Source: The Dallas Morning News

Many Bon Jovi songs are about endurance, about overcoming the odds against you – themes that also sum up the fortunes of the band. That ability to endure was in evidence Wednesday at Smirnoff Music Centre: The New Jersey rock quintet played to a full house, delivering a dramatic, decisive performance that showed them to be completely in command and at the top of their form.

Like any act that's been around since the '80s, Bon Jovi has had its peaks and valleys. For a while, they weren't even functioning as a band, and five years ago their music seemed irrelevant. Is it just the healing power of time? Or maybe it's the deification that washes over every band featured on VH1's Behind the Music.

But "enduring" also describes some Bon Jovi fans. Like fellow New Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and company attract some intensely loyal followers and, also like Bruce, their live shows have a hallowed reputation.

Part of the magic of the show Wednesday was the fact that so many of the songs are so very well known that it automatically becomes a group experience. For example, as the band began "You Give Love a Bad Name," all Jon Bon had to do was sing the words "You give love" and the audience automatically chimed right in with "a bad name." He didn't even have to ask. Participation begat excitement. Excitement became contagious. This was fun. And just like that, it felt like a huge party.

Nearly every tune was a sing-along, from the opening "One Wild Night" to "It's My Life" to "Livin' on a Prayer." "Blaze of Glory" was just that: a powerful song that had the singer sweating with exertion.

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