The Circle Tour
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (May 2011) |
| World tour by Bon Jovi | |
 Promotional poster for 2010 Sao Paulo concert | |
| Associated album | The Circle |
|---|---|
| Start date | February 11, 2010 |
| End date | December 19, 2010 |
| Legs | 6 |
| No. of shows | 54 in North America 15 in Europe 5 in South America 9 in Australasia 2 in Asia 85 Total |
| Bon Jovi concert chronology | |
The Circle Tour is a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi.[1] The arena leg of the tour has finished and the stadium run has begun, starting off in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and then heading to East Rutherford, New Jersey for the grand opening of New Meadowlands Stadium. The tour was the #1 top grossing concert tour for 2010 in the United States.
Bon Jovi also played a special free performance for fans and former season ticket holders of the Jon Bon Jovi-owned arena football team The Philadelphia Soul on Wednesday, March 24 at 5pm a few hours before the band's show at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center. The band will end the first year of the tour in Australasia, currently scheduled to play two shows in New Zealand and eight shows in Australia including a VIP-ONLY gig on December 15 at Star City Casino.
Background
On this tour, the band has pledged to play some of their classic albums in full on some nights, and is varying their set lists more than usual - rarely-played songs from their first two albums are being played, possibly for the first time in twenty-five years. Such songs include Roulette, Get Ready, Only Lonely, Tokyo Road, Let It Rock, Wild Is the Wind, Something to Believe In, It's Hard Letting You Go, Santa Fe and Homebound Train (vocals by Richie Sambora).
Bon Jovi kicked off the stadium leg of the Circle Tour by making history - they played the first ever show at the brand new New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The three sold out shows on May 26–27, and May 29, 2010 were a huge success, that they prompted the addition of another tour date at the stadium - on July 9, 2010 (the start of the 2nd North American leg)
Bon Jovi played a special free performance for fans and former season ticket holders of the Jon Bon Jovi-owned arena football team The Philadelphia Soul on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 a few hours before the band's show at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center. They also became the first band ever to play on the roof of the O2 Arena in London, England on June 7, 2010. Around 1,500 people were there to see the amazing stunt on a large TV outside with a large PA system. Trained mountaineers helped the group to reach the top of the roof, which stands at 58 metres above the ground.
This tour features a circle-shaped stage and five massive ABB robots, each complete with a 6' by 9' Nocturne/ Vidicon LED screen attached to their "articulated arms". The patented RoboScreens are an experience in itself as they are choreographed to move with the music and onstage production.[2]
Commercial reception
The Circle Tour was the highest grossing concert tour of 2010 according to Billboard's annual Top 25 concert tours, grossing $146,507,388 from 69 venues. The band's first 35 shows in North America all sold out. They played for 548,632 fans and grossed $51,954,562. Bon Jovi's 12 night run at London's O2 Arena grossed $18,178,036 and seen them play to 187,696 fans. The band's 4 shows at the New Meadowlands Stadium grossed $21,386,437 - a new record for the band, according to the box office gross reported to Billboard and they ended up playing to 206,099 fans.
So far the tour has played to 1,909,234 fans and has grossed $201.1 million from more than 80 venues reported to Pollstar. According to Pollstar, the band's first leg of their North American tour was the top grossing concert tour for the first half of 2010 grossing $52.8 million from 35 shows. The figure excludes the bands 3 shows at the New Meadowlands Stadium which was part of the first leg of the tour.
The Circle Tour ranked #1 in the Top 20 Concert Tours for 2010. The tours are ranked by average box office gross per city, which includes the average ticket price for the North American shows. Trade publication Pollstar compiled the list based on data they received from the concert promoters and venue managers.
"Bon Jovi; $2,010,829; $96.36 For the second time in three years, Bon Jovi ranks as Billboard's & Pollstar's Top Touring Act of the Year. The band's achievement, this year and previously in 2008, demonstrates that, remarkably, the group is hitting its touring peak 26 years after releasing its debut album. In an ongoing global trek promoted by AEG Live that saw the band play stadiums and arenas, Bon Jovi reported Boxscore grosses for the period of Nov. 20, 2009, through Nov. 28, 2010, of $146,507,388 and attendance of 1,591,154 to 69 sellouts. When Bon Jovi was tops for the year in 2008 with its Lost Highway Tour, the trek finished with a gross of $210 million, the 10th-biggest of all time.[3]
Opening acts
Bon Jovi held a contest, called SuperBAND Tonight, for north-American bands to compete to get a chance to perform as their opening act for some major concerts.[4] They recently[when?] announced the winners of the contest in a press release. A list of the winners, their show dates, and more information about the contest can be found at: Bon Jovi's The Circle Tour Announces Winners of Contest.
- Dashboard Confessional will be supporting the February, March and some of the April dates.
- Fuel will be supporting the Hersheypark Stadium show on May 19
- Kid Rock will be supporting the O2 Arena shows on 22–23 and 25–26 June.[5][6]
- One Republic will be supporting the O2 Arena shows on 17, 19, and 20 June.[6]
- Kid Rock will be supporting on July 9, 15, 17, 20, 21, 24, 28, and 30–31.[5]
- Train will be special guest on the first night at the Meadowlands Stadium. Gavin DeGraw will be special guest for the second night, and One Republic will be special guest on the third.[7]
Setlist
The setlists have varied for every show and no two have appeared the same. This is because they are performing various hits and former fan-favorite songs. During the band's 12 night run at the O2 Arena in London, the band played a total of 72 different songs.
The following is a set list taken from their concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on the 10th December 2010:
- Last Man Standing
- You Give Love A Bad Name
- Born to Be My Baby
- We Weren't Born to Follow
- In These Arms
- Superman Tonight
- When We Were Beautiful
- It's My Life
- No Apologies
- We Got It Going On
- Keep the Faith
- Bad Medicine/Pretty Woman/Shout
- Lay Your Hands on Me (Richie Sambora Lead Vocals)
- What Do You Got?
- Diamond Ring
- I'll Be There For You
- Something for the Pain
- Work for the Working Man
- Thorn In My Side
- Have a Nice Day
- Who Says You Can't Go Home
- Love's the Only Rule
- Encore;
Tour dates
Box office score data
| Venue | City | Tickets Sold / Available[8] | Gross Revenue[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaisdell Arena | Honolulu | 15,291 / 15,291 (100%) | $1,496,330 |
| KeyArena | Seattle | 26,917 / 26,917 (100%) | $2,412,550 |
| HP Pavilion | San Jose | 14,244 / 14,244 (100%) | $1,361,125 |
| Jobing.com Arena | Glendale | 13,973 / 13,973 (100%) | $1,416,502 |
| Honda Center | Anaheim | 27,024 / 27,024 (100%) | $2,654,472 |
| ARCO Arena | Sacramento | 14,337 / 14,337 (100%) | $1,187,851 |
| Staples Center | Los Angeles | 16,698 / 16,698 (100%) | $1,737,009 |
| MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas | 14,803 / 14,803 (100%) | $2,666,025 |
| Pepsi Center | Denver | 14,934 / 14,934 (100%) | $1,314,691 |
| Qwest Center | Omaha | 14,980 / 14,980 (100%) | $1,122,623 |
| Intrust Bank Arena | Wichita | 13,675 / 13,675 (100%) | $1,064,673 |
| Fargodome | Fargo | 22,398 / 22,398 (100%) | $1,515,395 |
| Sprint Center | Kansas City | 15,792 / 15,792 (100%) | $1,318,327 |
| Palace of Auburn Hills | Detroit | 18,663 / 18,663 (100%) | $1,326,375 |
| Bell Centre | Montreal | 37,526 / 37,526 (100%) | $4,024,240 |
| Wachovia Center | Philadelphia | 36,697 / 36,697 (100%) | $3,421,575 |
| Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville | 20,324 / 20,324 (100%) | $2,444,366 |
| Verizon Center | Washington D.C. | 17,287 / 17,287 (100%) | $1,860,756 |
| Xcel Energy Center | St. Paul | 32,574 / 32,574 (100%) | $2,768,554 |
| American Airlines Center | Dallas | 33,032 / 33,032 (100%) | $3,352,099 |
| BOK Center | Tulsa | 17,053 / 17,053 (100%) | $1,276,475 |
| Philips Arena | Atlanta | 16,510 / 16,510 (100%) | $1,815,719 |
| BankAtlantic Center | Sunrise | 17,808 / 17,808 (100%) | $1,803,620 |
| Bridgestone Arena | Nashville | 15,925 / 15,925 (100%) | $1,623,900 |
| Time Warner Cable Arena | Charlotte | 16,913 / 16,913 (100%) | $1,499,578 |
| Hersheypark Stadium | Hershey | 24,956 / 24,956 (100%) | $1,691,915 |
| New Meadowlands Stadium | East Rutherford | 206,099 / 206,099 (100%) | $21,386,437 |
| O2 Arena | London | 187,696 / 187,696 (100%) | $18,178,036 |
| Bercy | Paris | 15,906 / 15,906 (100%) | $1,395,370 |
| Saratoga Performing Arts Center | Saratoga Springs | 14,625 / 14,625 (100%) | $998,776 |
| Blossom Music Center | Cuyahoga Falls | 14,065 / 14,065 (100%) | $1,036,312 |
| Pengrowth Saddledome | Calgary | 15,859 / 15,859 (100%) | $1,949,462 |
| Commonwealth Stadium | Edmonton | 40,451 / 40,451 (100%) | $2,811,477 |
| Canad Inns Stadium | Winnipeg | 36,865 / 36,865 (100%) | $2,890,829 |
| Rogers Centre | Toronto | 85,494 / 85,494 (100%) | $6,976,612 |
| Gillette Stadium | Foxborough | 51,138 / 51,138 (100%) | $4,418,585 |
| Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field | Regina | 33,070 / 33,070 (100%) | $2,969,495 |
| Soldier Field | Chicago | 95,959 / 95,959 (100%) | $8,606,259 |
| Foro Sol | Mexico City | 44,124 / 44,124 (100%) | $2,972,317 |
| Estadio Universidad San Marcos | Lima | 45,193 / 45,193 (100%) | $3,415,764 |
| Estadio Nacional | Santiago | 46,983 / 46,983 (100%) | $3,069,075 |
| Estadio River Plate | Buenos Aires | 37,633 / 37,633 (100%) | $4,222,698 |
| Estadio do Morumbi | Sao Paulo | 55,833 / 55,833 (100%) | $5,537,022 |
| Praca da Apoteose | Rio de Janeiro | 15,529 / 15,529 (100%) | $1,718,300 |
| Tokyo Dome | Tokyo | 60,313 / 60,313 (100%) | $8,054,976 |
| Westpac Stadium | Wellington | 18,692 / 18,692 (100%) | $2,710,672 |
| Vector Arena | Auckland | 10,755 / 10,755 (100%) | $1,756,427 |
| Patersons Stadium | Perth | 29,644 / 29,644 (100%) | $4,620,178 |
| Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne | 14,723 / 14,723 (100%) | $3,558,135 |
| Etihad Stadium | Melbourne | 54,414 / 54,414 (100%) | $8,139,185 |
| Suncorp Stadium | Brisbane | 39,424 / 39,424 (100%) | $6,113,852 |
| Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney | 103,843 / 103,843 (100%) | $15,502,107 |
| TOTAL[10] | 1,909,234 / 1,909,234 (100%) | $201,100,000 | |
Personnel
Bon Jovi
- Jon Bon Jovi – lead vocals, guitar
- Richie Sambora – lead guitar, backing vocals, talkbox
- Hugh McDonald – bass, backing vocals
- Tico Torres – drums
- David Bryan – keyboards, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Bobby Bandiera – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Lorenza Ponce – violin, backing vocals
References
- ^ "Bon Jovi announces world tour". Sydney Morning Herald. October 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
- ^ http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/793a366b02a30f4fc12576d50058f1f5.aspx
- ^ Ray Waddell. "Bon Jovi: Billboard's Top Touring Act of the Year". Billboard.
- ^ http://www.bonjovi.com/story/news/bon_jovi_announces_us_and_canadian_opening_act_contests
- ^ a b http://www.planetrock.com/Article.asp?id=1690507&spid=11484
- ^ a b http://www.theo2.co.uk/event/bon-jovi-returns-to-the-o2-20100607.html
- ^ http://www.bonjovi.com/story/news-featured-live/bon_jovis_the_circle_world_tour_announces_special_guests_for_first_concerts_ever_at_new_meadowlands_stadium
- ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp
- ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/currentboxscore.jsp
- ^ http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/Charts2010/2010YearEndTop50WorldwideConcertTours.pdf
