My thoughts on the 2 Sydney concerts..

Hey guys

I've had some time to reflect now so thought I would post some thoughts on the two recent Sydney concerts. I've seen the guys before in 93, 01 and 03 so have some good comparison material.

Firstly, any doubts over Jon's energy should be forgotten. At no stage either night did he look bored or tired or like he didnt want to be there. Vocally he's definitely not as good as in the past but I was expecting him to be worse. He hit pretty much all the high notes he had to and never sounded like he was battling.

The Richie songs. First night when he sung These Days everyone (including me) sat down. I personally dont like him doing that song and the way he sings it is completely different to the original. I thought it was kinda funny when Jon introduced him doing the title track from 'my' 95 record These Days. Obviously not giving the other guys any credit for that one!! Second night when he did I'll be There for You everyone stayed on their feet and it was a highlight of the night. I think he should give These Days the flick and stick with a song that he sings normally and everyone knows and can sing along to.

Surprisingly, the Lost Highway songs came over really well. I'm one of the people who didnt really want to hear too many of them but certainly the first nite had a good mix and they sounded great. Could have maybe done without Summertime the second nite but all in all they sound heaps better than on the cd.

One song that seemed to go over really well both nites that I didnt expect was Have a Nice Day. Awesome live song and should never be left out. A couple that were surprisingly downers were Who Says You Cant Go Home both nights and I'd Die For You the first nite. I dont think Who Says was even a hit here so considering where they play it in the set, nobody really knew it that well and a lot of people sat down. Also as the first song of an encore I dont think I'd Die For You is the perfect choice. It sits better towards the start of the set.

Lots has been made of the encores and I have to agree with most people's comments. To quote Jon on the second nite 'ive got more hits than a prize fighter!' maybe he should use some in the encore. Second nite wasnt too bad with HAND and Wanted but was a little disappointed to end again with I Love This Town. First nite encore got off to a bad start with I'd Die For You. Came good with Hallelujah and Wanted but again fell flat with I love this town. Even swapping Bad Medicine and ILTT could maybe work.

Anyway, dont wanna be too down on the guys because overall they were two awesome concerts. The atmosphere was great, the band was great and there's probably near on 40000 people who saw them who will definitely go back next time they're in town. I also notice LH has made a return to the charts. Amazing what a little publicity can do...

Sorry this was so long.
Cheers
Steve

Good points, well written

I think Richie sings These Days because of the lyrical content - sort of chimes with recent roughness.

Just a little point - Richie doesn't have the vocal stamina of a lead vocalist - and you can tell by how his voice is strained more and more often. He should give it a rest a bit IMO.

Aloha !

Have you heard any of the 1998 solo shows of Richie? Compare those shows to the shows Jon did around that time and it's obvious that Richie's got the better voice nowadays.

Yes he sounds strained, but it's no wonder when you're singing all the stuff the lead singer's supposed to sing every night.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Nice review

Can't agree about Richie singing These days I love what he brings to that song and Jon was really struggling with it in 06. I really, really don't wanna hear him do IBTFY this tour, I saw it every night on the Bounce and HAND tours and i'm really bored with it. Love the song but want to hear Jon do it, (even if it is with Violins).

Totally agree about putting songs like ILTT in the encore and Captain Crash for that matter, they shouldnt be ending concerts with songs like that.

All in all the Oz tour seems to be a success so far, hope you guys get a look in every tour from now on

Well we sure as hell don't want to wait 12 years again either!


Agreed on most of the points...not finishing on a signautre song was a real downer. I didn't mind T'd Die For You the first night, but I dig the song. Was very very happy to get Never Say Goodbye the 2nd night too.

Overall fantastic concerts. Jon amazes me with his energy non stop.


Before the first concert, a friend of mine was trying to convince me JBJ will be IS president before 2024...so that was a good laugh

Thanks for your review Steve. Nicely done.

deb

But, say Jon and Richie had swapped places all these years, do you really think Richie's voice would have held up any better than Jon's (considering Richie smokes too)? Richie sang lead for a handful of shows on a small tour, Jon has sung lead for over 1,000 shows in a 25+ year time frame.

deb

On the shows I've seen on of the Destination tour Jon was great.
Wonder what happened?!

nice review, totally agree on i love this town, althoug i can see where jon is coming from playing this, it doesnt fit in well. Im a fan for wanted ending the shows. i wouldnt mind seeing blaze in the encore, everyone knows it and can sing along.

The Jon Bon Jovi Defence Team is back, aren't you getting tired of defending Jon all the time?