What's interesting is that, due to the low quality of the audio, one can almost only hear Jon's voice in the clips from this dude, and given the current state of his voice, I was pleasantly surprised :-) Yes, it's not perfect, but it's perfectly listenable most of the time. Check it out, if you haven't:

https://www.facebook.com/stormi.ford

Johnny B. Goode:

Oh, just found out that Chuck Berry just died yesterday. Thought they'd just played the song out of fun. Sad to hear, though I thought he'd already been dead for a long time... Shame one me :puppydog:

I do agree... However, there are many factors to take into consideration... Jon used to be like Bruce where he could pull out any song and ride it out... Those days are done (or temporally on hold)... Jon is now doing what 95% of the industry does...

1. For starters, he lowered his playlist count to average around 23 sounds per night which is the right move IMO... Once you factor in the main hits & the new material, there is not much room left for an array of material.

2. 15/16 shows in at this point (which is half the first leg), they have played 35 songs (if you count the 2 Medley Covers)... Yes, there are only 1 offs here and there but that's still a decent amount of songs for a new band in this short amount of time... You also have to factor in the following:

3. I think he's got more preprogrammed stuff going on than we all think... It's not just the 7 guys on stage but the guys working the boards too... Almost all bands now do this... They use backing tracks all over each song... It's not just Living On A Prayer and it's not just Jon's vocals... It's used all over from the slightest ping to the background vocals on LYHOM... It's not Dave hitting the buttons, it's all computerized which makes it very difficult for everyone when Jon swaps songs out... This is why most bands stick to the same set list each night (or the same set of songs)...

4. Jon has new members up there... And yes, they are more than capable but there is no margin for error... They are not playing clubs. They are playing arenas and probably stadiums so they really need to get into the routine and master these basic tracks... They are one of the biggest bands in the world and Jon does not like mistakes. Because his voice is shot, he probably holds all the other pieces up to a higher standard. They are building chemistry... It's not the KOS up there, it has to sound like 'Bon Jovi'.

5. His voice... I'm not going to go into detail cause there is no need to. Yes, there are songs like Captain Crash that Jon can do but John Shanks and Everette Bradley might be like "what the f is this". Now they have to go learn it. And I'm sure all you musicians will say that it's not that difficult but like i said, this is not the KOS, it has to sound like 'Bon Jovi' and it has to be perfect. When they are ready, they will bring it in... The one song after the encore is Jon's rarity where a little error might be accepted if he feels the rest of the show went great...

6. Jon can't treat this tour like any other tour... There are too many moving factors... I do agree that he could replace certain songs for better ones... But I also get why he's playing it strategically safe. We are a small population of fans... He doesn't have to please us.. It's the demographics of the 20 thousand people showing up each night...

7. This is a tour that many of us questioned, including Jon himself, would ever happen. It's actually working... Attendance is there, reviews have been surprisingly positive, & fans are into it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it...

I'm looking forward to the new songs, I'm looking forward to seeing John and Phil interact, watching Everette Bradley is a show in itself. There are so many other things to enjoy besides hearing the same hits for the millionth time... The crowd, the energy, hanging out with friends... There is so much to still enjoy!!!

Not when you're there.
But a massive video screen showing his facial expressions would make it obvious.

RD, I don't buy the not much room for other songs bologna. The casual fan doesn't know the album cuts of LH through the current album, to them they are all new and it's just too many "new" songs. If new is new to them, why keep the same non hits around? Why not switch it up? I was a big supporter of We Got it Goin on and got why it was played. It's Jons chance to interact with the back half of the arena but 4 or 5 tours in it can be replaced with any song with a similar typo or style.

The idea that they're not switching it up for lack of rehearsal, no. No no no no no. If they're taking the time to rehearse and choosing those songs then that's on them, not on time. Having Shanks join meant a fresh slate and Jon could pick any set of songs. Half the band still knows them and Phil is a professional. Jon just kept the same group of songs from previous tours plus the hits. He had the chance to make some swapping then, when it was rehearsal time. I don't think what he's doing is "safe" at all. He's so against becoming a nostalgia band but he's slowly losing the diehards that would have come back tour after tour and that just leaves the casual fans who want the hits.

This, I 100% agree with!!! My point is to why he's currently not switching songs out each night like he used to... If you look back to older tours, they would swap out 6 to 7 songs a night and play them in any random order... Runaway could be the third song one night and then the encore the next night (Wembley '95)... I'm just justifying why they have basically been the same.

Now I do agree that Jon could have and should have replaced some of the basic tracks with some minor hits or fan favorites... Memory, Loves The Only Rule, etc...

(Speaking of losing die-hards, where is everyone? Rolo? OldJoy? Supersonic?)

Anyway, If you breakdown a basic set-list for example, you are left with 3 songs that could be replaced... Lost Highway, Born To Follow, & Whole Lot Of Leavin... But one can argue that those are Jon's songs....

NEW SONGS: - I'm okay with
This House Is Not For Sale
Knockout
Rollercoaster
We Don't Run
God Bless This Mess
Scars On This Guitar
The Devil's In The Temple

HITS: I'm okay with
You Give Love A Bad Name
Who Says You Can't Go Home
It's My Life
Lay Your Hands On Me
Born To Be My Baby
Have A Nice Day
Bad Medicine
Keep The Faith
Always
Blood On Blood
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Livin' On A Prayer

CROWD PLEASERS: I'm okay with
We Got It Going On
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - As long as an interlude is included

NON HITS:
Lost Highway
Whole Lot Of Leavin
We Weren't Born To Follow

If they can pull out and play Johnny B Goode on a whim with no notice due to chuck Berry, then there's no excuse for bon Jovi the band to be able to play a bon Jovi song.

They underplay so many singles. If they've had video out, pre lost highway, they've been rotated on music channels so casuals know them. Plus they are rare enough to serve the die hards.

Songs like:
Everyday
Say it isn't so
Misunderstood
Thank you for loving me
All about loving you
Welcome to wherever you are
Hey God
These days
Something for the pain
This ain't a love song
Lie to me
Never say goodbye
Blaze of glory
Make a memory

Yeah you can strike some off that he can't sing, but they've all had videos and exposure and would shake it up for diehards and casuals alike.

We got it going on has been in rotation for 10 years now ffs. That's what 4 or 5 tour cycles. It wouldn't be bad if it had been retired for a few tours but it hasn't.

Good idea, going by the videos. Well yeah, some, we can strike off at once (like These Days, Hey God, and This Ain't A Love Song), some are just a turd (like Welcome To Wherevery You Are and Say It Isn't So), but how about Everyday? That's fairly easy to sing. And Make A Memory as a second ballad, though I'd say Never Say Goodbye would please the diehards more, don't know if the/today's casuals even know about it...

And Blaze Of Glory should make a return, too, of course. It's one of the hits, albeit only Jon's...

If we're slashing I'd go even further. Blood on Blood was never a hit and was played the last few tours VERY often. It's a fan favourite but the same fan favourite tour after tour means that it's the perfect song to replace with something. You could conceivably cut all three non hits, those two crowd pleasers...the hits you listed need to be there minus blood on blood. The rest are good to go or be switched out more often.