Originally Posted by Rdkopper
Review:
Overall Great Time!!!
For starters, it’s different… Not a Pro or a Con, just different! We were sitting first level, dead center which is quite a distance from the stage. For starters, there are no screens. In some ways, it’s good and in some ways it’s bad… It’s good because the screens dictate what you watch. When there are no screens to look at, you watch what you want to watch. However with that, it’s obviously hard to see certain things from such distance. For example, being dead center, it was hard to see Everett in the back and you really have to focus in, to see what he’s doing… In addition, it’s not that colorful set we are all used to… It’s all very dark (not in a literal sense but more of the mood setting). Everyone is dressed in black, there are no stage props, or screens. Maybe that’s the vibe Jon is going for… It wasn’t that smile, happy, colorful stage set that we are all used to seeing from Bon Jovi for the past 30 years… Again, not a pro or a con, just different…
Let’s just get the vocals out of the way…They are a non issue… Is he singing like he did back whenever? No! But he’s not butchering songs either.. There has definitely been some overall improvement since the start and although he does pronounce some of the lyrics weird at times, it doesn’t take anything away from the experience… I’ll stand by my opinion that a lot of it isn’t as noticeable when you are there live… To my ears, he sounded like his normal post 2K self, for the most part...
The Cons:
- I’ll agree with everyone here… The set-list… If he just tweaked a few songs, it would work better… To casual fans, Whole Lotta Leavin is just as new as God Bless This Mess… As diehard fans, we like certain songs because we know them but when you’re hearing these songs for the first time, it doesn’t matter how good they are, they are difficult to get into because you don’t know them yet… Sure, unknown upbeat rocker could work like WGIGO, Knockout Etc... but too many in a row that don’t pack that 1 - 2 punch just don’t work.
- Too many of the new songs… That small block mid show just flattened it out… No one is into them for the reason stated above… As much as I was looking forward to them and my main reason for going, they just didn’t move me like I was hoping… THINFS followed by Knockout, into Bad Name was amazing… I’ll get to that in the Pros but God Bless This Mess, Scars, NYD, were just sleepers… Even WDR was a snoozer… I do however think Jon did a great job performing them but there were just too many new songs for a wild audience as such… I am looking forward to the Soundboard because Jon did do a great job regardless of how they went over…
- No Devil’s In The Temple… the one song I was looking forward to hearing… Hopefully MSG...
- I felt like there was no flow to the show… Jon was just playing songs…. Maybe it was to fit that darker mood but there really weren’t any of those moments… The Fighter was very cool for the die-hards and I enjoyed Jon doing it that way but maybe a hit would have went over better… Like a plucking of NSG… I just felt like there was no personality to the flow of the songs… (hard to verbalize)
The Pros:
- Jon’s energy… He was NOT glued to the mic… He’s still a great performer and could work a crowd.. He even went into the audience during Bad Medicine. It was cool but again, hard to take in with no screen but still very cool.. His voice is improving and he looked comfortable up there. The hits were enjoyable.
- The opening… THINFS followed by Knockout, into Bad Name was Amazing. Knockout is a new song but it’s quick, rockin, and the arena acoustics really bring it out… great live tune… The outro solo in THINFS was fantastic live too…All three songs combined really get the crowd going… Jon should have keep that rhythm going with a few more hits before killing the energy with Lost Highway and WLOL… Rollercoaster also went over well.
- The energy of the Philly crowd.. The place was packed and ready to rock…Not an empty seat in the house... These people still love this band.. When the hits went off, so did they.
- KTF was amazing… Great seeing all the members showcase their talents.. Phil is really fun to watch… He’s like a kid in a candy store… Just living his dream at the age of 50 instead of 20… I hope he’s there till the end. Maybe replace Shanks with Sambora one day but keep Phil till the end.
- Wanted into Prayer is the way to end it.. Jon holding his guitar up at the end of Wanted was a moment. Jon holding his mic to the audience like he did in the 80’s during the end of Prayer was a picture. Again, great energy.
-I thought Raise Your Hands as the encour was killer... Runaway was also fun.
- The stories.. As much as the new songs went over flat, the stories at least add to them.
-The Band!!! Fantastic!!! Some real talent up there… Definitely makes Jon look better!!!
Overall, Excellent!!! A better setlist would have made it Amazing!!! I take back what I stated in other posts about Jon not being able to handle them vocally or the band not being able to play them… He can sing them and they could play them…Now that I’ve seen it and know what to expect, I’m looking forward to seeing it again next week in NYC, MSG...
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04-02-2017, 02:17 AM
