Billboard Boxscore - European Tour

Originally Posted by Butters

Yeah, but you can't put it all down to overtouring. Bruce has toured Ireland for example, as much if not more than Bon Jovi in the last 10 years and he came back this year and sold out 5 stadium shows. Admittedly they were smaller stadiums but he still sold in the region of 120,000 tickets at a high price range.

Bruce is legendary for his live shows, as are Bon Jovi in Ireland although probably not to the same degree but they do have an excellent reputation as a quality live act. What Bruce has that Bon Jovi don't in the last 10 years is a musical pedigree. Bruce created one of his best albums of his career in Magic in 2007 and he created a serious, relevant, and wonderful album in Wrecking Ball which he utterly believed in and sold to his audience.

Bon Jovi in reality have been putting out mediocre fare that's shamelessly created for mass consumption with no real depth or musical conviction. If I were a casual fan and I heard All About Loving You, Welcome to Wherever You Are, Who Says, Lost Highway, Born To Follow, Because We Can etc. I would need a fist full of viagra to get excited.

If Bon Jovi had maintained an artistic and musical integrity in the manner Bruce has over the last 10 years, they could easily have filled Slane. They filled Croke Park (82,500) in 2006!

Overtouring is not the major problem, the music and passion is.

Originally Posted by crashed

The lack of albums and new music that really set the charts on fire is part of it, sure, I'm not denying that, because their not getting any new fans. Maybe even of writing albums that at least get their die hard's excited. But the casuals don't care about the new music - they never will - they go to hear Livin' On A Prayer. And I think they've maybe just heard it too many times in recent years.

Originally Posted by Butters

I still don't think that's the problem. You hear a new Bruce Springsteen song on the radio as often as you would a Bon Jovi song (which is to say, next to never), nor do Bruce's albums stick around the charts. They tend to disappear just as quickly. But, the difference is not only are massive amounts of people willing to pay €100 to go see Bruce year after in order to hear Born to Run, Born in The USA, Badlands etc., he creates a buzz and an excitement. People are eager to revel is his nostalgia.

It's just not the case with Bon Jovi. Fair enough, Bon Jovi have never had the credibility that Bruce has, but neither exactly have a cool factor going on. What I think exudes from Bruce in his manner, his performance, and his music is that he is hungry and he cares about making his audience realise how brilliant he is.

Bon Jovi, and it pains me to say this, exude an attitude of who gives a ****, lets just make some money and oh yeah here's some music. I think you can't hide that and people just pick up on it and once you lose them, it's very difficult to get them back.

Originally Posted by Butters

But, the difference is not only are massive amounts of people willing to pay €100 to go see Bruce year after in order to hear Born to Run, Born in The USA, Badlands etc., he creates a buzz and an excitement. People are eager to revel is his nostalgia.