Does my epic ballad look big in this? |
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Brisbane Times article
WHERE to start with Jon Bon Jovi? The ever-lamentable haircut? The pretty-boy cheekbones? The excruciatingly tight pants?
He may claim, like every musician, that he just wants people to love his songs, but New Jersey's favourite son also knows there's a lot more to being one of the world's most crowd-pleasing frontmen - and, boy, does he work his assets. Really, he puts the ass in assets.
JBJ works the video screen superbly, whether mugging hammily or casting smouldering glances and his million-watt smile at those watching from the cheap seats, and he thrusts and prances around the stage for those closer. An actor of minor repute, he may often be merely pretending to have fun, but who cares? Everyone else is, especially when he and his drum-slamming, guitar-shredding band fire up yet another monster Bon Jovi anthem.
There are a good couple of dozen of those in the 2½-hour set. Bon Jovi may ostensibly be promoting the country-tinged album Lost Highway, but there are also 25 years' worth of hits to get through. And for us casual admirers (who would rarely admit we were so) there are more hugely enjoyable ones than just those off 1986's career-making Slippery When Wet - from the bar-room stomp'n'strut of Bad Medicine to the improbably funky Keep The Faith and far beyond.
Bon Jovi have consistently been about the best rock band to do heart-crushing power ballads, and they are all present and correct, peaking with a handful featuring the frontman (and, briefly, guitarist Richie Sambora) on a mini-stage halfway down the arena. For their troubles, they even get to take home some ladies' underwear.
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Related URL: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/music/does-my-epic-ballad-look-big-in-this/2008/01/22/1200764259591.html
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