IDK People... I couldn't even imagine downloading the audio and listening to this on the beach today...

Is that really his best? I have zero vocal abilities and I think I could sing TD better... I'm watching a 1996 version as I type this and it's so sad...

Why not an electric all band acoustic rendition of the hard stuff??:

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I think it speaks volumes when my friends come over and I play the old BJ stuff but somehow can't imagine exposing them to the recent live stuff...when I listen to it myself I cringe.

What the actual fvck?

Very fitting song for the shit that's going on in the world nowadays but I honestly never expected to hear it again. It seems that I should be saving for the (hopefully) upcoming 2018 European leg...

How long has it been since they played a show that did not include KTF? The beginning of The Circle Tour?

As grateful as I am for it being in the set, that These Days is sooooo slow. And obviously vocally poor.

That's what it is at the moment. Again, when you're there it's not so bad, but there's no value in listening to bootlegs or recordings of these shows for pleasure.

Youtube was a bit cruel by having the next song in autoplay being TD from Yokohama 96

Ok. Hope they change their mind about it. I liked to have the shows in my collection.


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Phil X did an AMAZING job in the solo.

Really, really solid. It seems that he only needed time to rehearsal those songs that they don't play every night.

Decent setlist, but once again piss poor vocals and songs are slowed down. Time
to call it quits Jon.

Wanted:

Very bad vocals, couldn't watch it until the end.

That has to be the first Wanted done ever with Jon NOT on an acoustic guitar (from second verse forward).
About the vocals, yes it's horrible. Kills me to hear how far gone Jon is. Hearing These Days, Wanted, Prayer I can't believe the guy even wants to carry on. Great for those who still enjoys it, I just wish I could be as easily pleased.

I'll Be There For You (first time since 2013)
at 2:31, David plays a synth riff very reminiscent of the one from the chorus of "Stick to Your Guns"



Someday I'll Be Saturday Night

it's weird to see Jon singing I'll Be There without playing a guitar.... it's like he is naked. This is one of the things that make me believe that his problem is lack of confidence and not just some physical stuff

Lacking confidence because he's not backed up by Rich?

Damn, his voice is shot.

Just when I thought Prayer was bad, I saw These Days.

And Wanted.

And IBTFY.

And Saturday Night.

Poor Jon... he's obviously worked as hard as possible to improve, but he's done.

I just can't see how he'd be able to get any better than this.

Ever.

And that's extremely sad.

R.I.P Jon's voice (March 14, 1983-June 29, 2013).

I don't think so - even as recently as in December 2013 he was able to sing the song while playing the guitar at the same time. His voice is just shot to pieces.

God, that clip above actually makes me think about the IBTFY renditions of late 2013 as pretty good performances! At least back then Jon's tone was still OK (not the fragile whisper of today) and he could sing most of the song without sounding out of breath:

https://youtu.be/B4uWJBUoglI

Oh, dear fellow Joviacs - make up your mind finally! Is Jon's voice shot or does he have some kind of mental block? These two things aren't the same.

Runaway

is it just me or are they playing this song at close to the same speed at which they played "I'd Die For You" in the 80s?

IBTFY sounds ok, but Phil needs to learn the words "I wasn't there when you were happy (you know my hands are dirtyyyyy)" :D

Earlier, some here say Jon's voice is improving. Now, its RIP. Seems like Sao Paulo is sold out next month. Rio, not sure. He better step up.

I've never asked for a perfect vocal performance, just some passion in it. Some of my favorite performances, jon or the band were not perfect, but the fire and something in the atmosphere was succesing there.

Now I see this so difficult that it happens with this formation so little risky in his game, and Jon so weakened and unsure of himself.

Even so, I hope things change at some point. It's sad to see your favorite band, that you love so much, to see it in this low time of his career. :(

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

You Give Love a Bad Name

unfortunately,
i'm just a little bit disappointed in jon,go and fix your voice and if it's unfixable just end it and let it be,it's been a great journey all these years,don't destroy your own and the band's legacy and reputation

I'd say it's both.

For starters, his voice was starting to sound a bit strained around June-July 2011, as he had probably overused it in terms of pushing his range to its limit night after night on the high-pitched songs (Always, Bed Of Roses, These Days etc.) he'd sing in pretty much every European show back then. For example, whereas in 2010 Something To Believe In would vocally seem like a walk in the park for him, in 2011 he'd struggle with it quite a bit in comparison (especially in Dresden and Edinburgh - a bit in Vancouver as well).

In 2012 JBJ already sounded pretty bad in general, with his voice cracking quite often on the high notes of Prayer and It's My Life in particular. Especially the iHeartRadio broadcast in September was truly cringeworthy, with Jon's voice being a "unique combination" of a hoarse tone caused by some kind of a throat infection/cold and an otherwise shot range.

And then came 2013...

In the January '13 promo shows Jon's voice was weaker than it probably had ever been since the late spring/early summer of '03. By the time the tour started (February) he was still sounding relatively rough in general, but already better than in January. In March he had started to regain his vocal confidence and could nail stuff like Always and Bed Of Roses with relative ease again, especially in Charlotte and Nashville. The Cleveland webcast performances sounded pretty decent as well, but judging by his body language on the high notes, the songs weren't easy for him at this point anymore... and that I actually do blame for an incorrect singing technique. After finding out he'd struggle more than previously on the more demanding stuff (which was occasionally apparent on the '11 European tour already and became alarmingly prominent in '12), Jon probably tried to develop himself a new way to hit the notes, but this time, most likely without the advice of his vocal coach. Instead of singing the high parts resonantly like he had done in '08-'10 with his then-serviceable technique, he started to force the notes out from his throat/neck instead of his gut/chest. He'd still stay in key throughout, but the forced tone could be heard quite clearly already.

After Richie left the band in early April and Phil stepped in, Jon would still sound relatively solid for a couple weeks, being still able to hit the most of the notes on the big ballads with his new (non-)technique. Then again, he already had to shout more and more instead of (kinda) singing, and by the time the band hit Glendale and San Jose at the end of the leg, his voice was utterly exhausted and the high notes sounded extremely forced with no real resonance nor clarity left anymore.

At the Cape Town and Johannesburg gigs Jon still sounded pretty much the same as on the previous leg (albeit even more shouty at times), but the real bomb - in a negative sense - was the first date of the European run: Sofia, Bulgaria on May 14, 2013.

While Jon's "habit" of suffering from hay fever is widely known inside the fan base, I seriously doubt it was the only reason for Jon's vocal problems at the show. His bad technique probably played its part as well, but around here I believe his stress caused by Richie's sudden departure really started to kick in, too, as Jon would never regain the sonic "fullness" of his tenor register (from G to B) that he was still able to display frequently just a little more than a month earlier in the USA. During the rest of the European leg Jon would still be able to deliver vocally from time to time (like in Manchester, Birmingham, Slane Castle, Milan and Hyde Park, where he - at least on some songs - sounded almost as solid as in March/April) or at least make up for it with passion, energy and surprises on the set lists (like in Cologne, Prague and Bern). But unfortunately, his vocal deterioration started to progress very rapidly as soon as the band left Europe, and by the end of the US stadium leg in late July his voice was shot for eternity, getting worse and worse all the time throughout the rest of the tour and culminating to the last two legs in December (Japan and Australia), where he sounded so bad it was funny.

So, as a conclusion, Jon's unsustainable, self-taught "technique" was probably the main starter of the snowball effect that ultimately lead to the way things are now, but after Richie's departure he gained a huge amount of psychological pressure and still hasn't gotten rid of the stress after more than four years.

Thank you very much, sounds solid and pretty much that's the case. I've just found an interesting article and if the psychological factor plays such a big role, the vocal surgery won't fix the problem. I've heard Jon thanked Lou Cox in THINFS booklet but it seems he didn't help much this time... http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...l-1457691.html

Bad Name sounds surprisingly good in fact. The high "...and you PLAY your game" hasn't been sung this well in ages! Jon's vocals are terribly inconsistent nowadays - at one moment he's nailing multiple tenor G's and A's like that and at another he can't hit a single semi-high baritone note on songs like Who Says or WGIGO. It's really strange.

Not since Undivided was slowed down have I seen them drop a tempo like this. Good on him for trying at least.

Very well put, I agree with about 90% of that. And the thing you posted afterwards.

Yes, his vocals are very inconsistent, and that's part of the problem, I think. It's not that his range is shot, otherwise he wouldn't be able to hit those high notes at all. I just don't know if he's just belting out the high notes nowadays and if that's healthy or not (probably not), but doing that, he (almost) sounds fine/like in the "old" times. It's that "whiny", thin voice he's developed that's putting me (and probably you all) off. I reckon he's probably got to do that to not overly stress his voice, since, as he's admitted on the record, it's shot (for now, and probably forever), but the constant mixture of both is what's really putting me off.

Does he sound better than he did before (on the first leg of the tour)? I'd say yes, he's regained some confidence, even had some more training. Does he sound better/more on key than in late '13? Most definitely yes, but that's been the case throughout most of '15/'16 and isn't hard to do, since late '13 was really atrocious. Does he look more healthy and happy than he used to in the last 3-4 years? Yes, and that's a good sign. I just hope (and I'm an optimistic person) that he's able to further improve to somehow, miraculously, get back to at least an early '13 level and sustain that. That, I'd take any day of the week for the next whatever years he's left in him

Go for it, Jon, you can do it! Believe in yourself! :-)

The question is, do casuals(majority of concert goers) notice or even bothered? Or just us hardcores?

In These Arms: Jon actually sounds decent here.

Bed of Roses: I honestly thought Jon would sound much, much worse than this! First chorus is choppy at best but the second chorus is spot on! Pretty good for the first performance since 2013.

Born to Be My Baby: they really need to speed this one up a bit...

I really think Jon sounds better at this show than he did a few months ago!

Well, some of the casuals will notice and others will not, I think most casuals get living for the moment, and when they notice that Jon does not do well, I guess they think he's just having a bad night.

But that does not matter, I do not care what the causals think. The important thing is what I feel when I hear this. And this is wrong.

From my point of view, he sounds worse. He seems to have trouble singing and breathing. Phil's solo in Bed of Roses is lame. The songs sound slower and jon still there, stuck to the micro making an effort to stay on, but the results are not good.

They did a more solid work on THINFS live presentations the last year.

I think missing Richie was a part of 2013 and finishing the tour - the energy lagged but with each show they seemed to be moving on bit by bit. If you've lived more than a couple of decades you know that emotional distress will effect the physical - so yes - in 2013 perhaps that was a part - but not anymore. Plus, Tico getting sick when it was maybe becoming the new normal threw another issue. They do seem to be having a good time now, at least Phil is- I don't sense any sadness or longing - I've not had time to watch the videos yet but after reading some of the reviews I hope I hear better than I am expecting, but it's imo physical now and has been since late 2013 and nothing to do with Richie. It could be confidence lagging - in his own ability however.


SweetMisery asks: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The question is, do casuals(majority of concert goers) notice or even bothered? Or just us hardcores?


I wanted to say it depends on how many beers you've had before the show starts.... but seriously - I don't think casuals and even some hardcores notice. Most people, myself included go to enjoy the moment, I'm more prone to be critical watching a video than live because there is so much more to the moment than one voice. When you see a majority of negative, especially from casuals then you know it was a clusterF....... If people who pay good money walk out - you have a serious problem. So far, at least the general social media I read, that's not happening yet.

Anyone else remember when Steven Tyler was having vocal issues and he had vocal cord surgery? Made a big improvement for him - can't help but wonder if that may be in Jon's future because I don't think he wants or is ready to stop.

Most causal fan don't remember the good old days. They are going with the moment and just want to have a good time... The Band, The stage, the lights, JBJ the star, is all part of it... The voice is just a fraction of it... Sure they know it doesn't sound like the record but as long as everything is lined up, they'll accept it...Jon knows all this and just simplifies his songs... that's how he gets away with it all...

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In one interview during the THINFS promo period Jon had addressed his problems and said that the 2013 stress had manifested itself in physical ways that prevent him from singing to the best of his capabilities. I have no idea what he meant exactly by that but it would explain why the quality of his singing varies so much and why he hits certain notes no one would expect. There's still some more range left that he can consistantly show.

People are exaggerating, as they always do. Jon's voice is crap, but it's no worse than usual. If anything I'd say this a slight improvement over this years tour. TD sounded fine, BM sounded fine, so did Saturday Night, so did Runaway and BOR.

I don't know what everyone was expecting? For his voice to suddenly roll back to 2011 level? Not gonna happen.

Interesting to note that Jon's ditched the guitar in a bunch of songs, including Wanted, IBTFY, Runaway, Sleep etc.

Not to mention that this is the best setlist we've had in AGES. I never thought IBTFY, BOR, ITA and TD would all be played at the same show again. I think all of this negativity is unwarranted... if anything this show was an IMPROVEMENT and people are still complaining.

I think you should get your ears checked. He sounds like shit and he is nailed to the floor with zero stage presence. He has no power or confidence in his voice anymore. Time to call it quits, painful for me to say as well as this band has given me a lot since 1995.

If they tour Europe next year with these vocals, I'm definitely not spending cash on this.

TD gets slowed down so he's able to sing it and he still issues with the notes and that's same shit different day? No, slowing down tempos does not indicate it's business as usual.

I'll be There For You is just sad.

I just feel so sad about all the exposure he will get in the Festivals here in Brazil next month. The pro-shots of all this failure will sure hurt him and the band.

I think I have some kind of divided-heart syndrome. In one side, I'm really happy the band is still trying, releasing new music that I enjoy, and that I will be able to see these guys again in less than a month know that, no matter what, I'm going to have a good time because it's Bon Jovi. On the other side, I'm ashamed to show this to any of my friends. Really, how can I show them this "These Days" and say that this is the best band that I've seen live and that they should go to see them no matter what? I don't know if most casual fans will notice in the show, because there's the excitement, the lights, the people singing alone, and the show itself; but you'd need to be deaf to watch (and hear) a YouTube video like this one and not notice the detriment of Jon's voice and the current state of the overall band's live performance.

That been side, that Bed of Roses is pretty decent.

I also think that's the case now - Jon's suffering from serious confidence issues and therefor seems to have a "lock" in his gut/chest, which makes his voice sound extremely forced. He probably still has the range he had in '08-'11 (or even more, as is shown on the KTF video from Singapore '15 where he suddenly belts out a pretty strong high C# - the "YEAH yeah yeah" that he had never sung in key since Amsterdam '05 - with his old, chesty technique I assumed he had lost for good after the Bounce tour). The voice is clearly still there, but right now it seems like Jon can't "get it out" properly.

As a proof, check out the note he hits at 3:00 - it's insanely high and perfectly in key while definitely NOT being auto-tuned:

https://youtu.be/jahOp-4Rqqw (Keep The Faith, Singapore 2015)

Poor Jon - at one moment he's hitting '96-level notes with seemingly no problem and at another he can't sing Captain Crash in key... I'm afraid he's just way too worried about failing. Whenever he thinks he's going to f*** up vocally, he ends up doing so.