The reason of all the Lost Highway songs...?

They should play Any other Day from time to time and ditch WLOL and LH from time to time as well. But WITH the Richie solo at the end, and I think that jam at the end of the song was one of the few great solos that Bobby's pulled out at a Bon Jovi show.....

They would draw a different audience then. Back in 1995, when I went to my first show, the audience was a bit different than today (I say a bit, not totally). Back then, I saw quite some leather- and jeansrock guys with long hair, they're probably filling Motörhead's audience nowadays.

It's a bit of both - drawing different people (but then it's the band that chose to record specific songs, and they probably wouldn't be as big as they are today, but I wouldn't bother if they'd draw a bit less casuals that have heard 2 songs on the radio) and showing your audience a different side.
How shall these casuals, that just download single mp3s and then buy a concert ticket, get to know your catalogue if not by performing certain songs during concerts? And I don't dare to say that a majority of concert goers wouldn't be open for a "good song". I hear scary things about pee breaks in America all the time, and I've never seen that happen in a show I went to, not of any artists (because we Europeans don't need to pee, obviously, lol). A good song is a good song, and again, if you play the crowd just the easy going, mainstream and radio friendly ones, that is what they are going to expect from you. And that's the kind of people that will come to your concert as opposed to someone who comes to see Sambora's epic solos, even if he didn't like the radio singles.

I was converted many times with seeing a band/hearing a song live. Just one example: "Joey". Wasn't much of a fan of that one until I saw a passionate performance in 2003 with ad-lips and stuff. Now I enjoy the tune, as it brings back that memory.

There's not an easy recipe for solving the current situation though, but it does have to do with training your audience. And there may be valid reasons, as been discussed on this board, why Jon (and the band) tend to play certain songs and others not, or just in different markets. Some of it may have to do with the boys having changed and having gained a different perspective on their own catalogue.

They need to get rid of WLOL, that spot belongs to ITA damnit!

[QUOTE=JJx23;1040699]Great points. And DMB shows are truly amazing, so I have heard. I have never been to one, but know a lot of people that have told me how great they are.

I have been to a bunch of shows however, so based on the shows I have seen, nothing has come close to the "innovation factor" that Bruce provides at each show. Let's also not forget that Bruce doesn't focus on any one set-list. Nobody can disagree that. Every set is incredibly different from one night to another..

Anyhow, let's not steer too far away from the original topic, as I was beginning to "write a story," lol.

I think what it comes down to is focusing on the different styles between both bands. Jovi and Bruce are two totally different artists in the sense of musical style. Many of Bruce's songs on his albums are more mellow; slower; but have such great lyrical value. His live performances of the songs then go over very well because of the added innovative differences of "said" songs.

Jovi's songs on the albums; many of them are "live-ready" or ready to be performed as they were on the album because there aren't many songs like Bruce's "Youngstown," or "Lost in the Flood" on a Jovi album. This is obviously in-part due to the two being completely different.

I am just throwing out some possible points that can add to the discussion. It is very intriguing to learn of what others think of Jon's innovativeness, or lack thereof on stage as compared to other bands.

How about this one? What songs, off of a Jovi album, can be changed similar to a Bruce song off of an album at a live show?


I will agree with Jovi songs being "live ready" because I think some songs are wriiten with the sole purpose of being live. LYHOM, WGIGO, BMare a few off the top of my head.
As for songs that could be changed up live I Believe, love me back to life,something to believe in, blame it on the love of rock n roll are a few.I stayed away from the more known songs because well as I stated earlier BJ gets crucified if they mess with the known stuff.
Just a side note DMB is great live, as they are all great players, but they do tend to stray from the original to the point of losing my interest live. They are a band I actually prefer their recorded stuff to live more often than not. Their shows are fun and I enjoyed them but if I'm choosing I will take BJ and Bruce live anyday.

Deep down, the complaints arent about them playing too many LH songs. The complaints are because certain people don't like the LH songs. There are roughly 6-7 songs from New Jersey which get a decent rotation in the setlists this tour. There are about 5-6 from Lost Highway. Yet no one complains about the amount of songs from NJ. Why? Because they are more liked by the die-hards.

So really, it just comes down to what songs you do and dont like, not because they are playing so many songs from 1 album.

For the record, I absolutely love WLOL on the album, but not so much live.

I don't know if that's totally accurate. While I do agree that a lot of the malice has to do with the fact that people dislike the LH songs, comparing it with NJ isn't really apt. SWW/NJ and to a slightly lesser extent KTF are ALWAYS going to be in heavy rotation in the sets because they form the basis of the band's career. LH, whatever one's opinion on it, isn't on that level as far as importance to the band's career, yet is represented like it is.

Very good point Brian.. LH is played like a NJ album in a nightly set - the fact being that it "should" earn a bit of seniority before standing toe to toe with albums that not only shaped the band's career with songs like "Bad Name," "Prayer," and "Wanted."

However, one thing I do want to bring up, with LH that is, is the fact that the songs "WGIGO," "LH," "ILTT," all from LH, they will get an audience going; in added actuality, 80% (at least) of the audience is going to be moving around, especially for "WGIGO." I would say those four songs are easily "live" ready. They are also very easy to play for the band; easy on the vocals for Jon.

And for the final point, they are in the states.. LH hit #1 on the "Billboard Hot 200," #1 on the "US Rock Albums" chart, and #1 on the "Digital Albums" chart. It also went Platinum in the states, so the popularity is there for the majority of those going to shows. Jon is simply looking at the numbers. However, looking at "New Jersey," yes, it still owns LH in the chart of "Platinum versus multi-Platinum," however NJ gets played! Same with "SWW," however not as much as "NJ," This may be stating the obvious, but it's a close factor in proving why LH receives such a grand treatment in shows on a tour other than the LH one which was less than four years ago.

- JJ

Totally agree, I would also add that we have just come off the Lost Highway tour and the songs are still sticking around outnumbering the current album, its like deja vu.
Songs from the Bounce and HAND tours were dropped like hot turds after the respective tours, never to be seen again but the LH stuff still hangs around, and I just think the annoying thing is that it is at the expense of the new stuff. Good or bad, this (or at least the last leg) should be the tour that we hear most of The Circle stuff- 6 songs per night minimum every night, then dump the rotated ones after that.

I don't mind, I actually like Lost Highway. I could care less if they played the whole album live. The reason being is that they change setlists often, sure there are some songs that will always be on the set, be they do rotate them and even play some rare songs. Some bands play the exact same setlist each night: Kiss, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, etc...

There are many many fans that are seeing Bon Jovi live the first time and they want them to play their hit songs & songs from Lost Highway.

It's a smart thing for Jon to play songs from Lost Highway because they are catchy and that way it promotes people to buy their newer stuff because they know fans will get the older stuff anyways (New Jersey, Slippery When Wet). When I first saw them live they played Memory, Lost Highway, We Got It Going, Love This Town... I didn't know what those songs were but they sounded great live and made me want to get that album.

Most fans don't check the setlist every night for every show and they don't follow the band around, they just see them once per tour or every few years - casual fans.

I LOVE Lost Highway! They should do another "Nashville country influenced" cd. Maybe with another duet. (hint-hint) Pass this message on to Jon please.......since I'm not an active paying member of the Backstage message board anymore.