BON JOVI FAN CENTRAL

home
bon jovi news
world tour
songs & albums
photo archives
fan community
downloads
dry county archives
bon jovi web guide
9 November 2005 - Columbus, OH, USA Concert Review 10 November 2005
Have A Nice Day Columbus

A review by Shane / shane@music4life.info

Bon Jovi is a 5-piece band of aging rockers hung up on 80s nostalgia that hasn't had a hit since "Born To Be My Baby."

WRONG.

Last night in Columbus, Jon Bon Jovi proved why he and his 7-piece band continue to be a solid draw in a finicky concert market. Without the need for elaborate staging and pyrotecnics, Bon Jovi unleashed a cadre of hits, lesser-known die-hard favorites and material from their latest effort, Have A Nice Day. The amazing thing is all the material sounds as fresh and current as the day it was released.

Stating he had to settle a score after a poor performance in Cleveland the previous night, Jon Bon Jovi put everything he had into his Wednesday night effort at the Value City Arena on OSU's campus. From "You Give Love A Bad Name" to "It's My Life," the rockers erased any doubt these guys are a nostalgia act who are in it only for the money. These guys have continued to reinvent their sound through personnel changes and a changing landscape of popular music.

"I'll Be There For You" and "Bed Of Roses" performed during a mid-show acoustic set demonstrated this versatility and adaptability. But, as Jon Bon Jovi pointed out, they should be masters of the acoustic-driven hits since it was they who gave rise to the "Unplugged" performance style. Rock and Roll was the order of the night, though. And there was plenty of it with "The Radio Saved My Life Tonight," "Runaway," and a marathon rendition of "Bad Medicine."

The highlight for Music4Life.info was "Blaze Of Glory" during which the band played an extended intro while Jon Bon Jovi disappeared from the stage and soon turned up in the audience, playing an acoustic guitar and singing from a makeshift stage at the top of the lower level. Technical glitches aside, the song and performance were amazing.

Richie Sambora continues to amaze with brilliant performances as a sidekick and solid axe work that should leave you questioning why he wasn't included in Rolling Stone's Greatest Guitartists list. Keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres are equally important in creating a sound appealing to a variety of ages and fans.

The fact Bon Jovi is playing to capacity or near-capacity crowds in large venues should be a testament to their enduring popularity and relevance.

back to tour information page

home news music info center tour photo archives fan community archives web guide
Design & site concept © 1995-2015 PWCR. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.    Cookie Policy.