An Open Letter To Jon Bon Jovi (Regarding Set Lists)

Dear Mr. Bon Jovi:

I hope this letter finds you well. In reading recent interviews in regards to the upcoming tour, I’ve read a bunch of quotes mentioning some drastic change to the show. My apologies in advance, but I can’t help but chuckle a little when reading them. I must admit it takes a lot to beat down my inner Joe Wilson so he doesn’t come to life and blurt out “You lie”. I’m partially kidding, but only moderately because this isn’t the first time your band has claimed to have rehearsed eighty songs yet only have you perform forty to fifty over the tour. There always seems to be a lot of talk but when it comes time to execute, you rely on your same bag of tricks, some of which go back two decades (“Shout” I’m looking at you). On your most recent tour for Lost Highway there was almost nothing to separate it from previous ones aside from the new tunes and the cover of “Hallelujah”. I’m writing this “open letter” not to chastise you, but to bring it to your attention, because despite what anyone may say about you or your band, you have the capacity to be a devastating live act

I’ve received a few hundred emails in recent months and let me tell you, your fans are pining to see something different. I personally don’t have anything to gain as I will be sitting out your current tour for a myriad of reasons I won’t go into, but the biggest is the song selection. Again, this wouldn’t be an issue if there weren’t continual statements in the press about how many songs are rehearsed or are planned on being played. To be fair, I decided to sit down and see how many actual songs I have seen you perform over the last few decades. What I found surprised me. I have seen a total of thirty-seven shows over the course of seven tours stretching back two decades and have only seen a mere ninety-one songs performed. Sixteen of these are covers (and I’m including snippets including “Jumpin' Jack Flash”, “Good Lovin’”, etc.). So essentially I’ve seen seventy-five original Bon Jovi songs over thirty-seven performances. When looking at this, I decided to see how you matched up against the other “top grossing” acts on the road and here’s what I found:

• Over 37 performances Bon Jovi has done 91 songs (only 75 originals)

• I’ve seen The Rolling Stones 15 times and have seen 97 unique songs

• I’ve seen U2 20 times and have seen 87 unique songs (no snippets included)

• I’ve seen the Dave Matthews Band four times on one album cycle and saw 51 unique songs

• I’ve seen Pearl Jam a mere five times and they have performed 85 unique songs

• I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen 45 times and have seen a whopping 257 unique songs

I’ve seen you in front of a few hundred people in an intimate club, a spirited theater, an roaring arena, a deafening stadium, in the Midwest, out on the East Coast, in New Jersey, at charity gigs and it doesn’t seem to matter where or how I see you, it’s the same recycled show. I think the statistics above are staggering. The only other acts who I have seen ten-plus times and have performed fewer songs than you are Aerosmith and KISS and well…we know how their tours went in 2009. This is your fifth tour in under a decade and at this stage in the game you have to assume that the majority of the people seeing you are return customers who want more than the standard fare. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand there are a dozen songs that need to be played every night along with five from the new record. But even after that, it should leave you room for two or three rarities that could be rotated continually. Here’s the thing about thinking out of the box; it’s infectious. In a day and age where information is immediately available via texts, Facebook, Twitter, etc, there is immense buzz whenever an artist does something out of the box. You (and the promoters of your tour) will do nothing but gain momentum and an increase in ticket sales as a result of not playing it safe. If for no other reason, you should take more chances to help sales of future shows.

I completely realize that the balance between artistry and fulfilling fan’s expectations is an impossible one. But as you can see from the number of songs I have been witness to, there’s room for improvement. I for one don’t like “Open All Night” from the Bounce record at all (I find the version of the box set superior), however, after hearing you talk so passionately about it, I’d be curious to see it live, because you would stand to change my mind. If you’re really that ardent about that particular song, then you should allow yourself four-minutes to make yourself happy. A rock n’ roll concert should be about adventure and your concerts are no longer roller coaster rides, but safe merry-go-round rides, which are fine, but look at KISS and Aerosmith, two acts who played it safe for too long and as a result, neither can sell-out shows even with $10 tickets. Also, I’ve continually read interviews where you bemoan the loss of the album format. You have mentioned how a whole generation of music fans are just going to download “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses” and will never discover track seven on Sticky Fingers (“I Got the Blues”), but isn’t that hypocritical when you only promote your singles and never play track seven (“Burning For Love”, “Hardest Part Is The Night”, “Without Love”, “Wild Is the Wind”, “Dry County”, “My Guitar Lies Bleeding…”, “Mystery Train”, “Hook Me Up”) in concert?

I know you probably think that this letter has been published to scold you, but it’s not. When you set out to make your mark in the 1980’s and in your drive to stay visible during the 1990’s, you created works of art which you asked people to listen to and we did, some of us a little more than others, but we listened intently and for that you should be forever thankful. Despite what you may think of many of your die-hard fans, most of them are highly intelligent, listen to a wide range of music, see movies, read books, travel and are fully evolved humans. All they want from you value for their ticket purchase. They want something more than they would get from an act at the local county fair. You asked them to listen…and they did. More importantly, they know deep down that many of the albums cuts they yearn for are what define you as an artist. You’re more than just some guy who got lucky, became successful on his looks or has made good business decisions. You’re an artist of immeasurable talent and all your fans want is for you to show the world that there is more to Bon Jovi than meets the eye. There’s a vast majority of the population who despise your band and its music, it’s time to prove them wrong. You’re more than a band who appeals to the drunken karaoke sing-a-long fans of the world; when you want to be, you’re one of the best live acts on the planet. I can honestly say without flinching, your band is responsible for one of the five most electrifying concert moments I’ve ever laid witness to. But as you can see from above, you perform a fraction of your songs in concert which almost is admitting that you’re ashamed of most of your back catalog, which you shouldn’t be. I may be a lost cause, but there are thousands of fans who can still be swayed. All your fans want from you is a sign that there is indeed greatness in you and your band. You owe it to AEG, you owe it to your management, you owe it to your fans, you owe it to yourself and above all, you owe it to your legacy.

Sincerely,
Anthony (Tony) Kuzminski

*Thanks to Nick Hornby for inspiring the last paragraph

PS: If you’re still reading, I’ve even done some extra credit work for you. Here’s a guide to what the fans think should be played on the upcoming tour.


Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.