Top 20 Concert Tours from Pollstar

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

TOP 20 CONCERT TOURS

1. (1) Bon Jovi; $2,143,767; $102.15.
2. (2) Lady Gaga; $1,722,078; $96.77.

Tico Torres Interview

Tico Torres Interview Undercover Part 6

Tico Torres Interview

Tico Torres Interview Undercover Part 5

Tico Torres Interview

Tico Torres Interview Undercover Part 4

1o. Encontro de Fã Clubes 2011

Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Jon Bon Jovi guessed from the stage at Mohegan Sun on Saturday night that it has been “29 to 30 years or so” that the fans have been supporting his rock’ n’ roll dream.

That fan base shows no signs of wavering.

Either does the band.

Bon Jovi played a sold out Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, the fourth and final stop at the venue along the current tour, and thanked the faithful with a two hour and fifteen minute set of high powered rock.

The production alone was a tribute to the arena rock milieu. Everything above and behind the circular stage moved, morphed, and slid, from the hi tech video screens to the hydraulic risers that, when they weren’t supporting the lead singer, where also serving as video boards.

There may only be a handful of bands that can play an arena rock show like Bon Jovi. In fact, it is this band that might define the genre.

After the bells rung and the whistles whistled, Bon Jovi emerged from all the moving parts to ring up “Last Man Standing,” and followed with “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

The two songs made sense together but represent two very different parts of the band’s career. The latter was recorded when critics were putting Bon Jovi in the same hair-band category as Skid Row, Warrant, and Cinderella.

Anyone know where any of those bands were playing this weekend?

The latter song was also the first spotlight moment for fill-in Phil X, the guitarist who is taking the place of Richie Sambora while the longtime band member is doing a stint in rehab. Phil X is a well-known session player (Daughtry, Avril Lavigne, Alice Cooper) who seemed to fit right in with the group.

After anthems “Superman Tonight,” and “Lost Highway,” Bon Jovi rolled a little country flavor into the mix with the yearning rocker “Whole Lot of Leaving.” Again the newer song was paired with a classic, serving as the prelude to “Bad Medicine.”

It was during “Bad Medicine” that Jon Bon Jovi took leave of the set list and with prompting from Jersey pal and former Cats on A Smooth Surface (and occasional Asbury Juke) Bobby Bandiera wrestled in Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.”

With the lights down, Bon Jovi made his way out to the center of the arena via the circular catwalk and gave acoustic versions of “(You Want To) Make a Memory,” and “I’ll Be There for You.”

He returned to the stage for “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night,” subtly dedicating the song to Sambora.

“I can hear your voices,” he said. “You’re all pulling for our friend, right?”

Sambora’s absence seemed to affect the mystique of the band more than the music. Phil X was a formidable replacement and Bandiera, a longtime friend and occasional collaborator with Bon Jovi provided stability as well.

The band closed with “Living On A Prayer,” and put together a strong four-song encore that included “Wanted; Dead or Alive,” with Bon Jovi again thanking the crowd for supporting the band “even when we’re down a man.”

Hartford band Lakshmi earned and opening slot on the show thanks to winning a radio station battle of the bands and handled their half hour set like they were used to playing arena stages.

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2011/05/bon_jovi_at_mohegan_sun.html

BonJovi -Wanted- Nassau Coliseum NY 5-6-11

Billy Falcon Opens for Bon Jovi

The Singer/songwriter Billy Falcon opens for Bon Jovi Band.

When?
05/19/11
06/15/11

Where?
Memphis - TN-  FedEx Forum United States

Oslo

Ullevaal Stadium

Norway

More information:
http://www.billyfalcon.com/live-dates/

Set list - 05/06/11 - Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY

May 6, 2011

LOST HIGHWAY LOST HIGHWAY

WE WEREN’T BORN TO FOLLOW THE CIRCLE

BAD NAME SLIPPERY WHEN WET

BORN TO BE MY BABY NEW JERSEY

SUPERMAN TONIGHT THE CIRCLE

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE GREATEST HITS

IT’S MY LIFE CRUSH

RUNAWAY BON JOVI

WE GOT IT GOING ON LOST HIGHWAY

BAD MEDICINE W/ ROADHOUSE BLUES (THE DOORS COVER) & OLD TIME ROCK N' ROLL (BOB SEGAR COVER) NEW JERSEY

LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME CROSSROADS

WHAT DO YOU GOT? GREATEST HITS

BED OF ROSES KEEP THE FAITH

I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU NEW JERSEY

SATURDAY NIGHT CROSSROADS

WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME HAVE A NICE DAY

SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD KEEP THE FAITH

HAVE NICE DAY HAVE A NICE DAY

KEEP THE FAITH KEEP THE FAITH

ENCORE

IN THESE ARMS KEEP THE FAITH

WANTED CROSSROADS

PRAYER SLIPPERY WHEN WET

Related Stories: 05/06/11 - Uniondale, NY, VIP 2011, North America, Last Night, Set Lists

http://backstagewithjon.bonjovi.com/story/set_lists-last_night-vip_2011-north_america-050611__uniondale_ny/set_list__050611__nassau_coliseum__uniondale_ny

Bon Jovi - The Circle Tour

Show Bon Jovi Band!

When?

Saturday, May 07, 2011 08:00 pm

Where?
Mohegan Sun Arena - CT, Uncasville, CT

more information:
http://www.bonjovi.com/

Behind the Scenes: Bon Jovi at Mohegan Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn. --

Bon Jovi's been around a long time. The band has played almost 3,000 concerts in more than 50 countries since the late 1980s.

The band's "The Circle" tour was the top-grossing concert tour of 2010. They're still on the road now, several months into their Live 2011 tour.

Bon Jovi's tour this year included two stops at Mohegan Sun, in Uncasville, Conn.: one in March and one Saturday night. NBC 10 went behind the scenes in March to see how the stage is set up.

The trucks roll in before dawn, and the crews get to work. Crew chief Make Savas said at this point in the tour, they have it all down like clockwork.

"Starts at 5 a.m., and we're set up around noon. So, it takes about six or seven hours to knock it out," Savas said.

Savas said the first step is "mark out."

"Mark the floor with chalk, set up the rigging points, the metal cables that hold everything up," Savas said. "They lift that up, and that's the lighting and video rig above your head. While that's being done, they actually build the stage at the other end of the floor. It's on 200 wheels, so they'll roll the stage in with about 30 people pushing it."

About 80 crew members travel with the band, and another 80 are hired locally, just for the day.

The set pieces are the same ones they use at larger venues. It takes 16 semi trucks to carry it all from place to place. Backline crew chief Mike Rew said it's a tight fit setting it up at Mohegan Sun.

"We are lucky we got to put our whole show into the venue. It barely fits, but we got everything in there," Rew said.

The band had special robotic video screens invented and built just for "The Circle" tour. The massive, computerized apparatus lifts the screens into different configurations, even turning them sideways, until they're flat.

"We took the robots that make cars in Detroit and stuck five video screens on five robots. They can move back and forth, and they can spin around 360 degrees and make a shelf for Jon to talk on, which brings him up about 30 feet in the air," Rew said. "It's pretty intense technology."

Once the set is ready, the crew begins an extensive series of sound checks. A couple of people work on tuning dozens of guitars. Most of them belong to guitarist Richie Sambora. He travels with more than $1 million worth of instruments.

"Between 35 to 40 guitars, of which he plays about 15 a night. He switches it up depending on what he's feeling like playing. The guy's a guitar god, as we say, and he likes the different sounds of different guitars," Rew said.

Once the crew's preparations are finished, all that's left is the band's own sound check in the early evening.

And then the show begins.

"It's arena rock, man. We're one of the few acts that can still sell out stadiums and arenas all over the world," Savas said.

Ticket sales for Saturday night's tour earned Bon Jovi a distinction at Mohegan Sun. The band is officially the highest-grossing act ever to perform there.

 
http://www2.turnto10.com/entertainment/2011/may/06/behind-scenes-bon-jovi-mohegan-sun-ar-479293/

VIDEO: Bon Jovi, watch the Undercover interview

Bon Jovi star Richie Sambora 'checks into rehab to regain sobriety'

Bon Jovi star Richie Sambora has checked into rehab for 'exhaustion' and to 'regain his sobriety', it has been reported.
The 51-year-old guitarist, who has just finished a hugely popular tour with Bon Jovi, is said to be determined to get his life back on track and thinks a stay in a rehabilitation facility is the way forward.

A source told gossip website RadarOnline.com: 'Richie recently has been drinking too much, and wants to get his life together.'

The rest of the band are said to be very supportive of the musician's decision to seek help.

This is not the first time Sambora has checked himself into rehab.

In 2007, following a traumatic year which saw him split from then-girlfriend Denise Richards in the same month that his father died of cancer, Sambora spent a month in Utah's Cirque Lodge facility.
After leaving rehab, Sambora said at the time: 'I was just drinking too much and I needed to get my life together.
'I’m still in therapy and stuff like that, but it’s good. I’m great. I feel fine.'
In 2008, Sambora was arrested

And now Sambora is said to have decided the best step for him at this point in his life is to return to a facility for treatment.

A close friend of the guitarist told Radaronline.com: 'Richie has had a busy year. I think this was a culmination of all the things that overloaded his life and finally he realized he needed to take care of himself.'

As yet it is unclear how Sambora's decision will affect Bon Jovi's remaining American tour dates this month, and their European dates in June

Future? It is unclear how Sambora's decision will affect Bon Jovi (from leftTico Torres, Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan and Sambora) who have more tour dates in America this month













Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1381501/Bon-Jovi-star-Richie-Sambora-checks-rehab-regain-sobriety.html#ixzz1KpJZgTBI