2017-19 This House In Not For Sale Tour

"This House is Not For Sale", Bon Jovi's 13th studio record, was released in the Fall of 2016 and it was promoted until 2019. Although the band did 9 shows in Asia by 2015 this was the first time an Era of the band began without Richie Sambora which raised many questions about the future. Would it be successful? would the dates sell-out? would the new material stand side-by-side with the legacy? would the band's chemistry live rise to past levels or would it pick up where it last had been in 2013 when the band finished the tour wihout its charismatic guitarrist?

The album showed some of the wounds the band had which were addressed in some of its tracks, but, above all, it was a statement of pride to continue with the legacy. There were a couple of promo shows but the proper tour had 6 legs: Nother & South America 2017, North America & Japan/Australia 2018 and Europe & South America 2019.

I was initialy not very into touring again since uncertainity was high but nevertheless opted to go to places I'd love to visit and enjoy the concerts. First stop 2017 at the world's most famoust arena in New York City: Madison Square Guarden. Problem: once I landed in America news had it the shows were postponed 1 week! Although with a lot of thought I decided to rent a car and drive to Toront to see the next shows and postpone my return flight and attend to the shows in NYC. The trip led me again to New Jersey's spots related with the band and to visist NYC highlights, but the best part was the road trip with a stop in Niagara Falls.

Arriving in Toronto by the end f the day, we found the show was already on going, but led by sheer adrenaline we were able to get inside and after 4 years without seeing the band, it felt great to see the band in action all over again. The next day we were able to come in early and fully apretiate the full show. Yes the dynamics between band members were not the best, just like in 2013, but being those songs and that band, it was impossible not to enjoy and to party like if it were our first show ever. A couple of days later at Madison Square Garden the addrenaline levels were a lot lower, but to hear "Runaway" where the band played it in 1983 during their very first gig opening for ZZ Top was no less than magical.



Next year , 2018, I knew what to expect but nonetheless I flew to South of the USA to see the band play. First stop Austin, TX just to sightsee and enjoy the vibe of the city. However early did I realize it wasn't such a big town so I decided to go to Little Rock, AK and see the band play there. The set list was very static with not many surprises, except the droping of "Scars in this Guitar" and the adition of the new song "When We Were Us", written for the Hall of Fame. This stop allowed me to see the capitol building where president Clinton served as governour, just the day after I had seen the one where George W. Bush did.

I then went to San Antonio, TX with its beautiful riverside cruise, tower, Mexican market and the one and only "Alamo" battle spot. In this city the crowd was much louder and the band added "(You Wanna Make) A Memory" and "I'd die for You" in the encore. I then took the train to Houston, TX where I was able to visit NASA's Johnson Space Center. The show had no surprises but I remember how good it was to hear "Bed of Roses" and "Lay your Hands on Me". Next stop: New Orleans, LA and its famous French quarter with all its bars with live music. The crowd there was loud and the band awarded with them with "Blood on Blood". Finaly Dallas, TX was my last stop to see a very urban city with not so much to sightsee and a show with no surprises.



Later in that year I took a plane litelaly to other side of the worl and visited the country of the rising sun: Japan. During this one week trip I was able to sightsee Tokyo, Kyoto and Mount Fuji. As for the Bon Jovi shows, two dates back-to-back: one in Tokyo and the other in Osaka. I was not ready to see a baseball arena covered, but to witness concerts in both this Domes was nothing less than amazing. I remember walking towards Tokyo dome and, as I saw it with its light signs, tears came to my eyes as I recallled all those mythical recordings from the 80s and 90s that played in my stereo and video over and over again during my teenage years.

The audience was super polite only singing when the lead singer asked them to and to hear the line "From New Jersey to Tokyo" from their song "Raise your Hands" felt realy great. "Blood on Blood" and "I'll be There for you" were the surprises during the first show whereas "In These Arms" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night" were played in the second night. The Domes are huge and just as I had seen on video the audience left the buildings row by row taking an eternity to take everybody out once the show was done.



In 2019 I attended to the weekend dates of the European Spring/Summer tour (see the details here) and in the Fall I went to Brazil for another week on the road to attend to 2 shows of the band: one in Recife and the other in the "Rock in Rio" Festival at Rio de Janeiro. The former with "Blood on Blood" being sung as surprise in a stadium that was half standing. As to the later, the ballad "Always" stood out in one of the shortest shows I've them play on tour but notheless very energetic in an Olympic Park with its more than 100 000 attendees.



All in all 22 shows during 3 years in 4 different continents and 11 countries to see my favourite Rock Band not it their finest hour but rather controling their efforts to perform as good as they could. Jon's voice kept declining during the tour but as the band got more and more rotation the songs became more solid. For the memories and places that I visited this was without a doubt a remarkable tour that I will never forget!