5 highlights/dissapointments CircleTour2010

5 Disappointments:

1. BOBITA is not played in every single show.
2. Ticket prices are way too high.
3. Bobby Bandiera is still with the band.
4. In some shows (mine included), they played more LH songs compared to TC songs (I have no favorite among these two albums, but still, it's TC tour, not LH).
5. Setlist fluctuation - some places got screwed with vanilla setlists (mine included), some got really awesome setlists. Surely there is a way to keep the core 'we'll get killed if we don't play these' hit songs and alternate the rest, keeping a 25 song setlist.

5 Highlights:

1. They actually played some rare shit from the first two albums. They really need to play those more often.
2. The acoustic segment - for those lucky enough to get it (I didn't, damn it!).
3. Jon realizing that he doesn't have to play his solo song (BOG) in every show.
4. Richie singing songs other than Stranger In This Town and IBTFY (even though his LYHOM is not the best version of the song).
5. They have different versions of Bad Medicine medley, and moving this song into the middle of the set makes it more enjoyable. Now if they could move Bad Name into the encore, that would be good.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- hearing dry county
- hearing someday, runaway, always
- jon's great mood
- length of setlist
- going to two shows

LOWLIGHTS:

- ticket prices, would've loved to have been closer to the stage
- WSYCGH...not much more to add there
- Richie singing LYHOM...i LOVE the man just give him another song

and that's it really! oh and i wish they'd return to oz in '11.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. There is definitely more enthusiasm to put on some good shows this year than tours past. Credit should be given to Jon and co.

2. The rarities, even though Jon has given up on some of them.

3. The vast array of countries they have gone to this time around.

4. Though sluggish and often misguided, there seems to be some effort to reach out to fans.

5. The South American and Australian legs.

LOWLIGHTS

1. The lack of Circle songs. Specifically, Brokenpromiseland being given up on after one try.

2. The fact the overall skeleton of setlists has not been shaken up; in many ways this still feels like an extension of the Lost Highway tour... speaking which...

3. The recurring LH songs. Now I like Whole Lot of Leavin', but there's really no excuse for it or any other LH song- especially WGIGO- showing up so many times.

4. The complete failure for Jon and the band to just play the songs that best represent them as artists, rather than appealing to each neighborhood they go to. By extension...

5. The biggest letdown for me is, despite the fact I'm a diehard fan who lives in New Jersey, I really have no reason to go see Bon Jovi play here- their home state. At best I might get a show with one or two rarities that will be performed in a manufactured fashion, leaving youtube as a preferable and cheaper alternative. Most likely I'll just get a completely vanilla assfan show that will again embarrass me as a fan. And I'll never, ever get a truly passionate, awesome show like what Sydney got Sunday night. As long as I live in America, seeing Bon Jovi is just a waste of money.

Mixture of personal and overall

Highlights

1. Thorn In My Side Outtro- JBJs best guitar playing to date, and this ending is truly superb. It really needs to be played more, Im glad I managed to get it at one of my O2 shows.

2. The overall performance standard is very high indeed. Despite some of the setlists, no one is moaning about the performance standards. The guys are on fire and its great to see.

3. Busting out some rarites that we thought would never see. I never thought I would be watching a performance of Santa Fe with my own eyes! Lest we remember that just a few years ago, Always was a massive rarity and even on the HAND tour I never thought I would get to hear it, and now we have had some fantastic treats.

4. The video screens are superb and focus well on the band, and meaning that its helpful when you up in the gods! It may well have made some shows more robotic, but it didnt always stop them so its a moot excuse. I think the arena and stadium setup looked great, and the intro was spine tingling even after 8 shows in the space of a couple of weeks, that Circle Intro still got my blood pumping!

5. The band finally going to places in the world that have begged for them for a long time- France, South America and the like. And giving them great shows with great crowds too.

Disappointments.

1. Vanilla setlists. Although we ironically had more rarites than ever, there was a spate in the US where the setlists didnt change at all which was incredibly annoying. Even more so at the ones after The O2 gigs, and a slap in the face for those fans. Just 1 rare song can be the difference and it doesnt have to be one that has never been played before- These Days, Dry County, Something To Believe In, Wild Is The Wind have all been played occasionally and there addition to an otherwise vanilla setlist can really appease the fans.

2. Giving up on The Circle. Massive frustration at this as I love the album so far. It pisses on LH from a great height, and Jon would play the shit out of that although a lot of fans didnt like it. Yet TC has a more positive response and they give up on it. Brokenpromiseland getting 1 play only is an absolute tragedy. Thorn should be a staple it really should, absolutely awesome. Fast Cars would work well in the acoustic set. The writing may have been on the wall from The O2 when WWWB and ST became interchangeable rather than both being standards. Although these two and WWBTF will probably make it through to the next tour at least.
It was The Circle tour- people expect songs from it. Even casual fans- if I'm going to a bands tour, I will listen to the new album. There is no excuse for playing WLOL, MAM and Summertime over any Circle song.

3. Ticket prices. In a way though personally was positive, as it was possible to get some good bargains for The O2 because the had too many dates on sale at too high a price. But the diamond circle and all that goes with is very disappointing in this current economic outlook. Make the cheap seats just that- £25-£35 and you will get new people in who wouldnt see them at a higher price. Unfortunately people will pay the high prices, but its not always the fans first- the touts are reaping the profits of selling above face value, and thankfully a lot of them ended up with bloody noses over The O2 affair.

4. Captain Crash/ Who Says. These bloody songs still linger on like an eggy fart, although finally WSYCGH was gone from Sydney. Fair enough, play them on rotation but they should not be there every night. These 2 songs are pure examples of songs that are apparently "fan favourites" but only because they have forced them upon us. Replace these in any setlists with either Circle songs or stick them in a rotation with other songs like Die For You, Sleep, Blaze, Runaway, Older, Raise Your Hands etc..

5. Ditching the early songs. Every tour we fall for Jons shit but this time around they were actually delivering. Sure some of them sounded a little ropey, but a bit of practice and they would have been fine. I listened to In & Out Of Love on the OWN album, and it sounded so good- a song I ignore on the album, but would be great to be brought back live. I would hope its a step in the right direction that they try these songs, but they don't get them the chance.

Overall I'm very positive about the tour, but then I did 8 nights at the same place and so had plenty of variety. But, like with the rest of the tour, it could be better. They were times when the setlist stagnated at the O2 and there is no need for that when you have such a vast back catalogue.
The Sydney setlist is the reason why people moan about vanilla setlists- when they want to pull it out they do so in spectacular style, and yet none of the songs added to that setlist hadnt been played before. As ever, they seem to fail to grasp that any given setlist is only 1 or 2 songs away from being very good.

=)

1- Finally, I saw the band live! Philly Night N#1. What a felt when the band goes to stage that night I never did before.
2- 15 years of watitng its over, was a south american leg on this tour. The Buenos Aires show was one of the best of this tour..
3- The accoustic set, in the middle of the crowd.
4- The stage and the intro video
5- The oldies, Only Lonely, Tokyo Road and the new songs, Broken, LTOR,

Bonus: This was the Top Grossing tour of the year

=(

1- Not repeat the Hawaii nights never agian.
2- Not bring to south america the same stadium stages, like in NA or Australia.
3- Too much LH
4- Japan always get an amazing set list, what happend this time???
5- ...

Like most here, this list is going to be a mixture of things from personal shows I've been to and just general observations:

Positives:

1. 4 out of the 5 shows I went to, and most shows in general seemed to have a band much more passionate and committed band, that even delivered the classics on fire.

2. The band seems more willing to whip out gems (at least once) that haven't been played in a long time, or even ever. (I Believe, Santa Fe, Let It Rock, etc.)

3. The acoustic segment of the set, particularly Something For The Pain. The fact that there's at least a somewhat rotating list of songs, all in good arrangements makes it so much better than the TLFR style debacles of the last two tours.

4. A good deal of the "warhorse" songs (Bad Rx, KTF, IBTFY, LOAP) sound a lot more crisp on this tour.

5. Songs like Always, BOR, and IBTFY (JBJ vox) have become regulars, and sound damn good.

*I HAD TO INCLUDE AN EXTRA ONE*

6. Love's The Only Rule is one of the best additions to their live show in years. The song itself is outstanding, and it's delivered with tremendous power both vocally and musically. The theatrics of Jon walking off at the end add to it's appeal as well.

Disappointments:

1. The July 9, 2010 show at New Meadowlands Stadium was an absolute disgrace. NOTHING that I love about Bon Jovi was on display that night. The band was sloppy, ther performance was uninspired, the set was bland as hell, and Jon was pissy the whole night.

2. The feast or famine nature of the rarities. Sometimes you'll get a great run like the 02 shows, or something amazing like Sydney, but at other times they'll go weeks on end without changing the sets. It needs to be evened out a tad.

3. As others have pointed out, the disappearance of Circle songs is quite disappointing. The staple songs are alright, and the previously mentioned LTOR is outstanding, there are way too many good songs on that record that have been mostly or completely ignored, especially since the opening leg.

4. The lack of the promised full album shows, amongst other mistruths, is disappointing

5. I know this might not be a big one for a lot of people, but the merchandise selection is very week. Outside of the hockey jersey hoodie (which might be my favorite Jovi merch I own) everything is immensely bland, especially the tee-shirts.

Note:
-I really can't bitch about the ticket prices, as I actually paid less for my cheap tickets this tour than I did on the LH Tour.

A lot of similar points here...

Positives
1. Sydney Night 3 - If not only for the fact that the band played my #1 request - I Believe

2. Perth - Always opening in the encore. Out of the three shows I went to, I think this performance stood out from the rest

3. The Circle setup and the acoustic performances - While I have never been a fan of acoustic performances, in this case it worked so well. Not only did it break up the show nicely and allowed fans sitting further back to get closer, but it also bought back two amazing songs as staples - STFTP & SIBSN.

4. The high energy produced by the band at 95% of the shows. Ive mentioned before how the LH show in Perth wasnt great because it seemed like they rushed through the set. But this year was spectacular. Out of the three shows I went to, I think Jon was most energetic and happy in the Perth show (over the two Sydney shows I went to).

5. The classics were still fun and enjoyable, despite them being repeated every night. The song that comes to mind here is Bad Medicine. Changing up the cover song every show was great, rather than just having Shout. Keep the Faith and Born to Be My Baby were also a highlight at each show.

Negatives
1. Lack of Circle songs. And this is #1 for a reason. I was soooo disappointed to not get Love's the Only Rule (and to a lesser extent Superman) not once in three shows.

2. The amount of Lost Highway songs. As much as I love it, they should ditch WLOL, as well as WGIGO. They dont even need to be taken out completely, just not at nearly every damn show. LH fits in the same basket. The only LH song that was rotated properly was MAM. It wasnt at majority of the shows but still made a regular appearance. There should be a maximim of 1 to 2 songs from this album per show IMO.

3. Lay Your Hands On Me - Ever since watching the Live in London DVD, this song has always been in the top few songs of my list to see live (it is one of my favourite Jovi songs ever). But the performance was flat - and its not because of Richie. The song seemed slower and the guitar was barely heard. They need to fix this song up for the rest of the tour next year.

4. The first 5 songs of 99% of the shows were predictable - BOB > WWBTF > YGLABN > BTBMB > LH (more or less in that order). Shake it up a bit!

5. Rare songs vs Crappy staples. They should have kept the promise past the Hawaii and Seattle shows, of playing songs from BJ and 7800 (even if it was just 1 song per show - other than Runaway). Meanwhile, songs like Who Says get played every night (which is fair enough in North America, but elsewhere its an unknown song pretty much, especially in Australia and NZ).

Overall though, a great tour.

For the two shows I attended (Nashville and Louisville)

5 Disappointments:

1. The lame crowd in Nashville during "Love's The Only Rule" (people asking me to sit down in my upper-level seat).
2. Too many LH songs, not enough Circle songs (no TIMS - I REALLY wanted to hear that one).
3. Autopilot mode in Nashville.
4. Short set in Louisville (it was a festival, but still ...)
5. Ticket and merch prices and then having to hear 'Work For the Working Man' in Nashville.

5 Highlights:

1. "Blood On Blood" opening Nashville. LOVE that song.
2. The energy the band had in Louisville. It was just a FUN show, despite a plain set list.
3. Going to a show with my brother (Nashville) and wife (Louisville) and them simply playing a place like Louisville (closer to my home).
4. The guitar solo in 'Bad Medicine.'
5. Richie nailing the 'Wanted' solo in Louisville. It's the little things for me.

I'll try to make this as general as possible and not count my 1 show experience:

Highlights:

1. Definitely the biggest highlight is the band going to places they didn't visit in a long, long time.

2. Jon having more confidence in his actual vocals thus giving a go at songs and that brings us to 3.

3. Us actually believeing that some rare songs could be played and not only hoping for them.

4. The band playing songs from the first two records!


Dissapointments:

1. Without doubt the biggest problem were the unfair setlists. No actual reason to do that. They know what people want because the last show had a great set. So make a great set for everybody.

2. The huge amount of Lost highway songs in the setlists.. I know some people might love them but I believe everybody would prefer some older songs instead of that many LH songs.

3. Bobby playing some solos. I mean, he does pretty good backing vocals and he can play guitar decently but why does he play some solos like that? Do it like it's meant to be done.

4. The band stopping to do the first 2 records songs. That's being a freaking wuss. OBVIOUSLY you won't get the reaction you get with songs like IML but we deserve it, and songs like that make you look like a rock band once again.


Personally, the biggest highlight was the show I went to in Buenos Aires, being these days my favourite BJ song.

On the other hand, the biggest dissapointment was the band continuing to play the shitty ass songs WSYCGH and LH. Get it over with.

Highlights:

1. Most of the time, Jon´s voice has been good.
2. The Circle intro
3. Bad Medicine rocks.
4. At least at the O2 where I saw them, the band was confident and enthusiastic.
5. A proper worldwide tour.

Disappointments:

1. TC DROPPED ALMOST COMPLETELY
2. Richie could sing some other songs than LYHOM, too.
3. The more you got cash, the closer to the stage you´ll get.
4. ITA guitar solo should always be played by Richie only.
5. Predictable encore.

TBH, I really think this has been a great tour so far. My only real complain is the lack of TC songs.