Bon Jovi's bad medicine
Jon Bon Jovi plays the St. Pete Times Forum on April 27. [Atoyia Deans | Times]
If there's any aging rocker who really should insist on staying Stuck in the 80s, it's gotta be Jon Bon Jovi.
During his show in Tampa on Sunday night, he won the audience over with hit after hit from the golden decade. But not before planting them firmly in their seats during his more recent work.
Give credit to Bon Jovi. What appreciation he couldn't earn through faux country songs, he solicited through butt wiggles and toothy grins. The guy knows how to work an audience.
The show finished up just before 11 p.m. Here are some quick observations.
HIT THE HIGHWAY: Opening the show with the title track from his new "Lost Highway" disc was an omen for the night. The first half of the show was littered with tunes from this rightly unappreciated album. Hard to believe that Bon Jovi has cranked out only 10 studio albums in 25 years, and this is the best they can do?
PARTY TIME, BATTALION STYLE: If beer sales at a Bon Jovi concert could be an consumer confidence indicator, we'll soon be out of our long economic depression. I felt like we were filming a Budweiser commercial tonight.
WHAT THE ?!?: Name one musical instrument that has no business in a Bon Jovi concert. If you said "violin," you're today's lucky winner. But there it was, played by a hottie that looked like she was picked out of the crowd for the honor. Still, I kept expecting the Dixie Chicks to walk out on stage.
FRIENDLY FANS: One thing you gotta love about a Bon Jovi show: There is no shortage of revved up female party-goers. It's the ultimate Ladies Night. From the one who kept offering Sean her drink to my cute, next-door neighbor who used her cell-phone to light up my notebook while I scribbled down these gems of wisdom.
JON NEEDS A VACATION: The rehearsed stage banter is starting to feel a little tired, Jon. Maybe what you need is 5 years off the concert circuit. Maybe restart the acting career. Just take time off and recharge the live performance batteries. Your fans will be waiting when you get back.
MARRY ME JON!: I lost count of how many "I (heart) Jon Bon Jovi" and "Mrs. Bon Jovi" shirts I saw in the ranks of female fans tonight. You get the feeling they're just happy to be breathing the same air molecules as their hero.
OLD SCHOOL: I was never a fan of "Runaway" -- until tonight. They ripped through it like it was 1983 all over again. That's what I call keeping the faith. Thanks, guys.
CHANGE OF PLANS: "Livin' on a Prayer" was slated to be the first encore, but it ended up being the first set finale tonight. "Dead or Alive" proved to be the final encore. An oddly sedate way to end things.
PICK UP THE TEMPO: "It's My Life" seemed like it was a beat too slow. In a way, that was the theme of the night. Come on, guys. It's an anthem! Don't play it like you're the opening act to a funeral.
PLAYING TO THE CROWD: Jon donned a Tampa Bay Storm jersey for the encores and said coach Tim Marcum and Bucs coach Jon Gruden were in the crowd. On NFL Draft Day? Impressive.
TAKE THAT BRUCE FANS: People thought I was insane for saying Bon Jovi was the ultimate East Coast rocker, over grampa Bruce Springsteen. Bruce was here last week and drew about 16,000. Bon Jovi -- a little more than 20,000. Glory days, yeah, they'll pass you by.
OK, EVEN I SANG ALONG: "Bad Medicine" is one of those tunes that your body forces you to participate in. I'm not ashamed to admit I gave Sean Daly a sweaty bear-hug when the band launched into it. (Just tape up those ribs, Sean. They'll heal in a few weeks.)
FINAL GRADE: A B-minus maybe, but only because they were happy to play their 80s hits. After all the hype, I just expected more. Maybe it's because the performance is so slick and rehearsed. Or maybe because it's nearing the end of the tour. It certainly can't help to be supporting an album that sounds nothing like their best work.
Still, a night of 80s rock with thousand of drunken fans is a nice way to end the weekend. Maybe that's the magic of Bon Jovi. All it takes for it to work is a microphone, a stage and a neverending supply of golden amber inspiration.
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
E-mail Steve Spears:
Back and forth, back and forth. Jeez, Steve. You're making me dizzy with your double duty.
Posted by: Marissa | April 27, 2008 at 09:59 PM
Ah, yes. "Runaway" the first video I remember featuring a much hairier Jon Bon Jovi. And his excrutiatingly tight jeans. Seriously, camel toe on a guy is not pretty ... even if it's Bon Jovi.
Posted by: Marissa | April 27, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Hey Riss.. Remember the video for "She don't know me"... talk about a hairy Jon!! LOL... if you don't, it's on their website!
Oh the visuals that will be in my head tonight.... Jon's hairy chest, Sean doing "Da Butt" and Steve giving sweaty Bear hugs. Should be a VERY interesting dream!
Posted by: Carla | April 27, 2008 at 10:38 PM
All righty, kids. I'm hitting the sheets. I fear the sort of dreams I'll be having tonight. Although I didn't eat Funyuns followed by a large glass of water, I am betting on Salvador Dali-esque nocturnal visions.
Posted by: Marissa | April 27, 2008 at 10:59 PM
She don't know me video.."Man you sold us out!"
Posted by: MC | April 28, 2008 at 01:14 AM
Hey Carla, the video for "She Don't Know Me" is actually the one I was thinking of regarding Jon's too tight jeans. It's surprising he managed to reproduce after years of sporting those.
Totally cheese-tastic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5SAhoK_7Ow
Posted by: Marissa | April 28, 2008 at 08:22 AM
We were there and it was AMAZING!! Daughtry rocked - Bon Jovi put on a show to end all shows. They always give the best concerts - nothing dull or disappointing about it. The place was explosive!
Posted by: Kathy | April 28, 2008 at 01:08 PM
Paying the current price for concerts today, if I gave this a B-, I'd be pissed. Either the tickets were gratis or life is good for someone who has a fair amount of discretionary income.
Posted by: Complaint Department Manager | April 28, 2008 at 03:42 PM
I've seen my share of shows that were hardly B-minus. That's just the chance you take when you pay money to see a show.
Let's see, shows that didn't even earn B-minus status: Oh, that Tim McGraw-Faith Hill monstrosity, George Strait, Eric Clapton and even Asia to some extent.
I remember spending a fortune for Clapton about 10 years ago and it was so dull, I stopped seeing concerts entirely for a decade. So you imagine that a B-minus doesn't sound so bad in that context.
Bon Jovi still played all their hits and played them well. I liken their show to the Rush show last June on the Snakes and Arrows tour. When they played stuff I knew, I loved it. When they stuck to the new album, I fell asleep.
Still, a Bon Jovi concert is still an event to savor.
Posted by: Spears | April 28, 2008 at 04:41 PM
I saw them in 1993 on the Keep the Faith Tour. They were awesome.
Posted by: Emily | April 28, 2008 at 06:33 PM
Hey MC - "Man you sold us out!" is from the Only Lonely video, but props for knowing stuff that far back in the archives!!!
Posted by: nomoreodu | April 28, 2008 at 07:51 PM
Wow. Maybe you should have just stayed home and listened to your Barry Manilow records? Other than the obvious fact that Bon Jovi are all in their 40's, thereby not exhibiting as much jumping around and such, that show was AMAZING. Just because you don't like the Nashville-themed songs-which is all a marketing ply, FYI, as most of those songs sound similar to others recorded in recent years-is no reason to imagine that 20,000+ people were "in their seats" all night. What section were you in-behind the stage? And, for the record, fewer than 1/3 of the songs played last night were 80's songs. Bon Jovi has managed to sell out 20,000+ seat arenas consistently since that time: what bands can do that now? Legends like the Stones, Buffet...and Bon Jovi. You so desperately want to classify them as an 80's bunch of has beens, yet you trotted off to see Bruce Springsteen who hasn't had a radio hit in a decade and a half. Get your facts straight!
Posted by: tina marie | April 28, 2008 at 08:15 PM
When a band has been around for a long time, they play older hits as well as newer stuff. You think you're going to a Stones concert without hearing "Satisfaction?" Going to go see Rush and not hear "Tom Sawyer?" Trademark songs performed live over the years are what keep older fans going: new material is what brings in new fans. I have to say that at 102.50 a ticket plus fees, gas to drive 3 hours to the show, parking and all the other stuff-a Bon Jovi show is ALWAYS worth the price of a ticket.
Posted by: tina marie | April 28, 2008 at 08:20 PM
Ouch. I've been torched.
Posted by: Spears | April 28, 2008 at 08:36 PM
First let me say I don't own a Bon Jovi
Cd. But this group rocked!! One of the hardest working groups I've seen. An excellant show. Well worth the ticket price...
Posted by: deb | April 30, 2008 at 10:45 PM
Saw them last night in Atlanta. Pretty good show. I think there were a total of like 5 guys there...all the rest were 38 year old women.
Posted by: Darren... | May 01, 2008 at 10:22 AM
It was an amazing show...But they are not nearing the end of their tour. They have all those European cities to hit. I also have one question for this critic...how old are you and can you run and jump around like JonBon (that's what the NJ locals call him) did for all that time? He's still got it!
Posted by: JerseyGirl2 | May 01, 2008 at 12:08 PM