Blood on Blood is as much of a "hit" as Wild in the Streets. Both had video clips, but neither were released as singles. It's not a hit, and I would bet when it gets played live, only the diehards know it.

I look at the stagnant setlists in two ways...

1) There is no excuse. You can throw any idea out there, whether it be Jon's voice, pre-programming, new band members, Europe vs US (which is the worst argument ever)... but none are a good enough reason as to why the same boring songs are getting played. I'm not gonna create another wishful thinking setlist because it's been done to death and every body knows which songs can be rotated to suit Jon's current vocal predicament.

2) Are we just spoilt brats who have had it too good for too long? Believe it or not, Bruce is not the norm. Artists rarely change up the setlist from night to night. Guns N Roses played 37 different songs on their current tour (63 shows to date). ACDC played 28 different songs in 86 shows. Heck, even the untouchable Adele doesn't change her setlist. She just finished an 8-show stadium tour of Australia without changing one single song, even when 3 of the 5 cities had back-to-back shows. Jovi isn't even 20 shows into the tour and we already have 35 different songs played. Plus, you also have to remember that 99% of the crowd don't know that it's the same setlist as the previous show, and 90% of them wouldn't even care.

As a diehard, I am so disappointed in the setlists, but as a realist, I don't think it matters.

I do agree with the above. Don't get me wrong, people sometimes have the "Well the crowd isn't going to more than one show" retort and while true, that's a completely different argument. The setlist prevents people coming back from tour to tour. It's fun to sing your heart out to the hits but after awhile it feels stale. But the shows aren't aimed at us and I get that, and people have to get that if the ticket prices are going to be that high it doesn't become as worth it to go to as many shows as we used to.

And this sums up the whole $=!# and shabang. If there are 20,000 people in the venue, how many are realistically going to multiple shows? 500 would probably be a lofty estimate. Most people don't have time or money to travel for multiple shows, even if they would like to.

Great post Savvi...Wild In The Streets is a fair comparison but it didn't make the Greatest Hits nor was it ever intended to be a single... I have interviews of Jon stating such about Blood on Blood. However most people in the US would consider any song off Slippery and Jersey a hit... No, they are not a HIT single in the tradition senses but they are a big HIT amongst fans... and I guess that's where I was going...

Once an intro like Raise Your Hands, Wild In The Streets, and Blood On Blood kicks in, the US crowd goes crazy...

It's like when Guns is playing something off of Chinese Democracy and then kicks into Night Train or Mr. Brownstone... They are hits!!!

Sent from my HTCD160LVW using Tapatalk

Yes, I do think we are spoiled. We got so used to Jon changing and shaking up the sets that it has become the norm for this band. I would be OK with them playing the same set for the whole tour HOWEVER:

1. Don't play the same fillers every tour. And don't keep songs like Working Men in the set and leave a song like One Wild Night out.

2. Don't go on interviews saying that you change the sets every night and that you have 75 songs rehearsed.

If that was true Homebound Train wouldn't have gotten such a lull of a response and dropped. Wild is the Wind wouldn't be more of a rarity. My point is more if they want an 80's sounding song to evoke that reaction a different one could be swapped in. In the grand scheme I'll take Blood on Blood over a LOT of songs. A LOT. But it's not one that needs to be played and isn't a hit single.

I wish Jon had the balls back then to keep those songs in the set despite the crowd reaction. Just like he's doing now with the new songs.

This is part and parcel with every tour since 2000. A LOT of new songs that may go down by one or two as the tour goes on and he sticks with it. I respect him for that for sure. But if you don't change the album cuts and lesser known singles the tours blend right together. Opening The Circle tour like he did was almost too ballsy and there was no hope in hell it was going to last.

https://youtu.be/aJmRiE5Maz0
RYH

LOL, who's that guy coming up the stairs to the stage from 1:26 to 1:36 and looking at his clock? The manager of the arena? ;-)