for the first of two shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. (These were, of course, the concerts that were rescheduled after Jon got sick.) Here's what was played on the first night at MSG:

New York, NY, USA - Madison Square Garden - 13 April 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. We Got It Going On
10. Who Says You Can't Go Home
11. It's My Life
12. We Don't Run
13. God Bless This Mess
14. Scars on This Guitar
15. New Year's Day
16. Lay Your Hands On Me
17. Born to Be My Baby
18. Have a Nice Day
19. Bad Medicine
20. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
21. Runaway
22. Blood On Blood
23. Wanted Dead Or Alive
24. Livin' On A Prayer

If you've been following the set lists at all, the main set should be quite familiar to you by now. There were a couple of changes in the encore. 

Videos from New York, Night #1

"Runaway":

"Scars on this Guitar":

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

Were you at this show?

Bon Jovi in Philadelphia 31/03/17

Bon Jovi headed to Philly on their This House Is Not For Sale Tour, and here's what was played:

Set list: Philadelphia, PA, USA - Wells Fargo Center - 31 March 2017

1. This House Is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born To Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Runaway
10. We Got It Goin' On
11. Who Says You Can't Go Home
12. It's My Life
13. We Don't Run
14. God Bless This Mess
15. Scars On This Guitar
16. New Year's Day
17. Lay Your Hands On Me
18. Born To Be My Baby
19. Have a Nice Day
20. Bad Medicine
21. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
22. Raise Your Hands
23. The Fighter [acoustic]
24. Wanted Dead or Alive
25. Livin' on a Prayer

An acoustic snippet of "The Fighter" was the big surprise of the night, making its tour debut. And "Runaway" was played for the second concert in a row, despite not being on the printed set list.

Videos from Philadelphia

Here's "The Fighter" and "Wanted Dead or Alive":

"New Year's Day":

"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" and "Runaway" (including the "time machine" intro):

"This House Is Not For Sale", shot from about a 45-degree angle from the stage as the curtain goes up:

"Bad Medicine", in which Jon gets up close and personal with the crowd:

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

Were you at this show?

Bon Jovi in Detroit 29/03/17

Bon Jovi brought their This House Is Not For Sale Tour to Detroit, performing at Joe Louis Arena (which is set to be demolished this year) and paying tribute to hometown hero Bob Seger. Here's what they played:

Set list: Detroit, MI, USA - Joe Louis Arena - 29 March 2017

1. This House is Not For Sale
2. Knockout
3. You Give Love a Bad Name
4. Lost Highway
5. Whole Lot of Leavin'
6. Roller Coaster
7. We Weren't Born to Follow
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Old Time Rock 'n' Roll [Bob Seger cover]
9. Runaway
10. We Got It Going On
11. Who Says You Can't Go Home
12. It's My Life
13. We Don't Run
14. God Bless this Mess
15. Scars on this Guitar
16. New Year's Day
17. Lay Your Hands On Me
18. Born to Be My Baby
19. Have a Nice Day
20. Bad Medicine
21. Keep the Faith
    
    Encore:
22. Raise Your Hands
23. Wanted Dead or Alive
24. Livin' on a Prayer

"Runaway" made its tour debut, as did "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll".

Videos from Detroit

MLive produced this highlights video. It features snippets of "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll", "Runaway", "We Got It Going On", "Lay Your Hands on Me", "Wanted Dead or Alive", and "Livin' on a Prayer":

Bon Jovi in Detroit with a farewell to Joe Louis Arena

Here's "Runaway":

Bon Jovi - Runaway (Joe Louis Arena Detroit)

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

Were you at this show?

Richie Sambora doesn't want to play Runaway again

Richie Sambora sat down for an interview with The Sun-Herald during his recent visit to Australia. Much of what he said has been mentioned in some form or another in previous interviews, but what stuck out for me was when Kate Waterhouse asked Richie if there were any songs he never wanted to play again and he said he didn't think he'd ever perform Runaway again:

The early Bon Jovi stuff I can't stand. I just think we didn't have our stylistic voice. But some people love some of that stuff. Like people are going "[play] Run Away" and I'm going "I hate that song! I'll never play it again!"

I know it's the only song from the first two albums that Bon Jovi plays these days and that neither he nor Jon are too fond of those albums. But given Runaway was written by Jon and George Karak before Richie was ever in the picture, and there may never have been a Bon Jovi band without it, I thought it was a strange example to use. And possibly one that signals Richie's intentions going forward.

Anyway, here's a video of Richie talking to Kate about the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, writing hit songs, and his feelings about Runaway.

Date with Kate: Richie Sambora


You can also read other extracts from the interview here.

Happy 29th birthday, Bon Jovi...

I don't always keep track of these things but several of my social media connections have informed me that Bon Jovi was formed on this day 29 years ago with Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico "the Hitman" Torres, Alec John Such and Dave "The Snake" Sabo of Skid Row fame. Richie Sambora obviously replaced Snake soon after (and Hugh McDonald effectively replaced Alec in the 90s, or 80s depending on who you talk to) and the rest, as they say, is history.

Happy birthday Lema!

Happy birthday to our favourite keyboardist and composer, David Bryan Rashbaum! Born February 7, 1962, which makes him a young 49 years old.

Here's an old video of Dave playing "Runaway" with glam metal band Metal Skool (now known as Steel Panther).

More Meadowlands videos

Some more videos from Bon Jovi's Meadowlands shows so far.

DRY COUNTY (May 26, 2010) - Here's another, much closer video of "Dry County" from the first night.


NEVER SAY GOODBYE (May 27, 2010) - Jon forgets the lyrics, but I'm not sure which was funnier: the lyric flub or Richie's amused glances at Jon.


ALWAYS (May 27) - I never, ever get sick of Bon Jovi playing "Always".


HAVE A NICE DAY (May 26) - I don't know about anyone else but this is definitely my favourite of the so-called "It's My Life" lead singles. I love the screens here too.


RUNAWAY (May 26) - This is the performance where the sound infamously died.


LOVE'S THE ONLY RULE (May 26) - Love the screens here too, and this song is still epic despite Jon not being able to go into the crowd like he did in the arenas.

Bad Medicine, Keep the Faith, Runaway in Denver

Some videos from Bon Jovi's show in Denver a couple of nights ago. Read the full set list for that show here.

BAD MEDICINE - I love seeing the "bar band/jukebox" routine that used to be with "Sleep When I'm Dead" in "Bad Medicine"; I think it really freshens up a song that had become stale after being performed the same way for two decades. Here Jon tries to sing Free in the medley but doesn't seem to know it well enough, so they move onto The Doors ("Roadhouse Blues"). Very cool.


KEEP THE FAITH


RUNAWAY - "Uh-oh, it's 1984 again".

Bon Jovi heads to Glendale: Arizona Republic

This is a bit of a shameless plug, but it's also a pretty balanced feature on Bon Jovi. Larry Rodgers has written this article for the Arizona Republic ahead of their Glendale show on February 24, 2010. It considers the contrast between their huge popularity and almost non-existent critical acclaim. I have a little quote in the article, in response to a question about why I thought the band was considered "unfashionable" and dismissed by its critics.

Read the full article here.

I also couldn't help chuckling at some of the descriptions of old school Bon Jovi videos here. Like this one for "Runaway":

Video for the first single from Bon Jovi's self-titled album finds actress Jennifer Gatti facing life in a post-apocaplyptic world. The band is surrounded by flames, wrecked buildings and soldiers. But the attack has not affected Jon Bon Jovi's big, beautiful hair.

I love "Runaway" (although having already heard it live, I'd rather hear something else from the first two albums) but the video really was quite tragic when you think about it...