TLFR live- Borgata was great

Folks, this fans concert review is the reason you are forced to listen to the TLFR disaster. I thought the Beatles made the Butcher Album 35 years ago....although their butcher album was called that becuase of the cover, not the content. Look, I am as big of an appologist as Bon Jovi has but I have my limits. I still love and support the band, I baught 10 copies of the album just to make the sales look better. But, plain and simple it is an absolute disaster. Live was no different. I was at both shows and can tell you that there was very little good about the music played. The songs were played very close to the sound of the record.....which I understand was very difficult. Jon was funny and the band was great with bad crowds (not the crowds fault by the way). But, Jon was clearly not happy with how things were going and looked very uncomforatable with the material. The fans were uncertain of weather they should cheer and sing along, sit and be quiet, or fall asleep. The only thing that was good was the 2 new songs that got dumped from the album. Unless they can find someone that can make Jon look less miserable, make the songs better, and the crowd more alive you will NEVER see that DVD.......and be thankful for it. I wish I had never seen these embarrasing songs sung by a disinterested Jon Bon Jovi. Very sad weekend for a HUGE Jovi fan.

Yawn. Your second post manages to only be slightly better than the first.... don't be calling another fan's review wrong, don't be telling them that they shouldn't be honest in reviews.... which isn't what I'm doing by the way, you're perfectly entitled to make your opinion, just as i'm prefectly entitled not to like it. By the way, most people who want the album to flop don't by ten copies of it. Oh, and by the way:

I'd try going on a diet if you're that big

Keep On Rockin'

Jallard I will respect your opinion but I have to wonder which substance from the lobby bar you may have had because you were surely not at my concert Nor were you at the concert of the dozens of people I spoke with afterwards who loved it and were totally into it. The crowd around me was also into it. Friday night there was some misunderstanding about whether you needed to stay seated but that was cleared up Saturday. Jon looked anything but miserable- Bad Name was absolutely amazing. I did at first detect some feeling their way if you will on the first versions of Wanted and Prayer but with the retakes they were spot on. Also this is a taping so everything has to be done a certain way which takes some of the spontaneous feel you might feel at a concert away, but to me the night was nothing short of amazing.

First off, I can say whatever I want. And the review of that show WAS wrong. I have tried to not tear the songs apart too much but you cannot be serious.....Bad Medicine as a syruppy ballad? It is a silly, corny pop metal song. When it is sung as a ballad the corny silly lyrics sound rediculous. The same with Bad Name. The only people who enjoyed that version were the old and/or fat women that got off on Jon shaking his ass for them. The song without that sucks. It's My Life is a powerful bombastic enthusiastic arena rock song. It is about someone who is going to go out and get what they can out of life and enjoy every moment, are you buying the lyrics as sincere when Jon is singing them like he is on heavy doses of pain killers. The songs do not work, especially live. The fan issues were not worked out for Saturday, I was at both shows. It was bad both nights and fans were not happy. You may have talked to dozens of fans, congrats on that. I saw HUNDREDS of heads shaking, people yawning, and NOONE in the sections I was in seemed to get whatever it was they were trying to do. I am happy for whoever enjoyed it, but there is no way you could be a fan of the Bon Jovi that I know and enjoy these songs. They are bad on the album, and worse live. I do not know what others had to pay for tickets, but I dropped 4 thousand dollars for the 2 shows and hotel and I got 20 songs per night? It was a joke and if this sort of music and performance continues they will be playing venues of that size regularly.

2 totally different viewpoints. Interesting read. Thank you for posting your honest opinions. Hopefully other concert-goers will post more opinions.

I guess these 2 reviews show how most fans feel: they either love it or hate it. Hardly anyone gives this effort 3 stars. It's either 1-2 or 4-5.

I actually also thought that the band looked a bit uncomfortable during the webcast. Which is understandable because what they did here is extremely foreign to them and to us. They stretched their boundaries a lot here, broke their self-imposed limits. To the point of controversy whether they betrayed their roots. If I were them, I would feel uncomfortable.

I applaud them though. They finally didn't play it safe. The safe thing to do here would be put a standard accoustic record out. The only other Bon Jovi record that wasn't safe was These Days. All their other efforts were extremely safe. Always put out what people expected of them. No chances taken. Driven by a desire to play arenas and stadiums and make people happy, rather than by their own musical desires and persuasions.

I'm personally looking forward to this DVD. Hopefully they'll put it out. It's always interesting to see people stretching themselves to the point when they are actually hardly recognizable. I wanna have this DVD in my collection as soon as possible.

I like what you said and I agree. It is certainly risky and I respect them taking the chance. But, you have to make the changes make sense. If they wanted to make this album different....do it with new songs. Don't take songs that people have genuine attachments to and change them completely. Some of the music is even good, if it weren't so overproduced. But, even where the music is good the songs they are singing to it make no sense. If they wanted to make the old songs different they needed to take more time and have the formats fit the music. Live the mixes were better than the album....but still too many digital drumbeats and loops. I still do not think you will see this DVD, and if you do I think you will be disapointed.

Ilene of Bon Jovi Management told Kathy Rush from Backstage (she was the Command the Band runner up) that it will be out in February. No way this won't be released. I was just so surprised by your review- this is the first negative written or verbal review I have heard anywhere. The audience around me were totally into it. Everyone came out shaking their heads in a good way, not bad that I saw and I had friends scattered throughout the venue. I had really great seats- sorry you paid so much because my obstructed view half price seat was totally unobstructed and third row center behind the tables. I will give you some initial awkwardness about 2-3 songs in the first night (was not there the second) which I felt was kind of feeling their way- it picked up from there and the redos of those songs as I said were up to the rest of the night. Also the technical difficulties I think were trying for Jon which always make him unhappy but I really did not see it in the music. As for IML- I think it is beautiful this way- a battle cry become a poignant plea. It is one of my favorites from the album. Would I like to see them play like this every night- well the new songs and Sylvia's Mother and the best version I have seen of Blood on Blood acoustic, you bet, but I will give you that I want electric for the rest. I think they have stretched themselves and done something new for them which will ultimately mean better things. Jon also was unhappy about Last Man Standing in particular being taken off- I really do believe those two songs would have totally changed fan perceptions of the album because they are that good.

I think it is strange that for someone who seems very into Bon Jovi that you would assume that something you heard on the night of the taping was fact, heresay at best. What if it didn't go well again? Remember Yokahama? That was taped in the same manner and we will never see that. I do not think that an honest presentation of those shows will be watchable. And the truth is....noone will know until they see what they have and decide if they can make it work. I will amend what I said, you may see it but I think it will be part of the box set, on its own.

I agree that the 2 new songs were good....just further evidence that we got ripped off with this album. They had better material and didn't give to us. As far as your take on the songs...that is pure opinion of course. I think your reasoning for liking the It's My Life fits more for Keep The Faith. I agree that the meaning of that song becomes more af a desperate plea and sounds empassioned. It's My Life sparked their return to being a major draw......to change that song from a bombastic arena rock song to a dull soupy ballad seems like a slap in the face. Remember 1995.....venues that were 3/4 full? If that's that you want then keep supporting any old thing they put out. I choose to hold them to the standard that they have set for themselves.....in the studio and live. I will not accept a lesser performance fom them. Other bands yes...but not them. These songs mean to much to me to let them get destroyed like this.

For a reality check I went to the Southside Johnny board as there were SSJ fans (one guy behind me kept yelling for SSJ the whole night) due to two of their members being in the band. There was one critical review saying Jon should pick it up, it was like a lounge act, but three other very favorable reviews who thought it was as great as I did. So to each their own- but I really can honestly say I did not see or hear anything Friday smacking of negativity from anyone around me, even with the technical glitches. I would think if the crowd were truly restless this could have been a bad moment, but the jammin' Richie and Dave just kept everyone smiling followed by an impromptu Love For Sale that went over well looks like it made it to the main set on Saturday.

Well I just don't see it that way. BTW I am a Bruce die hard too- I somehow managed to live through Tom Joad (awful!) and the firing of the E Street Band and am glad I hung in there.
Maybe for you this is their Ghost of Tom Joad
Hang in there- I am so sorry you were disappointed. I know lots of people that would have given their eye teeth to be there and couldn't get in the door. Bon Jovi may not be doing what you want them to do now- I think These Days was like that for a lot of people as well. But nothing ever stays the same and this too shall pass and the next Bon Jovi album I am sure will not disappoint, not to mention the box set. I know it sounds like a cliche but really, Keep The Faith.