The Moaning and bitching about (crap) 'Post 2000' songs in the set lists thread

...and why doesn't the band put on a show purely and exclusively for Backstage Fans, charge through the roof and contractually play a 28 song setlist with nothing from the Greatest Hits or Lost Highway...

Seriously WTF are you talking about?! How do you know 64000 fans enjoyed the show, have you asked them all? Casual fans will not enjoy a setlist that has 12 songs that weren't hits or are album tracks when as Jon says "they have more hits than a heavyweight boxer". Read the thread and not the title of it.

Umm, no. I never mentioned Manchester. Manchester had an average set, but the band by many accounts was great. Dusseldorf had an average set too, but many reported (and the YouTube vids showed it too) that the band just weren't there, and the show was mediocre at best. Sometimes, fans like you you need to take off the blinders. Bon Jovi are my favorite band, but I can criticize them if I want. Same with many others here. Like I said, it's not out of hate, it's more out of love.

This makes no sense. Most of the Backstage Fans are in it FOR the Greatest Hits. And that's totally unfair. If you ask me, the whole Backstage system is a joke, and that's why I will never join. Why should I have to pay over $50 for a freaking FANCLUB?

Tbf I don't think Alot of BSers would care if Jon Burped the theme to sesame street as long as he shook his ass and flashed a few smiles.

Nicely put

I respect your opinion and agree with you on some level that this forum by far has some of the harshest critics of the band outside of the media and haters. Sometimes though the criticism is warranted and other times not so much but it's what makes this board unique among all the others dedicated to Bon Jovi because you don't have to worry about being banned like at Backstage. I really don't feel that people should censor their opinions because some may be turned off by what they read here. If you feel an obligation to do so, right on.

If lurkers read the board, they will know that there are plenty of occasions where the band is also praised. I'd say more often than not, since the band started the European leg, they have gotten positive reviews from most of their shows bar a few poor shows.

Some of this has an element of truth though.
a) Jon can be a dick. There's no sugar-coating it.
b) Richie did **** up badly when he was't sober. He's been better now and definitely seems more into the shows and all. Compare this to his overall performance and attitude on the last North American leg, it's a world of difference.
c) I'd still prefer Bon Jovi to most "industry icons" but that's just personal preference.
d) Meh. Personal preference again.

No, at most, you speak for the elitist fanatics around here. I bet that the vast majority of the audience was very happy with the show - and that's not just casuals. You know, there are fans, who consider themselves such, that don't need to know what the band played two nights prior. They like what they get because, believe it or not, it's pretty high standard in the business. And they like it, not because they are "blind followers", but because they really couldn't care less that the show before was miles better.

Last year, I was at the O2 show that had Jeff Kazee on the keys and I talked to a lot of fans about it - and none of them knew David would be missing.

Once again, this showed me that we're all very spoilt and half lunatic with the amount of time we spent here, and much too often it's at the cost of a little perspective and of much respect. And as a fan forum this place is often bearing false witness or at least far from a representative image of the band.

Are you ****ing kidding me? Dusseldorf was both boring and DREADFUL. For casuals as well. Jon was rolling his eyes, didn't smile once and obviously didn't want to be there. If this was my first Bon Jovi show I'd be pissed. Even the casuals didn't like it. When I look at the crowd between Dusseldorf and Mannheim I see a huge change.

They should not censor their opinions. I'd like to see a fairer wording (and I have no problem with swear words).
Jon can be a dick, but some make him look like the greedy evil. And no matter how often some around here have claimed they'd give him a tongue-lashing if getting the chance to talk to him in person, they - would - just - not call - him - that. So why here?

And more power to those fans. I really don't care if they read the boards, or if they look at the setlists, or whatever else they do or don't do. There are fans who don't expect much better (not saying this in a bad way), and when they get a Bon Jovi show, albeit mediocre, they will be happy. That's because Bon Jovi are great live, and even their worst shows are in line with other some bands' best.

While 99% of the audience are just casuals, that 1% of diehards is equally important. The diehards are the ones who will go to multiple shows, or buy all the albums, among other things. And those fans KNOW what the band is CAPABLE OF, and want just that. Bon Jovi have showed time and time again that they can still be a top notch live band (look at London from this leg), but when they aren't, it's frustrating. Are the fans in Dusseldorf or Zurich less important than those in Bucharest? Of course they're not, that's nonsense. So why do Bon Jovi choose to deliver the goods at some shows, and hold back and be mediocre at others? There are many plausible reasons, but it's really a mystery. And it sucks sometimes, to put it honestly. It really does.

What would you view as a representative image of the band? Backstage? This board and Backstage are polar opposites, Bon Jovi are somewhere in the middle. I'm curious, I really am.

Regarding the casual fans, ticket sales have def dropped in recent years. Yes this could be as they've toured often in the last 5 years but I know many fans(not crazy ones like me) who've stopped going after Lost Highway. I used to be able to get both my sisters to come to the shows but they aren't interested now.

I don't know why you're surprised that there's passionate fans on here or "half lunatics" lol. If you seek out a message board to discuss your fave band then you're gonna have more than a passing interest in them. I see U2, Bryan Adams and Stereophonics every tour but I've never once been on their messageboards. People are flying 100's or even 1000's of miles to see this band, I think that entitles them to an opinion. Jon knows fans do multiple shows and if the rest of the tour is like last weekends show, you won't hear any complaints from me