Official 11th April 2013 Dallas, Texas - American Airlines Center

lol. Jon really botched that part up.

Cool that they played it still. Overall this was a pretty good set.

http://www.bonjovi.com/en/setlists/4...s#.UWjQkbWG2Ak

Somebody can figure out what are the audibles?

Hm. I can only make out Always, Old Time Rock and Roll, Army of One and What's Left of Me. The 6th one could potentially be Treat Her Right.

I am sorry it has taken me so long... I scheduled some work in Dallas for the trip and I am still here. I hope you are enjoying the videos... you are all very welcome!

There was nothing remarkable, different, or noteworthy about : Bad Name (except Bobby took the solo), BTBMB, RYH, LH, WLOL, BWC, WAN, WFTWM, WGIGO, WWBTF, WSYCGH. So I’ll try to avoid talking about most of these.

I can easily say that last night’s show was the most special show I have been to. It’s not my favorite show. It wasn’t the best set list or best vocal performance, but it was simply Jon Bon Jovi at his best as a performer. Unlike the OKC show 3 weeks ago (where Richie really shined and carried the show IMO), Jon was on fire… he didn’t rest for a minute or allow himself to go into autopilot mode… he stayed sharp and took nothing for granted.

There was no hidden gem off These Days or an outstanding performance by Richie Sambora… in fact there was not even a Richie Sambora. Instead there was Phil X and dammit, as a faithful Sambora fan I hate to admit it, but he nailed it every time. Though they did everything in their power not to remind us Richie was gone, Jon did give Phil a little love. Richie’s name was not mentioned once (only the “thanks for your patience with this band” bit) and most of the time Phil spent on the screen, it was a tight shot of just his guitar. His face barely made it up on the screen… and it was only when Jon or someone else was being filmed close by.

And though Phil X’s KTF outro solo was dare I say better (or at least more interesting) than Sambora’s, it was Jon Bon Jovi’s need to make up for the fact that they were one member short that made last night special.

Like I’ve said before, the set lists in Dallas are normally pretty typical for the south... maybe a little longer,nut rarities are unheard of. Last night's Always was it's first time to be played since 95/96 but the performances rival the best in the country.

Okay now for the details. TWTWMM worked as an opener quite well (though they had to forfeit the water drop graphics, which is a shame). But it wasn’t just the song. Jon’s performance, in the moment, made an already great song that much more incredible). BN was BN… with Bobby tackling the solo and not a bad job. RYH and BTBMB were RYH and BTBMB. But then came the time machine and that was the first time I thought this night might be a little different. As a hard core fan you pick up on things… small things, different words and phrases that might lead you to believe that Jon might not just be going through the motions. This “time machine” was great. After Runaway things went back to “same old, same old” until KTF and that is when I really started to enjoy myself again. That song always surprises me live and now with the extended outro, it is truly a religious experience (and again, Phil X is due 80% of the credit). MAM got a slightly better reception than the last 4 or 5 times I had seen it, but I can’t really put my finger on what exactly was better. I still think Amen belongs there, but oh well. Bed of Roses was typically brilliant. Jon sat down for the 3rd verse and engaged the audience for a moment. IBTFY was actually kind of week. The crowd ate it up and the performance was okay, but the vocals were kind of sloppy. Not the best version I have seen… but surprisingly, the best I have seen was also with Phil X in 2011 (3rd verse, etc). Next, the real surprise of the night, Last Man Standing. It was good. It was never one of my favorites but it was definitely refreshing to hear it again. Phil did great. Jon fumbled the 3rd verse but recovered well.

Then the show went back to normal for a while. If they insist on playing Sleep, then the covers at least always keep my interest. And Bad Medicine was also brilliant… the only mega hit I enjoy every time because it is the only mega hit that is all but guaranteed to get a unique performance, with or without covers and banter (preferred with). Last night, Jon told Phil “this can be intimidating, but you’re doing a fine job” ha ha… watch the clip if you haven’t seen it yet.

After the encore, they came back out with ITA. It was good (live, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it) and Bobby’s solo was a little better than I remembered… nothing remarkable but a good version of a great live song. Wanted, crowd sang first verse, as usual these days. Remember what I said about ITA? …the same applies to HAND. Then, Jon got his acoustic guitar. I thought, “hey maybe “Saturday Night” or BOB?” But no… he just kept finger picking Em. Like Panda recently reported, Jon sang the first verse and chorus of Prayer, acoustic. It was great… definitely freshened up the intro (MUCH better than acapella!).

Then things got real interesting… the moments you sit through Lost Highway, WLOL, and WFTWM to hopefully get. Jon didn’t play with Dallas like he did OKC a few weeks ago (in OKC he did the chicken feather fingers behind his back as he was walking down the stairs…the band had fully left the stage before he got them back on stage). Last night, Tico was the only one off stage when Jon got down on his knees and begged for him to stay and “play for these people.” After Saturday Night, Jon did something that might make some of us all reconsider not buying front row seats for future tours… he started asking people on the front row what they wanted to hear. Fortunately they chose Always. Not his best vocal performance at all but he gets an A for effort and Phil did a great job with the solo’s. Then much to my surprise, Jon start’s asking, “what should we play next?” He asked the crowd, BOB? I Love this Town? Superman Tonight? …which got a pretty good cheer surprisingly enough. He then asked Phil if he knew it. Phil said no. Jon said, “No? it’s a midtempo.. It’s a hit. No?” Then the bone went to David who picked more “jukebox music” with the full song of Old Time Rock and Roll.

Again, not the best Bon Jovi show, because without Richie, it never truly seemed like a Bon Jovi show. But it was a great Jon Bon Jovi show.

good setlist, just add Blood On Blood and it becomes a great setlist

In These Arms
Always
The Fighter
Army of One
What's Left of Me
Treat Her Right
Old Time RnR

Seems like they've been practicing the WAN songs.

Ok, here's my brief review of the show:

This is my second show of the tour (I attended their Oklahoma City show a few weeks ago). It was was much better than the last one that I attended, which I already found to be very good to begin with. I'll probably attend their San Jose show and one or both of their homecoming gigs later on as well. Anyhow...

In short, the band was on fire. Jon delivered one hell of a performance. Physically, he seemed to perform similarly to how he did during the Crush/One Wild Night era. He was in a fantastic mood, and I could easily tell (he was very active onstage). Vocally, he did just okay. Though, I greatly admire him for giving his "all" through out the entire night (even when you could tell that he was greatly limited by his aging vocal chords).

However, the person who impressed me the most was Phil X. His solos during Keep The Faith were especially breathtaking. At one point, my friend and I exchanged stares with the sentiment of: "Holy ****, this guy can shred!". His girlfriend, who is a casual fan, couldn't believe that he had just been playing with Jovi for just a week. She thought he had been in the band for years. He truly has the potential to be a monster onstage.

Moreover, "Water" was a terrific opener. You could tell that the band love to play this song. Everyone just seemed to have a lot of fun with it. Runaway (with the return of Jon's "time machine") was great as well. As another poster said, Last Man Standing sounded terrific. I do think that it should be played more often.

Overall, it was a great effort, and I am very glad that I attended the concert. In addition to that, our shitty $14 "behind the stage" tickets were randomly upgraded to 100 section tickets for no extra cost, which was just plain awesome.

Really nice review, thanks for sharing. From your videos, it's clear Jon truly gave it 100% and I am chuffed you were there to see it.

I really hope he is warmed up now and he takes every show by the balls.

I'm not comfortable with JBJ saying "I've got 15 albums"
It should be "we have 15 albums"

"I ain't going nowhere" it's "we ain't going nowhere"

My wife first noticed when she first ever went to see them that JBJ never used the words us, we etc but uses the words I, me, mine a lot.

If it was 1989 and they performed it the way they did back then, it would help the show. Does nothing but slow it down now.