Bon Jovis touring and work schedule
 

There's been alot of talk lately about Bon Jovis touring schedule but when you compare them to other bands then their tour and general work schedule isn't that short...

Take U2 for example...since 2001 they have had 2 tours for a total of 244 shows...they have also had 2 studio albums and 2 greatest hits albums in that time...the Vertigo tour did stretch out from March 05 until Decmber 06 but that was mainly due to family problems within the band...

The Stones have 2 tours since 2000 for a total of 264 shows...they have had1 studio album of new material,3 greatest albums,1 rarities album and 1 live album...

Now,Bon Jovi
They have had 4 tours since 2000 not counting the Lost Highway,for a total of 266 shows and the Lost Highway is currently holding at 88 scheduled shows...4 studio albums of new material,1 album of reworked hits which still takes a fair bit of studio time to put together,also the live album and box set not to mention a Japanese only greatest album...2006 is the only year since 2000 that we didn't get some kind of release from them...Also,i you want to ring up the subject of extra musicians,alot of bands have being doing it for years,Queen used an extra guitarist,The Stones have had a brass section and back-up singers for years,U2 have used mole musicians backstage and also use alot of backing tracks and other fillers and effects in their shows...

So they have done more live shows and released more material in the last 7 years than the 2 bands that many believe to be the 2 biggest bands in the world...I'm not saying that makes them bigger or better but it does put things into perspective for thoses that complain about their schedule...I don't think we will ever get a so called proper world tour like in the 80s or even the 90s because let's face it they were younger then and in some cases had smaller families so less worries about being on the road and being away from home...

On the plus side,this schedule gives the fans more chances to see them but also could account for any decreases in ticket sales because alot of casual concert goers would probably decide not to go to their shows one year if they seen them a year or two before...

I also believe that Bon Jovi expend as much energy on stage as The Stones do and probably more than U2 do...I picked U2 and The Stones as examples because I am a fan of both and I am by no means a stanger to live shows as I have seen about 20-25 concerts in the past 11 years...

Yeah, I think you're right. Whether the shows are more or less powerful/energetic/frenetic/exciting and so and is up for debate (read a dictionary definition before arguing certain peeps ;)), and they did 4 tours for marginally more than 2 tours for U2 in your example, but they have been prolific with the stuff post '00.

Not showing any real signs of slowing, with rumours of Greatest Hits/Studio record/Richie solo effort. Yay 'n' al' that :)

You raise some interesting points there.
Mainly the one I bolded.

I think you raise a brilliant point.

Bon Jovi have always been one of the hardest working bands in history - it's kind of backfired on them these days because now they get shot down for not playing the out of the way places they used to - but probably, quite a lot of bands don't go there anyway.

While I hate the idea of them scaling down a tour, because to me they're a concert band, they could never just be an album band, I understand they don't want to do those long hauls anymore.

However, I'm still prepared to be surprised - no-one expected the Crush tour to suddenly turn into the One Wild Night tour and they basically did it all again. If they release the greatest hits, the same thing could happen.

All they should do is take a (long) break and rethink. They are releasing too much and that shows in the quality of their stuff. Have a break and come back with something exciting. You can clearly see they are going through the motions. I don't understand why they didn't take a break after the HAND tour.
If only WSYCGH wouldn't have been a hit we wouldn't have gotten the worst BJ cd of all times.

I think they will take an extended break - but not until the Hall Of Fame things done and dusted and the greatest hits is out of the way. I wouldn't worry too much, man, I think Lost Highway is still just an experiment - they'll come back with something fresh. If they don't, even I might start to question them.

I think the whole intention was for them to take a break, but Who Says hit, they got inspired to do their country thing - it's the way artists work. One idea sets off another, and damn, you have to go draw that picture, or write that book, or make that album while the idea is there, otherwise it becomes stale or worse, disappears into the darkness forever.

I know what you think, and that you wish they hadn't bothered - but y'know, sometimes if you're an artist it's not that easy to stop and think if it's the right thing or not - you catch that ball and you have to run with it, wherever it might take you.

Aloha !

Yet one tour of the Stones makes up for 2 "world" tours of Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi's touring schedule isn't a tough one at all. There are many, many, many other bands that do bigger tours than Bon Jovi do. Bon Jovi only played 13 dates in Europe back in 2003, while the Stones did over 40 dates in Europe alone.

Of which one was made in 1999.

23 days, according to both Jon and Richie.

All of which most work was done by Obie and Jon even acknowledged that he wasn't that much involved into One Wild Night. The demo process of HAND didn't have any involvement of Tico and David either, neither did Lost Highway. They just enter the studio, do their thing and leave, appearantly. And since when does a band need to do anything for a Greatest Hits album?

2001 was half a year of work.
2002 was half a year of work.
2003 was no work at all.
2004 was no work at all.
2005 was half a year of work.
2006 was half a year of work.
2007 was half a year of work.

In the end it comes down to 2,5 years of work. Yeah, they're working really hard.

Yeah, and those extra players from those bands aren't some average studio musicians. If Bobby Bandiera would be capable of playing a proper guitar solo nobody would complain. Now he's just producing more noise and doesn't add anything to the show, unlike the brass section for the Stones who do know how to handle their instruments.

No one complains about the amount of dates they play. People complain because they always skip Australia. Always skip South America. Always skip the same countries in Europe. The Stones did 10 dates in Australia, did a proper Asian Tour (including India, Singapore and Thailand) and played in South America, and this all happened the past 7 years.

What did Bon Jovi do? They've been playing the same cities for 6 years now, and it took them 4 of those "world" tours to get back to Australia again.

No one wants a tour like they did in the eighties. However, a tour like the Stones do isn't that hard to ask.

That's the whole point. They've left out many, many fans over the years, which is exactly why people complain about their schedule. Do you think someone from Brazil or Australia gives a **** if Bon Jovi plays New York 3 times?

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I think they need a break. In this decade you could say they have been over-exposed and maybe there is boredom setting in from the band and the fans.

I'm hoping a break would revitalise them and they come up with a great album, not unlike when the released KTF but not like when they released Crush!;)

I know they play the same markets most of the time but could there a reason for that...how did the other tours do in south america and other countries,they probably would have sold well but would the overheads have been too high?...just a thought and yes I know other bands manage to pull it off...
I know greatest hits albums,live albums and box sets wouldn't involve as much work as a normal album but at least they did something...still more material than U2 and The Stones...
I do agree that they could do with a break,over exposure isn't always a good thing,but I doubt we will get a break until after the Hall of fame...

I think any sort of extended break will translate into a permanent one (as a band) simply just because of their age. And I don't think taking a break necessarily translates into artistic inspiration and/or a record, musically or lyrically, that fans want.

deb