Facts & Figures summarising 2007 LH tour- Analysis

Seasons greetings everything,

On this Christmas day, I've taken the opportunity to compile some figures regarding the most recent LH tour for 2007. Here is the numerically analysis (it will appear funny and hard to read because i copied it from excel):

Song Album Total # of times played


Radio Saved My Life 100 million fans 9
Runaway Bon Jovi 22
Bounce Bounce 1
Everyday Bounce 1
Joey Bounce 1
Right side of wrong Bounce 2
Can't help falling in love with you (Elvis Cover) Cover 1
Glad all over (Dave clark five cover) Cover 1
Knocking on heavens door (Bon Dylan cover) Cover 1
Santa clause is coming to town Cover 4
Run Rudolph Cover 6
Treat her right Cover 6
Twist & Shout Cover 6
Hallelujah Cover 7
Shout Cover 17
Someday I'll be Saturday night Crossroads 8
Mystery train Crush 2
Captain crash and the beauty queen from Mars Crush 6
Just older Crush 8
It’s My Life Crush 26
Complicated HAND 1
Bells of freedom HAND 2
Story of my life HAND 7
Last man standing HAND 8
Have a nice day HAND 20
Who says you can't go home HAND 26
Blaze of glory- Acoustic JBJ- Young guns 1
Blaze of glory- Original JBJ- Young guns 1
In these arms KTF 2
Keep the faith KTF 13
I'll sleep when I'm dead KTF 17
One step closer LH 2
Everybody's broken LH 3
Seat next to you LH 3
Last night LH 6
Till we ain't strangers anymore LH 7
Any Other Day LH 8
Summertime LH 15
I Love This Town LH 17
We got it goin on LH 25
(You Want To) Make A Memory LH 26
Lost Highway LH 26
Whole Lot Of Leavin LH 26
Living in sin New Jersey 1
Blood on blood New Jersey 7
I'll be there for you New Jersey 10
Lay your hands on me New Jersey 13
Born To Be My Baby New Jersey 25
Bad Medicine New Jersey 26
Stranger in this town (Richie) Richie solo 5
Never say goodbye SWW 1
I'd die for you SWW 2
Wild in the streets SWW 2
Raise your hands SWW 19
You give love a bad name SWW 26
Livin’ On A Prayer SWW 26
Wanted dead or alive SWW 26
Diamond ring These days 2
These days (Richie) These days 15
Bed of roses (TLFR version) TLFR 12

Total songs playeed over 26 concerts 615
60 different songs played in total

PROPORTION OF SONGS PLAYED FROM EACH ALBUM
JBJ- Young guns 0.33% 2
Bounce 0.81% 5
Richie solo 0.81% 5
Crossroads 1.30% 8
100 million fans 1.46% 9
TLFR 1.95% 12
These days 2.76% 17
Bon Jovi 3.58% 22
KTF 5.20% 32
Crush 6.83% 42
Cover 7.97% 49
HAND 10.41% 64
New Jersey 13.33% 82
SWW 16.59% 102
LH 26.67% 164

100.00% 615

Now, I would just like to add a few comments regarding the above analysis.

It is quite clear the majority of songs being played during their concerts are their LH songs and the main concert songs like prayer, bad name, its my life. In total, 60 different songs were played during 2007, which is quite a alot, but i think this figure was bumped up a little by the decision to play the whole LH album on several occassions.

My analysis and comments come from the point of view of a diehard, and some of these comments are made directly towards the band themselves, and hopefully, may appreciate them and hopefully make any designated changes for 2008. I'm extra interested becuase I will be seeing them in Australia and I hope they dont reproduce exactly the same as what they did in 2007.

Ok here are my points regarding the analysis and hopes for 2008

- Whilst I acknowlege that the tour is the LH tour, I dont believe that 90% of the album's songs should be played. I mean a max of 4-5 would be enough because most of the fans wanting to see BJ have been fans for a very long time and would like to hear the songs that made BJ the geniuses they are (songs from TD, KTF, CR etc). Also, for Australian fans, and for me personally, I would be extremely disappointed if a lot of LH songs were played at the expense of hearing the old stuff, mainly because Aussie fans were excluding from the Crush 2000, OWN 2001, Bounce 2003 tour, and HAND 2005-2006 scheduling (Rumba doesnt count). During these tours, the band played some of their greatest hits including rarities like Always, Something to believe in, In these arms etc. Furthermore, to support my argument as to why BJ dont have to play a whole heap of their new stuff, I would like to use U2 as an example (Yes i know each band for themselves but this is a good example). For the record, Im also a diehard U2 fan as well as a diehard BJ fan. When U2 finally toured Australia in 2006 on their Vertigo tour (after 9 years away), they really produced an unbelievable performance and they only ever played about a max of 4-5 NEW songs (out of about a total of 26 songs played each concert) from their How to dismantle an atomic bomb album, which was pretty much the tour's theme (similarly to BJ's LH theme). The majority of these songs were pretty much their greatest hits over the times. It was really a great variety and not just focussed on the one time era. In using this example, there is a great deal of similarity between U2's Australian story and BJ's Australian story. I really do hope that BJ dont focus heavily on their LH songs and play a variety (especially for the Aussie fans who have missed 4 consecutive tours).

- It was good to see Richie singing 'These Days', a song which should be a regular just like prayer and bad name. I love how Jon sings it but Richie also did a great job. I guess what would be nice to see Richie do in 2008 is sing one of his classic songs like 'Father time' or 'One light burning'. That would really be a huge surprise, as stranger in this town and these days are becoming predicable in the setlists. I know Richie is more than capable of singing these songs.

- Whilst there is a great deal of variety in song selections in 2007 (60 different songs chosen in total), I have some suggestions for 2008 which would definately be surprise inclusions to the setlist and mostly welcomed. In choosing these, I was limited in my selection because I didnt want to be picky as there was so many i could have chosen. These are the main main ones:
* From 7800 Fahrenheit- Hardest part is the night
* New Jersey- Stick to your guns (definately a rarity and can be still sung)
* KTF- Dry County (A MUST- A DREAM WISH FOR SYDNEY 200, Bed of roses (Orginal), If I was your mother (trying not to be too hopeful but thats such an awesome song if Jon can still sing it), I believe.
* From Crossroads- Always (original)
* These days- Something to believe in (another favourite), Lie to me, This aint a love song, Its hard letting you go.
* JBJ Solo- Destination anywhere, Santa fe (this is a fantasy- i definetly wouldnt put my money on it- never been sung live and i dont think it ever will be, unless Jon is game enough to try after 18 years lol).
* Richie Solo- Father time (best song by Richie), One light burning
* Crush- 2007 song selections reasonable (without being picky)- Perhaps Thank you for lovin me would be a surprise too.
* Bounce- 2007 song selections reasonable (without being picky)
- HAND- 2007 song selections reasonable (without being picky)
* LH- Every song was played in 2007. I think there should be a reduction in 2008.
* Cover- Rockin in the free world.

Therefore, with all honestly and realism, I really do think if some of the above suggested are comtemplated and carried out, then i think BJ would really create a whole new dimension and anticipation to their live shows. I really do think 95% of my above suggestions are achievable, and the band are still good enough, but it amazes and confuses me sometimes as to why they dont do it and dont look deep into what their long lovin fans really want to hear at their live shows. I mean, even if a small percentage of the songs I suggested were chosen, then that would still be an achievement.

Also, another point to the band, please and I say please, dont sing TLFR versions of Bed of roses and Always. I dont think these 2 songs especially deserve to be resung in a different arrangement to their orginal format. They are classics because of their original format, and not because of the TLFR format.


In conclusion, I really do hope the band read this and take something away for the 2008 tour (esp for Australia). I pray for this as this essentially would be my Christmas wish come true. This is just coming from a diehard fan (23 years old) who never had the opportunity to see a full blooded Bon Jovi concert in Australia (since they hadnt been on a proper tour since 1995) and has observed, year in year out, the setlists sung over the past 4 tours (since 2000) and has just wished he was amongst the fans experiencing the BJ magic. I guess I've always dreamt of hearing their trademark songs live like dry county, always (classic), STBI because I pretty much lived in these songs for a good chunk of my life.

I hope my BJ wish comes true in 2008.

Merry Christmas!!

Keep the faith!!

Regards,
Daniel

They should take each song of the disaster album away and should also take away those B-street musicians. Then they should take a way the versions played in a lower key.
That would be a xmas present!

Aloha !

Although I understand your frustration, the band will be playing Australia to promote the Lost Highway album, so it's likely they will play at least 4-5 songs from the album there. Also, Bon Jovi on this tour have played a few rarities already, just like they did on the Bounce Tour etcetera. It's not like those tours had more rarities, with maybe the exception of the few acoustic/electric shows. So far this tour has had a few surprises (Right Side Of Wrong, the return of Lay Your Hands On Me, Richie singing These Days, the original of I'll Be There For You, Mystery Train), but in the end it's a bit odd to be happy with the original of I'll Be There For You, while it's been one of their biggest hits, and simply shouldn't be raped by a TLFR version in the first place.

Jon will know that Australia didn't get that many Bon Jovi shows since 1995, but Jon's not the person to change the sets to what fans want, sadly. Yes, a surprise song here and there, but if he was really playing what the crowd wants, setlists would look entirely different.

I'd love that to happen, but it wont. The band rehearsed Hard Times Come Easy a few times during the Bounce Tour but it never got an outing, and Richie only got to play I'll Be There For You on every single show. I think he'd like to sing a song from his solo albums, but a crowd is dead during Stranger In This Town, so it wouldn't live things up a lot if he'd start playing One Light Burning. And besides that, I don't think even Richie remembers the words to those songs. I'm also not sure if Jon would want a song from Richie in his show.

There's no way Jon could pull that one off.

But Jon doesn't really like it, so there's not that big of a chance of them rehearsing it.

He can't. He was only able to sing it during the KTF tour, and even then he struggled a bit. And it wouldn't be a crowd pleaser either, it's got too much of a Metallica vibe in it. I Believe was done for the last time on the Bounce Tour, and Jon's voice has only gotten lower so I don't think he could pull that one off again.

Not a chance, unless they tuned it down a few keys.

Jon wasn't able to sing it properly during the Bounce Tour so he for sure would be butchering the notes right now.

Jon would be dead after Santa Fe, and Destination Anywhere isn't a Bon Jovi song. Blaze Of Glory is, but Destination Anywhere just isn't.

Your song selections are nice, but some of them are the most uncommon rarities the band could play. But I understand what you're saying, and it's what a lot of die hard is saying nowadays. Other big bands do better when it comes to their set, show, and general package, and a Bon Jovi setlist is a joke compared to what they did 10 years ago. Nowadays you're even lucky if you get Keep The Faith.

A big reason why Bon Jovi are not doing that many rare songs anymore is because of Jon's voice, and if they're not going to rehearse, and tune them down a key, they can't play the songs anymore. Half of what's been recorded in the eighties is too high, and half of what's been recorded in the nineties is too high for Jon nowadays. Sad but true.

It's what about 99% of the crowd thinks. Jon knows a crowd hates the TLFR arrangements, the band knows it, yet they do them anyway. It really shows how much Jon cares about what a crowd wants to hear. It's so easy to write out a set that pleases everyone in the crowd, including the die hards, yet the setlists Jon nowadays makes are simply the setlists he enjoys playing, and he only sticks in a rarity if he feels like it. Not because he wants to give the die hards something special.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

hahahhaahahaha this comment cracked me up...i was on the floor. Whilst it is harsh and unfortunate, its probably the truth. I reckon Santa Fe out of all the songs Jon has sung over the years would be the most difficult...theres just so much emotion the whole way throughhhhh.

I understand where you are comming from but what i mean by rarity is a song that hasnt been played for quite a while. I mean look at the lost highway tour. If you are calling blaze of glory, diamond ring, and blood on blood a rarity, then we must be looking at the wrong dictionary definition. I dont think you can call these songs rarities because they were played on the HAND tour, and Bounce tour. I would call a rarity a song that hadnt been played over several tours, like lie to me, or this aint a love song. The only real rarity that Bon Jovi unleashed was dry county in 2005. It was unfortunate i wasnt there to experience it but lets pray they do it again in Sydney. I guess what im trying to say is even with the songs they call rarities, there's not much variety. Even their rarities are predictable. They have songs where they havent played in over a decade to choose from and are still capable of singing them.

I dont see why the band need to promote their album anymore than they already have. I believe that the people that were going to buy LH would have already bought it. The fans are there to see a proper Bon Jovi show capturing almost 25 years of songs, and not the majority being from LH. I mean, look at the U2 example I gave. Bon Jovi aint any different. They can do it, and as far as I'm concerned, they owe it to the Aussie fans (with all due respect to other BJ fans over the world). We have missed Crush 2000, OWN 2001, Bounce 2003 and HAND 2006 tours, so it would be a bloody shame if we end up having to listen to a predominately LH setlist.

Yeah, I'm a frustrated fan, but there's logic in what I'm saying and even if 25% of what I'm suggesting is fulfiled, then I'd be happy and so will many other fans be. I guess all this firepower stems from the countless times I have looked at BJ setlists over the years, especially the LH, and then say to myself, is this the best they can do. I know for sure it aint. I guess its a depressing feeling leading up to the Australian tour in anticipation of what to expect or what not to expect.

Cheers

And one more thing Sebastian, I'm assuming the songs you didnt comment on are within Jon's vocal range. I mean, i reckon he could still sing lie to me, definately its hard letting you do, maybe an acoustic version of this aint a love song, and dry county for sure. These songs would definately add a new dimension to the setlist and something to look forward to.

Let me ask you something. If you had to choose your own list of rarities that Jon hasnt sung and that he could still sing, what would they be??

Aloha !

I know. I said exactly the same a few months ago, but was considered spoiled and pathetic because I should enjoy the gems a bit more. I fully agree with you. There have only been 3 rarities the past 3 years. The return of Raise Your Hands in 2001, the return of I'd Die For You in 2003, and the return of Dry County in 2006.

It's part of the "we're not a nostalgia-band thing" they've got going on. When going to a Bon Jovi show, about 90% of the crowd wants to hear the old hits, because they haven't had a big hit since 2000. In Jon's world though, he thinks the fans are there because they are attracted by the band because of the new album. Those times are gone. It's My Life gained a new audience. Everyday and Have A Nice Day didn't. Sure, I can understand the band wanting to give the crowd an impression of what they came up with lately, but playing 7 new songs from an album that bombed in a show is overkill. You can only do something like that when an album is a really big succes.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

aloha !

Yes, that's why I said nothing about those. Dry County is one of the songs Jon struggles a lot with live though, but the general feel of the song and the build up make up for Jon not nailing it live.

1.Lost Highway
2.Bad Medicine / Gloria
3.Born To Be My Baby
4.Just Older
5.It's My Life
6.You Give Love A Bad Name
7.Runaway
8.Novocaine
9.One Wild Night
10.Hey God
11.Diamond Ring (a capella)
12.Damned
= Acoustic set =
13.Love For Sale
14.Never Say Goodbye
15.In These Arms
= Back to main set =
16.Lay Your Hands On Me
17.I'll Sleep When I'm Dead / Jumpin' Jack Flash
18.I'll Be There For You (Richie Sambora on lead vocals)
19.Any Other Day

= Encore =
20. Have A Nice Day
21. Dry County
22. Blood On Blood
23. Keep The Faith / Sympathy For The Devil

= Encore II =
24. Midnight Rider
25. Wanted Dead Or Alive

14 hitsingles, a few covers, a few album tracks from the past, 2 new songs, 4 gems for the fans and an acoustic set to give Jon's voice a bit of a rest. This is not the setlist of my dreams, but has everything that could make a show great. And the odd thing is, they could do such a show right now, because none of these songs minus maybe Damned and Hey God need to be rehearsed. Yet, Jon goes for the thing they're doing now. Oh well.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Thanks for the reply Sebastian. What I actually from you is only list of songs that could possibly be played as rarities, not an actual concert setlist. But i do your drift. I guess no one will ever know why does what he does unless there is a one on one conversation with Jon. I guess the thing associated with a new year (i.e 200 is that there will be something new, surprises etc. I hope they 2008 isnt a full repeat of what we have already seen, because it will make the whole issue expecting and depressing, if you know what i mean. There element of surprise will be non existent.