Bon Jovi

Browse Reviews!

Home / Browse Reviews / Bon Jovi
 
Band Summary

Average User Rating 6.78
Total Reviews 3
Last Reviewed August 20th, 2006
 
All Concert Photos (click to enlarge)


All User Reviews
 
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Bon Jovi Puts Inn Lack Luster Proformance
Venue/Date: New Jersey Perf. Arts Center (Newark, NJ)
Concert Date:  October 26th, 2007
Reviewer: admin

      Venue Parking  
      Venue Security  
      Opening Band  
      Opening Song  
      Set List  
      Band Connection  
      Band Energy/Intensity/Showmanship  
      ConcertGoer Energy/Intensity  
      Sound Quality  
      Set and Lighting Design (SLD)  
      The Finish/Encore  
9.46

Review: Bon Jovi at the new Prudential Center

BY RAFER GUZMÁN
October 27, 2007

It was a night of new beginnings: The opening of Newark's sparkling, $375 million Prudential Center, the first of Bon Jovi's 10-show run there, the announcement of the band's upcoming world tour.

So why did the whole affair feel like old hat?

"This is a historic night in the state of New Jersey," Jon Bon Jovi told the crowd, but he played as though he were in the middle of a long tour, not at the beginning of one. For the most part, the band cruised in second gear, letting songs roll by rather than reaching out and grabbing them.

The stage was designed to look like a dusty roadside bar with tables and a jukebox; one by one, the band members sauntered in as if searching for a beer (at one point, a "waitress" brought out a couple on a tray), then took their places. It was a nod to the band's latest album, "Lost Highway" (Island), which has established Bon Jovi as a nearly legitimate country act. (The group got a secure foothold in that market with last year's single, "Who Says You Can't Go Home," featuring Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles; Big & Rich will open for Bon Jovi tomorrow night and Tuesday.)

Bon Jovi is such a purposefully uneccentric band, so completely free of any idiosyncrasies that might get in the way of its broad-based music, that it's sometimes hard to tell whether the musicians are playing with anything like passion. Richie Sambora's guitar solos fit neatly into a well-defined "rock" sound, equal parts melody and noise; Jon Bon Jovi's voice never strayed from the high end of the middle range. Every song -- from hair-metal classics like "Bad Medicine" to the twangy new single "(You Want To) Make a Memory" -- filled the arena, but they often felt like empty calories.
Click here to read rest of the review

Was this review helpful to you?      

 
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Bon Jovi Still Rockin
Venue/Date: Country Jam USA / Wisconsin (Eau Claire, WI)
Concert Date:  July 21st, 2007
Reviewer: admin

      Venue Parking  
      Venue Security  
      Opening Band  
      Opening Song  
      Set List  
      Band Connection  
      Band Energy/Intensity/Showmanship  
      ConcertGoer Energy/Intensity  
      Sound Quality  
      Set and Lighting Design (SLD)  
      The Finish/Encore  
9.88
Bon Jovi fans jam festival grounds
By Candy Czernicki and Chris Vetter
Chippewa Falls News Bureau

The U.S. Postal Service has nothing on Country Jam USA revelers, especially when it comes to Bon Jovi.

Snow, rain or dark of night won't stop your mail carrier, just as a long, sandy trail through dense foliage, 67 wooden steps and overcrowded parking weren't enough to keep fans from seeing the resurgent pop-rock-country superstars.

Two hours before Bon Jovi took the stage at 9:30 p.m., Country Jam grounds just west of Eau Claire were already packed to capacity, with people seated in chairs on the ground's far end near the Chippewa River. Kathy Wright, Country Jam marketing director, estimated the crowd had already reached the site's 30,000-person limit.

"It's one of the largest crowds we've had," Wright said, noting the only comparable-size audience was in 1995 when Alabama performed.

Fans arriving early Saturday evening faced long hikes to fest grounds after parking far away. And people looking for a good spot anywhere near the stage? In the words of Bon Jovi, they were livin' on a prayer.

Like many in attendance, Derek Watton, 23, of Chippewa Falls pondered whether Bon Jovi would sound more country or lean toward his '80s rock roots.

"I'm expecting more of the country album and less of the greatest hits," Watton said. "But I'm hoping for more of the hits."
Read rest of Review Here URL
Click here to read rest of the review

Was this review helpful to you?      

 
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Bon Jovi Concert review: He is Awesome
Venue/Date: Tweeter Center For The Perf. Arts (Mansfield, MA)
Concert Date:  July 25th, 2001
Reviewer: Letty

      Venue Parking  
      Venue Security  
      Opening Band  
      Opening Song  
      Set List  
      Band Connection  
      Band Energy/Intensity/Showmanship  
      ConcertGoer Energy/Intensity  
      Sound Quality  
      Set and Lighting Design (SLD)  
      The Finish/Encore  
1.00

Bon Jovi: July 25, 2001 Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA...The View From the Front Row



The Bottom Line Bon Jovi put on a mighty impressive show that left all of us wanting more.

When I was six years old, soon to be seven, I didn't know or care much about music. Kind of surprising given my obsession with music now, almost 15 years later. But for Christmas when I was six years old (2 weeks away from being seven), I received a tape from my aunt and uncle as my present. The tape was Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet, an album that would shape my musical tastes for the next 9 years of my life.

I loved everything about that tape. The big loud guitar riffs, the pounding drums, the extra layer the keyboards added, and the absolute rock star voice that made me smile no matter how bad a day I might've had at school. I stayed a Bon Jovi fan the rest of my life, buying all their albums (ironically, it's their latest studio album, Crush that is missing from my collection) and watching them grow and mature as artists.

This year, the band released a live album documenting 15 years of live shows, entitled One Wild Night: Bon Jovi Live 1985-2000. When a new North American leg of their tour was announced, I really, sorely wanted to go after missing what might have been the best show of 2000 back in the fall. Then I saw the ticket prices and I was, no pun intended, Crushed.

One day at school I walked into my friend Jackie's dorm room and she ran up and hugged me all excitedly. Kind of odd since Jackie doesn't get excited this often. I asked her what was up. The words that came out of her mouth made my day: "I just won 4 front row tickets to the Bon Jovi concert here in July." Oh yes, I was going to Bon Jovi alright, front row no less.

Finally July 25 came. Work dragged on forever, as if 4pm would never come to be. When we got to the venue, Eve 6 was rattling away on their opening set. I was kind of surprised to see them, as they weren't ever actually announced. I didn't pay much attention to them, and I wasn't the only one.

We took our seats and finally the house lights went down. The band walked out onstage and all 19,900 fans (this was the first show to sell out the Tweeter Center this year, although the Barenaked Ladies show I saw ultimately sold out like a day before the show) jumped up in unison to greet them.

The band immediately ripped right into One Wild Night, and the first line, "It was a hot night" was only so appropriate as it was still 90 degrees when the band took the stage. After that, it was a giant hit parade, mostly from Slippery When Wet on, including Jon Bon Jovi's solo smash, Blaze of Glory, and Richie Sambora's not so solo smash Stranger In This Town. Surprisingly, the crowd reacted well to Sambora taking over the lead duties, even for just a song.

Keyboardist David Bryan wore a giant smile on his face all night long, as did Jon himself, seemingly overwhelmed by the fact that his band can STILL sell out 20,000 seat arenas close to 20 years since they broke through to the mainstream here in America.

The only disappointment of the night was drummer Tico Torres, who seemed to not be moved one way or the other most of the night. He just seemed very sedate, very stagnant.

The crowd reacted best to the hits of course, and songs like Just Older and I Got the Girl from the Crush record didn't get much of a reaction other than polite applause.

The opening to It's My Life was extended a bit, to allow for more crowd shout-along, and Raise Your Hands was every bit the pop metal pleasure it was in 1986 when Slippery When Wet wouldn't leave my old tape player.

I completely loved I'll Sleep When I'm Dead in a live setting, it's old time rock and roll feel was perfect on a hot, sticky summer night such as this. I've always loved the song, but it just seemed to resonate even better on this night.

Sadly, one of my all time favorite tunes, Something for the Pain from the 1995 These Days record, didn't get played. However, I couldn't exactly complain after the set closing Lay Your Hands On Me that was quite possibly the most anthemic performance I myself have ever experienced.

The encore included a gorgeous Blood on Blood and a giant Wanted Dead or Alive. Then it was time for the band to have some fun. They played Tequila and Twist and Shout, which left everyone dancing, twisting, and shouting into the night.

I was a sweaty disgusting mess after the show but I didn't care. Many people lump Bon Jovi in with the hair bands of the 80s, but I never really did. Bon Jovi is just a rock and roll band with some great songs to sing along to in the summer heat. The tour is done now, it finished 3 days after my show with homecoming shows in New Jersey. However, whenever this band goes back out on the road, be sure not to miss them.

Was this review helpful to you?