Hey, man, I'm alive...

I haven't blogged here in quite some time. Aside from the busyness of life getting in the way -- which I'm extremely grateful for because not everyone has been lucky enough to keep working throughout the pandemic -- there just hasn't been a huge amount for me to talk about when it comes to Bon Jovi. I mean, individual members have their own projects, but the band obviously hasn't been able to get together and tour.

But 2021 marks the 35th anniversary of Bon Jovi's breakthrough album Slippery When Wet -- a record that I think deserves a lot more celebration than it's currently able to get. To honour the milestone, Bon Jovi digitally remastered the "Wild in the Streets" video and uploaded it to YouTube for the first time.

Cool, but... I would love something more. And no, cheap-looking merch does not count as "something more". 😜

In Perth, where I live, a local band -- also called Slippery When Wet -- paid tribute to the anniversary by playing the album in its entirety at a recent gig. I shot a video of "Never Say Goodbye" on my phone:

It was beautiful and actually kind of emotional getting to see Slippery performed in its entirety, albeit not by the real Bon Jovi in their prime.

Will Bon Jovi (current lineup or otherwise) tour again? It's hard to say anything with any certainty these days. 

In the absence of touring, it looks like Jon's going to keep doing the Hampton Water Makes a Splash online gigs -- the "second annual" charity concert, in support of The Roots Fund, took place back in July. I neglected to write about it at the time, but if you're yet to watch it and have about an hour to spare, here it is:

Set list:

1. Help! [The Beatles cover]
2. You Give Love a Bad Name / Hit the Road Jack [Percy Mayfield/Ray Charles cover]
3. Do What You Can
4. American Reckoning
5. Watermelon Sugar [Harry Styles cover]
6. Livin' on a Prayer
7. It's My Life
8. Fast Car [Tracy Chapman cover]
9. Story of Love
10. Lost Highway
11. Who Says You Can't Go Home
    

I feel like this sort of thing suits Jon more these days but man, I'd still really love a Bon Jovi show. 🥺

But I'll end this "hi, I'm still here" post on something different... Phil X plays guitar on Kurt Deimer's version of "Have a Cigar" (originally by Pink Floyd), which was released in August. Phil is also in the music video:

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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.

This Ain't a Love Song, Romeo and Juliet + more from San Sebastian

Bon Jovi's San Sebastián show (July 29, 2011) brought some nice inclusions... the most notable/anticipated being This Ain't a Love Song!

This Ain't a Love Song

These Days' biggest hit finally made its tour debut on the second last show of the tour. There were fans holding up signs for it in Barcelona but it wasn't played. Hope at least some of those fans got to experience it here. Jon's not moving around much but he sounds great.

Romeo and Juliet / Always

Romeo and Juliet is probably my favourite Dire Straits song so that was a cool surprise. It also segues nicely into Always.

Summertime

Jon seems to have fun with this song. It's not all that well liked, but I actually enjoy it.

Wild in the Streets (partial)

This was as much of the song as I could find but it deserved a showcasing.

I'd Die For You


Hath's Circle Tour Blog has a complete video guide to this show. I'll be posting videos from Lisbon tomorrow. :)

Videos from Uncasville: A Day for Diehards

First up, I'd like to apologise for being late with these; blame it on a combination of work and, in the last couple of days, being unable to login to the Blogger dashboard from my usual browser. I'm typing this from IE right now, which is not something I like to do by choice. :P

Anyway, I promised a video showcase and it's time to deliver. I'm glad there's this break in the tour at the moment or I'd be even further behind. ;) Without further ado, here's a bunch of videos from Bon Jovi's amazing set in Uncasville on March 4, 2010.

The Radio Saved My Life Tonight

Surprising choice for opener, but I dig the song.

Thorn In My Side

The twin solo at the end just takes the song to another level every time. Sure, I'm biased because I loved The Circle from the start, but it's the live performances of "Thorn", along with "Love's the Only Rule", that convinced me that Jon gave up on the album way too easily.

Wild in the Streets

Some people were just about bursting blood vessels over the decision to let Bobby Bandiera take the solo on this. Thoughts?

I Got The Girl

This song is roundly hated but I don't mind it... Crush isn't a favourite album of mine, but when I think about it, there are really only two songs on it that I particularly dislike and this isn't one of them. I enjoyed the little jam at the end too.

In These Arms (David Bryan vox)

I ALWAYS love hearing Dave sing.

Superman Tonight (acoustic)

I absolutely adore the unplugged version of this. The touch of violin from special guest Lorenza Ponce worked nicely here.

Living in Sin

Ah, the forgotten New Jersey hit (it was one of five top 10 hits from that album, and the only one that didn't make the recent Greatest Hits).

Hey God

This was my favourite song at one point. It's now slipped down the list a bit but it's still comfortably in my top 10, so it's always great to see this pop up in a set.

Videos from London (O2#6-8)

Some videos from June 17-20 of Bon Jovi's residency at the O2 arena.

THORN IN MY SIDE (Night #6: June 17, 2010) - This deserves a run every night of the Circle Tour. It really comes into its own live, and the twin solo/jam session at the end of the song is awesome. (Cheers to Jay for sending me the link to this video).


WILD IN THE STREETS (Night #7: June 19, 2010) - That was fun! I'd forgotten how much I actually like this song.


SOMEDAY I'LL BE SATURDAY NIGHT (Night #7: June 19, 2010) - An incredible performance, which includes some ad lib references to "Something to Believe In"


SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN (Night #7: June 19, 2010) - Speaking of which... how about ANOTHER video of this? :P


SQUEEZE BOX (Night #8: June 20, 2010)- A closer video of this cool acoustic cover.