Setlists/ Our Love for this band
 

As you guys all know, I recently joined the forum at the start of the tour this year. I have been reading the forum since the Circle Tour days, and enjoy following the PBP every night. I just wanted to comment on the setlists structure and the songs that are being played, and the way everyone here views it....
I'm only 16, I wasn't even born yet when These Days came out, I've seen 3 shows in my life. (Gillette 2010, Mohegan 2011, and the free snowed out show in 2013 at Mohegan) I'll be going to Mohegan in the fall and Gillette this summer. The Gillette show I was at was a very standard set for 2010, and the Mohegan 2011 show had a short but unique set with many rarities and a different set structure. I know we all on here complain about the 2013 set and lack of energy from Jon throughout the first few shows. It is tough to judge from just following a PBP and seeing the videos though. I was at Mohegan and it was a blast for me to be so up close to the band I follow, I never had pit tickets and wasn't supposed to be up that close, but with the snow everyone was on the floor and it was a lot more intimate and seeing them so up close meant a lot to me and brought a smile to my face.
My uncle was the one that brought me into the Jovi world and he bought me Crossroads for Chistmas when I was 7, and I put it into the CD player in my house and played it over and over. As I continued to grow up I discovered more and more old songs and lesser known songs that have become some of my favorites. One of my uncle's favortive songs happens to be Captain Crash (I know that would take some slack on here) and he had never heard it live until Mohegan this year. When JBJ started it out with his acoustic and did the first part by himself, my uncle's eyes lit up and he had a huge smile on his face. We shared in the happy moment. That day two weeks ago we drove through the snow and a driving ban just to see the band we love, I think sometimes on here that feeling gets forgotten, yeah the boys play some bad sets, but there's a reason we are all here every night to follow the PBP. The Mohegan snow show will go down as one of my highlights of this band ever, not because it was the best performances ever or the best set, but because for those 2 hours that night, I smiled like a kid in a candy shop in awe and watched Bon Jovi, up close, right in front of my eyes...

Sorry for the long post guys! I just wanted to get my point across, and I look forward to the PBP tonight!

Lol, thats what ya get to deal with on here. Most people like to act like they personally know jon/theband, why or why not they do things, and whats better for them. I personally don't think the sets are as awful as everyone makes them out to be. Everyone shi* a brick over the more things change and work for the working man being played last night, but when I saw both of those songs live, they were a pretty cool experience. There are a lot of other songs id rather not hear then those two. My mother and I have had some similar moments that you've explained with your uncle. Those are the best aren't they? Last year in vegas when they came out for the encore, the beginning of dry county started, and as soon as she heard the little riff in the beginning, you could see the disbelief in her face, that is a song I told her I could die happy after hearing live lol, and NEVER expected to be fortunate enough for that beast to make a return.

Aloha !

If the ride to a show is more memorable than the show itself you're not really praising the band for their show but merely the company for being such good company. I've had a lot of fun going to shows in Europe with Thierry, with 2008 being the highlight of that. We both went to London to go see the shows there, but when talking about that weekend and bringing up memories we both agree that everything about that weekend was great, apart from the shows. And all we did was just hang out in London. When walking past Picadilly Circus gets more exciting than seeing a Bon Jovi show you ought to wonder as to whether the band is actually doing it right.

People on here sometimes bring up stories on "how the sister of my housekeeper loved that song" or, in your case, "how your uncle loved that performance of Crash" which comes across as a excuse to validate the reason why the song is being played. It's all great that your uncle loved it, but it doesn't take away the fact that the song goes over like a lead balloon in America, no one really cares for it apart from Jon, and apparantly your uncle. :p

From the sound of your story it wasn't the actual performance that won you over, but it's the memory attached to the song now. Half of the set that's being played right now just doesn't work well live, especially not in America where every unknown song is seen as an excuse to go get beer or take a piss. It's for that reason that there's so much critisism about this current setlist. It's very bland, seems to be done solely to please Jon and then there's an encore with a few hits thrown in for good measure.

I think there's plenty of people here who do know why Jon plays certain songs or doesn't play certain songs. You don't actually need to know a singer personally to find out what his motivations are. When the man keeps mentioning how relevant he wants to be it's not hard to find out why the set is filled with post 2000 songs.

Everyone shat a brick over the 2 songs you mention because they do find them among the worst songs to be have been released in the past 10 years or so. n the company of anyone who actually enjoyed Work For The Working Man. The whole act of marching like unemployed people on that stage makes me cringe. You are honestly the first person I hear talking of Work For The Working Man "being a cool experience". Yet it's another one of those "relevant" Bon Jovi songs that just doesn't work when played live and is in the setlist solely because Jon seems to think it's a great song. He's also the only one who seems to think so though. I doubt the majority of a crowd are going to a Bon Jovi show saying "I hope he plays Work For The Working Man tonight".

Now I've got no uncles who join with me to go see Bon Jovi shows. The group of people I usually go see Bon Jovi with all like the same songs, and hate the same songs as well, and the last time I was actually in the company of someone who enjoyed the shit songs in the set was 2006 when I had a girlfriend who adored Captain Crash. Then again, she liked Nickelback as well. :p

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Ahem ;) :p

I also don't mind CC.

I get your post. Not sure how many of you have seen Detroit Rock City? It's a movie about a bunch of high school kids facing hell and high water to get to a KISS show. The actual Kiss show has only marginal importance but getting to the gig it's all that matters and is what makes the experience so special. In the end I think, if you enjoyed it (be it because of driving through snow or seeing your uncle smile) it was worth it.

I had a blast at a Bon Jovi show 10 years ago when everyone said it was utter shit. Heineken Jammin' Festival in Italy, 2003. It was hot, Jon was in a bad mood, the set was super short. Yet it's one of my favourite shows I have ever attended. Why? Similar reasons as yours. Great festival vibe, lots of over-priced Heineken beer, and generally a blast of a time. But...there were two other massive bands there - Metallica and Iron Maiden. Had it only been Bon Jovi - it might have been less of a great memory and more of 'what a f*ckin' rip off!' Anyway - not sure where I am going with this. But I guess it's just your own experience that matters - and if it was positive, great! While there's nothing bad with that, unfortunately, with Bon Jovi, more and more shows are good not because of Bon Jovi but because of everything else around them. And I guess once that effect starts wearing off, people will stop seeing the band and just have a blast of a night out with their friends instead…or see a different band that still kicks the shit out of a live show (hint: see the Scorpions while you still can!) I guess that's exactly what is happening to me!

Was this the show where Jon was ill and the set was 90 minutes and Richie sung a few songs himself including Stranger?

No, that was 2 years before on the One Wild Night tour in Padova.
The 2003 festival was one day after Bon Jovi played their (in my book!) most epic concert of the last decade in Munich where they went over the 3 hour mark and the energy was sky high for every minute of the gig. Jon was probably so exhausted that he couldn't be arsed to give his all on this festival.