Afterthoughts on the tour
 

I am curious as to what the general consensus is on the most recent tour. I was not fortunate enough to attend a show, but I followed it closely via YouTube and this forum. How does this tour, on the whole, compare to other jovi tours? How did the personal live experience differ from previous concerts? Best/worst shows and moments? I must say, it was fun waking up to read this forum. I still remember vividly reading the 20+ page thread about Greenville. My stomach jumped when in saw that always had been played. I soon listened to a bootleg of it and was overwhelmed by pride for Jon and his hard work and dedication.

Google Search, Bon Jovi IEM 2011 and listens to Bad Medicine... He's singing it and sounds exactly the same way he did on this past tour...

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I think, in some ways, it's difficult to compare tours because your reaction to any one show is dependent on where you are in life. When I first saw Bon Jovi in 1989, I was barely a teenager. It was my first concert ever and it was a band that, to me, might as well have been Elvis Presley in his glory days. Everything about that show was spectacle and awe. I saw them in 1993 a couple of times. I was 2nd row at the "orange seat show" in Knoxville. That was pretty amazing from my perspective. I had the pleasure of seeing one of the Christmas shows in 1994 and that was special because it was a small venue. Fast forward a few years and I saw them in St. Louis after a long hiatus. I left convinced they were still the best band on the planet.

After a few years and more shows, my father died in 2003 and it changed my perspective of everything. I couldn't even listen to Bon Jovi for a while because I had so many memories attached to them. During that period, I discovered Keith Urban and what an amazing guitarist and entertainer he is. I went to dozens of his shows because, quite frankly, it made me happy and he was far more accessible than Bon Jovi. (In other words, he plays more than 2 cities in the Southeast. In those days Bon Jovi only ever played Atlanta and Nashville.) So while they were working on HAND, I was traveling all over seeing someone else.

After a while, I had the chance to see Bon Jovi again in Omaha in 2005, I think. I went in wondering if the would still cast a spell over me. Did they ever!!! So I was back on board with this band for the long haul.

I've seen this band in many cities, many states, various types of venues, across a 30ish year span. I've seen every tour except the WAN album because of my own health problems.

When it comes down to it, Bon Jovi has been the one constant thing in my life for a long time. There are certain truths that remain no matter how my life or the band has changed. I've never left a Bon Jovi concert unhappy. I've never had a bad time at a Bon Jovi concert. I've always found Jon to be the best frontman I've seen. Bon Jovi makes magic on stage. And I say all that to say, these truths remain in the latest tour. A Bon Jovi concert is the highlight of any year for me and whenever I leave one show, I'm ready for another one.

Bon Jovi has changed, but they remain the best in the world for me. Since I don't obsess over set lists and YouTube videos, I think I enjoy the shows even more. To me, if I'm not there, it doesn't affect me. So I enjoy what I experience and it leaves me wanting my next fix.

Final verdict: this tour was just as enjoyable to me as any other. I hope it's not the last chance I ever have to see them.

Great post! I think you summed up this tour perfectly! Let's not forget, this is just one leg of the tour, there is a chance of a second leg later in ther year or even next year! Jon made a video earlier saying this! Lets keep our eyes and ears open!

I didn't go to a show this tour so others who have will have a much better outlook on this tour than me.

From the outside looking in, it's been like a yo-yo. The set lists, whether you care about them or not, have been poor. I Got The Girl (of all songs) has been the only one that's made me go 'wow' and 'Always' but only down to the vocal issues and not thinking JBJ would have the balls to do it.

The performances have got better as the shows have gone on. First few shows, JBJ looked extremely static. It was quite worrying because although his vocals have been an issue, I was hoping that he'd still have the energy for us to not care. His energy only came as the tour went on.

We've had cancellations/postponements. I'm not going to get into what I think was the right thing to do and what was wrong because I haven't been let down so that'd be unfair of me.

What I have loved about this tour is the passion JBJ still has. People might say it's fake but this tour seems different. He does seem happy to be playing venues and being on stage again. He is smiling and it doesn't seem forced. He's including every member up on stage and every show, he looks like he's loving it. He still knows how to work a crowd!

I was watching New Years Day from MSG today and the intro blew me away. My girlfriend looked over and said 'you love it don't you' and I do. She meant I love the small things JBJ does to make me/us smile. Little intros like that are what makes me still love this band. Nobody else could make me smile and enjoy an intro like that except Jon. It's weird but true. When he goes into the crowd for Bad Medicine, I love it. A lot of lead singers do it and it does nothing for me but with JBJ, it's different.

This tour has been quite poor from the outside looking in but it still has many elements for me to be excited to see them again and it's certainly not made me any less of a fan. They're not the same band I've grew up watching but they'd still make me come away happier than any other band.

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I really enjoyed my concert during this tour. JBJ had so much energy and really seemed to want to be on stage. Loved hearing the new songs and his talking about them.


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What's your point?

Think about it

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Anyone have the final numbers??? Attendance and Gross Amount???

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Billboard Boxscore should come out soon with the attendance numbers.

I agree with what you've said and I did attend 7 shows out of the 29. The biggest factor for me is just what you mentioned that Jon and all of the band appear to genuinely want to be on stage and the passion to play live is still there!

I was at that Orange seat Knoxville show too! My first Bon Jovi shows were both in Knoxville, first the New jersey tour, then KTF. I live in northeast TN, so these days the closest shows for me are Greenville, SC or Charlotte.

Considering that 2015 wasn't a real tour, this tour was the worst ever by this band. Identical sets, terrible vocals by Jon. At least he and the band tried hard in order to make the shows enjoyable. But it's clear that the WOW factor is gone. Up until 2011 I'd say they were the best live band out there, now they are just a good live act and that's it.

Really? Where were you? My friends and I had 2nd row and it was amazing to be that close. At the end of the show I got Tico's attention and he tried to hand me his drum stick but some Neanderthal grabbed it from me. I was heartbroken. Tico looked pissed too because he meant it for me, not Big Meanie. Do you remember when Jon went out in the audience and came back with his shirt ripped off? I'm surprised he got back unscathed.

Becky, I was in the lower section sidestage, but several rows up, maybe row 20 or so. What a bummer u didn't get the drumstick. Yes, I couldn't believe Jon jumped in the audience and survived. I wonder if that was something he did on most shows that tour? Hard to know since we didn't have the internet then. That was 1993? I would have been 19 then.

As for my thoughts on the tour, I really enjoyed my 2 shows. I saw Greenville and Vegas, so I feel lucky to have heard Always and I got the girl this tour. Jon seemed to really enjoy himself and to be less serious than he can sometimes be. Sure, it isn't like the 80's, but I don't expect that. More set list changes would be an improvement, but I don't get as worked up about that as some.

Either you are saying that his voice hasn't changed since 2011, or you are saying that it did change, but he managed to get it back to that level.

Which both is not the case BTW...

Static setlist aside, I think the passion was the big difference between this tour and the Asia tour. They, as a band, seemed to enjoy this tour. I'm not saying they didn't enjoy the Asia tour but it really shone through in 2017 IMO.

I saw both the 2017 tour (Chicago, 4th row in front of Jon) and the 2015 Asia tour (Singapore front row in front of Phil, KL 3rd row between Jon and Matt, Bangkok 5th row between Jon and Matt)

The biggest difference was that they felt like more of a band in Chicago. Everyone seemed like they belonged, Phil really came into his own. Jon seemed more relaxed and confident. They weren't really promoting anything in Asia (WDR?), it didn't seem as passionate.

I did enjoy the Singapore Formula 1 concert the most as Jon was moving around a lot compared to the other shows on both tours.

Comparing the 2 indoor arena shows, Chicago and Bangkok - Chicago was much much better. The band felt confident and settled as did Jon. There was a lot more interaction between Jon and the guitarists. The stage was nicer and they just felt more hungry, the energy was better.
Bangkok also had the Who Says, Lost Highway and WLOL start to the setlist at the time I was thinking 'WTF? In Bangkok?'

I didn´t attend to a gig yet, lookin foward to the south american dates.

But according YT and soundboard recordings, here is my pros and cons:

(-)
- Of course, Jon´s voice.
- I know there is a huge catalog. I know he prefers to do post-2000 songs. But why Bounce is skipped? And The Circle? On these album are some great tunes that would fit to the actual sound.
- No accoustic section. It worked very well in past tours.
- The percussion man. I know he´s important for the backing vocals thing, but I guess he mess with Tico´s work.
- Born again tomorrow, the song with the classic BJ style, was skipped.
- The amateur mistake with the backing track in THINFS. Come on, one of the biggest band in the world and made that huge mistake?? It wasn´t 2 seconds long, it was all across the song!!

(+)
- The band sounded great. They were solid, seems happy, there was chemistry between the new and old guys
- Phil X seems like is not a replacement anymore, is a band member, he own the songs and dig some great solos like KTF and Always. And he´s tune is more "BonJovier" , if you compare it to the BWC tour.
- I hate Shanks as a producer, but on stage I think he works way better than Bandiera. You hear Bad Name with JS and then with BB and you will be agree with me.
- They love their new album. Jon talks about the songs background every time. In the past tour, they started playin 5/6 track of the new album, but as the shows goes by, the only drop 1 or 2. In this time, they really support the new songs and I think their worked live and made the set list every night.
- Tico Torres: he still kick ass. The older man but what an energy, what a bit. 0 mistakes. Respect
- The intro, not better that the one of The Circle tour, but still great, with great video and dramatic music. Well done.

The bands play for the audience at the venue, not for the people on YT or forums. So, if they repeat the same set list every night, that ok with me (the Rolling Stones do that!) I´ll be pissed off only if I attend several show, or a few in a row.

There is no Richie. Jon´s voice is shot. But still they put some great and enjoyable rock shows. Waiting for September to see them here in Buenos Aires.

He did do Working Man and Born to Follow but I know what you mean... Superman / LTOR / WWWB etc

I'm with you on this one... Phil is a member as far as I'm concerned and even if Richie does return one day, I hope Phil does stay...

As I've said in every review you posted, I feel good for the fans who still enjoy the shows and have fun with it. I respect that. And I've never tried to change your opinion. However, the opposite is not true. As I've said before, I disagree with the whole "when you're there..." argument because the contrary has worked and has been working FOR ME and for other members here. A lot of people here believe they can judge a show by seeing videos of it (myself included) and a lot of people think you can't. However, every time a person says something negative about a show, he/she gets attacked by RDrooser3 and some other members. They have to learn to accept that there will be diferent opinions and takes on something they see nothing wrong in it.

As for you, I've never said something like the "Really ? Where were you" that you've just sent me. Once again, on most of your reviews I said: "good to know you had fun". But when I lay down my opinion, I get a "Really ? Where where you?". See my point here ?

What you guys must understand is that a lot of people here are not satisfied with the current state of Jon's performances, and you have to respect that in the same way that I respected all your good reviews. I could simply say: "Really ? Are you deaf?" But no. I don't want to change your opinion. I just want to share mine.

So let me ask you this, have you recently been to a Bon Jovi show? In this tour or past tours?

Yes. About 30 shows on the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 tours.

That reply was not to you, it was to Melanie who had commented to me about a Knoxville show we both attended. You and I posted about the the same time because I thought my post would directly follow hers but it didn't. However, if you were reading the thread, it should have been obvious I was speaking to Melanie, especially since she answered.

So, there is no cause for to feel disrespected.

My bad then.

Europe tried to stay a 6 piece but it didn't work out. Too many guitars do more harm than good imho...

That have Phil and Shanks now... Swap Richie for Shanks and it's the same thing..

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That´s it

Superman was a semi-hit. LOTR is crowd pleaser with the sing along thing at the end.

Thorn had a great solo outro,

I mean, if you had 3 LH stapple in the set, and it´s an older album...


Also, was good to see no WAN songs on the list...(except BWC a few times)

Not necessarily true. I've seen Keith Urban with as many as 4 other guitarists on stage and while they were rotating other instruments such as the banjo and mandolin, it sounded phenomenal. And he certainly does not need anyone other than himself to play lead. It totally depends on the songs and how they are layered.

It's been a live two guitar band since 2004ish so that's an odd point to make.

Actually it was the point the guys from Europe made and I somehow agreed on it. One guitar sound is more prominent than a few creating some sort of distortion but hey, I am not a musician and I've never called myself an expert or a judge. Whatever floats your boat ;)

That's awesome! then u should know that every show u have seen from these different tours were not all the same as far as how big it was. Those tours were probably more bigger, with stadiums included. This tour was more stripped down, simpler, no fancy big stage, even in the arenas. Now this might change for the next leg, whichever they start, whether its a 2nd leg here in US, or Europe, though it seems S.America is next in the fall. Everyone here has there own tastes of what they like to see in a BJ concert, it doesn't always mean they will get what they want. Personally, I liked this tour, it focused more on the music and the band, and the stage was more closer to the band than before, which made it more intimate, I'm happy that this tour, IMO, was successful in that they got through it, with no real drama, with of course exception of the bronchitis, they still soldier on.

Except Richie is closer to Phil than to John

Easy after thoughts for me. Glad they did it. Still doing it. New music. As long as one doesn't compare them to their heydays and accepts them where they are now, it's all good.

Watching YouTube videos can one nostalgia for the past. All too soon today will be the past and they will not live up to this tour or worse yet will be completely done.


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