[MrIks from Finland]

Originally Posted by LeaJovi

Ain't it weird that they said that Richie wasn't going to be on the whole leg? I mean, if it wasn't something rehab-like wouldn't they just say for that show?

He is SO in rehab!

[MJB12]

Damn it, just got home and read all the news about Richie. My show is in 2 weeks! What a bummer. Hopefully by then either Richie will be miraculously back or the shows will get a little lengthier. Have a Nice Day is one of my all-time favorite BJ songs and I really hope that doesn't get skipped in Denver for the 2nd tour in a row.

EDIT: Although it looks like HAND was on the setlist and crossed out. So that at least gives me some hope.

[SadieLady]

I worry that it is something to do with his daughter but if it is rehab, I guess that is characteristic of someone with substance abuse issues. Hoping for the best even though it means no Richie at my one and only show.

[MJB12]

http://youtu.be/68SVvHhqDG8
Some video of the show. It IS nice seeing Jon on the electric again though

[Panda]

Here's a quick recap of the show. I'm not into writing full reviews but I'll give my 2 cents and my opinion

Show opened with Bad Name and it was... dreadful. First thing I learned is that the opening "Shot Through The Heart and Your Too blame..." is all playback and it isn't live at all. Richie's voice was very evidently heard in it and it gave me a very small hope for a half second. There was NO guitar solo. Jon took lead guitar on this song and just played chords. The fills and licks in the song that richie usually did in the song sounded absolutely awful and horrendous.

Up next was Raise Your Hands. There was only one guitar here with Bobby taking lead... yeah I don't think I need to explain myself here.

Runaway sounded normal, barr Richies solo.

Then the show kinda went into slow motion. There was energy up to this point and it all kinda faded away. I actually sat there just dreading Bobby butchering the solos and I actually grew a little grumpy. I decided at that point that there honestly was nothing I could do about it so I changed perspectives. I viewed this as a Jon Bon Jovi solo show and looked at it at that perspective. But then Keep The Faith came. And while it sounded off indeed, Jon was definatly picking up energy and the crowd was eating up everything. While saying that I was bored, the crowd was nuts the whole show. Calgary atmosphere is honestly the best in Canada for Bon Jovi shows and this show was no exception. Sympathy For The Devil was thrown in and the show really started here.

Make A Memory went over extremely well. Everyone was singing the words in my nosebleed section and was taken quite well. Then of course Bed of Roses and I'll Be There For You went over rather well and the crowd were on their feet cheering and singing along.

Then came We Weren't Born To Follow. And the atmosphere (for the first time this show) completely went out the window. I actually think 10% of the arena emptied to go get a piss or beer. No one cared about this song.

From there the show luckily got better with a massive reaction out of Born To Be My Baby and Sleep When I'm Dead. And then came Who Says You Can't Go Home.

Jon started bantering with the crowd and started to truly have fun and was really enjoying the atmosphere. He brought up 2 girls on stage to sing Who Says You Can't Go Home and had a complete blast with them. He danced with them, grabbed their arms and country-danced or whatever swinging their arms and bantering. It was actually really cool and the crowd loved it. I loved it too. It was really fun and a highlight of the show.

Then Bad Medicine came on and Jon really wasn't on autopilot here, going all over the stage and really having a fun time adding a few things here and there. The covers were cool and he seemed to have a good time.

Then the encore came. And as much as I knew that Jon probably could have played more, I knew it was going to be short. Wanted was great having the crowd sing the first verse.

But then he kept his acoustic guitar and didn't do the regular prayer intro. He did almost the first half of the song acoustic style while strumming the guitar. When you see videos you'll see that it was done differently than normal. He also did the first chorus completely acoustic. and then the keys came in and the full electric version was played. Cool intro that I've never seen done before. But man... Bobby took out the talkbox for this one (but not Its my life... odd) and it soundd AWFUL. completely ruined the song. I wish they just did the full acoustic version.

The crowd was on their feet for the 2 song encore, and I knew Jon wasn't coming back despite the crowd and atmosphere. Honestly, considering the short news they had, I was surprised how everything seemed to be put together. Hearing 15 Bobby solos did indeed suck, but moving and looking at this show as a Jon Bon Jovi solo show and not a Bon Jovi show, I'd say that I'd give this show a 7/10. I would honestly have taken this show over Dusseldorf or Bruges. It wasn't too bad. Jon's energy and passion during the last 6 or 7 songs almost made it worth it. And the lack of What Aboot Now songs was a bonus as well.


First half of the show was a bit of a mess, but the last half really rocked. And from what I heard from people passing by, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. So, yeah. Goodnight.

[RUNALLTHELIGHTS]

I was at the Calgary show tonight, and definitely disappointed Richie didn't play. It's amazing what a difference it makes when he's not on stage. For anyone who's ever been disappointed with a typical-setlist show that had Richie on stage - try seeing the band without him. I think Jon and Bobby deserve some credit for pulling off the show though, wether or not it was up to a hardcore's par - Jon gave it 110% given the situation. Another thing to be said is that the sound is usually pretty shitty in the Saddledome, so that of course didn't help anything.

Jon pretty much played guitar on every song, both electric and acoustic. Even though Bobby had lead, he wasn't very loud in the mix. I thought he came through really well on Make A Memory, but I have to say, that was probably the only song where I saw it as a benefit that someone other than Richie was playing.

I wonder if that was Bobby's first time ever using the talkbox? Granted, they may have done an emergency rehearsal prior to the show. Richie's been doing that bit for years, so it's hard to do a fair comparison. But IMO, the talkbox bit really wasn't even all that bad. I bet Bobby shit his pants having to do it. Strange that it wasn't used on It's My Life though, where an older fan like myself definitely notices that it's missing. The talkbox is pretty much a lyric on that one.

Dave did some interesting backing vocals on a song that I can't remember now. Anyone who was there should know which one I mean. I'm looking at the setlist and I just can't pinpoint the lines he did. Anyone remember?

Another thing that I haven't seen mentioned as yet, was that as soon as the girls got on stage for WSYCGH, they both gave Jon a little kiss or whatever, then ran back to the keyboards to give Dave one too, much to the amusement of Jon. That was a highlight for me in itself, but the whole performance was actually pretty great, as they danced and sang through the whole thing and genuinely provided good entertainment for the crowd.

Lastly, I usually tape the shows in Calgary and Edmonton that I attend, but not this one. Anyone who does concert recording knows what kind of efforts are required to get something decent, and for this show, I really just wanted to be able to enjoy it and have a good time, hands free. And I did. No regrets. Can't wait for the guys to come back, Richie or not.

[The Rock]

Originally Posted by Panda

Here's a quick recap of the show. I'm not into writing full reviews but I'll give my 2 cents and my opinion

Show opened with Bad Name and it was... dreadful. First thing I learned is that the opening "Shot Through The Heart and Your Too blame..." is all playback and it isn't live at all. Richie's voice was very evidently heard in it and it gave me a very small hope for a half second. There was NO guitar solo. Jon took lead guitar on this song and just played chords. The fills and licks in the song that richie usually did in the song sounded absolutely awful and horrendous.

Up next was Raise Your Hands. There was only one guitar here with Bobby taking lead... yeah I don't think I need to explain myself here.

Runaway sounded normal, barr Richies solo.

Then the show kinda went into slow motion. There was energy up to this point and it all kinda faded away. I actually sat there just dreading Bobby butchering the solos and I actually grew a little grumpy. I decided at that point that there honestly was nothing I could do about it so I changed perspectives. I viewed this as a Jon Bon Jovi solo show and looked at it at that perspective. But then Keep The Faith came. And while it sounded off indeed, Jon was definatly picking up energy and the crowd was eating up everything. While saying that I was bored, the crowd was nuts the whole show. Calgary atmosphere is honestly the best in Canada for Bon Jovi shows and this show was no exception. Sympathy For The Devil was thrown in and the show really started here.

Make A Memory went over extremely well. Everyone was singing the words in my nosebleed section and was taken quite well. Then of course Bed of Roses and I'll Be There For You went over rather well and the crowd were on their feet cheering and singing along.

Then came We Weren't Born To Follow. And the atmosphere (for the first time this show) completely went out the window. I actually think 10% of the arena emptied to go get a piss or beer. No one cared about this song.

From there the show luckily got better with a massive reaction out of Born To Be My Baby and Sleep When I'm Dead. And then came Who Says You Can't Go Home.

Jon started bantering with the crowd and started to truly have fun and was really enjoying the atmosphere. He brought up 2 girls on stage to sing Who Says You Can't Go Home and had a complete blast with them. He danced with them, grabbed their arms and country-danced or whatever swinging their arms and bantering. It was actually really cool and the crowd loved it. I loved it too. It was really fun and a highlight of the show.

Then Bad Medicine came on and Jon really wasn't on autopilot here, going all over the stage and really having a fun time adding a few things here and there. The covers were cool and he seemed to have a good time.

Then the encore came. And as much as I knew that Jon probably could have played more, I knew it was going to be short. Wanted was great having the crowd sing the first verse.

But then he kept his acoustic guitar and didn't do the regular prayer intro. He did almost the first half of the song acoustic style while strumming the guitar. When you see videos you'll see that it was done differently than normal. He also did the first chorus completely acoustic. and then the keys came in and the full electric version was played. Cool intro that I've never seen done before. But man... Bobby took out the talkbox for this one (but not Its my life... odd) and it soundd AWFUL. completely ruined the song. I wish they just did the full acoustic version.

The crowd was on their feet for the 2 song encore, and I knew Jon wasn't coming back despite the crowd and atmosphere. Honestly, considering the short news they had, I was surprised how everything seemed to be put together. Hearing 15 Bobby solos did indeed suck, but moving and looking at this show as a Jon Bon Jovi solo show and not a Bon Jovi show, I'd say that I'd give this show a 7/10. I would honestly have taken this show over Dusseldorf or Bruges. It wasn't too bad. Jon's energy and passion during the last 6 or 7 songs almost made it worth it. And the lack of What Aboot Now songs was a bonus as well.


First half of the show was a bit of a mess, but the last half really rocked. And from what I heard from people passing by, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. So, yeah. Goodnight.

Thanks! Really great review.

[ezearis]

Thank you both guys for the review. Can't wait to listen that Prayer and Memory, also It's My Life without talkbox sounds interesting.

[nrm123]

Disappointed to here about Richie but it happened last.time they had a break Richie doesnt.do tours with.breaks in them. Just hope he recovers well. What I want to know is would Jon still carry on if bobby.wasn't in the band. I know they can get a replacement but he relies on bobby.

[The Rock]

Originally Posted by RUNALLTHELIGHTS

I was at the Calgary show tonight, and definitely disappointed Richie didn't play. It's amazing what a difference it makes when he's not on stage. For anyone who's ever been disappointed with a typical-setlist show that had Richie on stage - try seeing the band without him. I think Jon and Bobby deserve some credit for pulling off the show though, wether or not it was up to a hardcore's par - Jon gave it 110% given the situation. Another thing to be said is that the sound is usually pretty shitty in the Saddledome, so that of course didn't help anything.

Jon pretty much played guitar on every song, both electric and acoustic. Even though Bobby had lead, he wasn't very loud in the mix. I thought he came through really well on Make A Memory, but I have to say, that was probably the only song where I saw it as a benefit that someone other than Richie was playing.

I wonder if that was Bobby's first time ever using the talkbox? Granted, they may have done an emergency rehearsal prior to the show. Richie's been doing that bit for years, so it's hard to do a fair comparison. But IMO, the talkbox bit really wasn't even all that bad. I bet Bobby shit his pants having to do it. Strange that it wasn't used on It's My Life though, where an older fan like myself definitely notices that it's missing. The talkbox is pretty much a lyric on that one.

Dave did some interesting backing vocals on a song that I can't remember now. Anyone who was there should know which one I mean. I'm looking at the setlist and I just can't pinpoint the lines he did. Anyone remember?

Another thing that I haven't seen mentioned as yet, was that as soon as the girls got on stage for WSYCGH, they both gave Jon a little kiss or whatever, then ran back to the keyboards to give Dave one too, much to the amusement of Jon. That was a highlight for me in itself, but the whole performance was actually pretty great, as they danced and sang through the whole thing and genuinely provided good entertainment for the crowd.

Lastly, I usually tape the shows in Calgary and Edmonton that I attend, but not this one. Anyone who does concert recording knows what kind of efforts are required to get something decent, and for this show, I really just wanted to be able to enjoy it and have a good time, hands free. And I did. No regrets. Can't wait for the guys to come back, Richie or not.

Thank you also for this!