I agree with everyone that Bon Jovi has always been about the show as a whole including the production. For everyone who wants minimalism, there's another load who want to see the big production ... hell, that article was written by a guy more excited about the production than the band.

And surely most, if not all bands have a light show of some form. Does Bruce not?

I personally prefer shows that connect on more levels than just the musical, although an energetic and/or passionate band performance can satisfy this just as well as lasers and visual effects. Screens are always nice though, if you're miles away in a stadium you want to be able to see.

All of that said though ... I've been thinking recently about the Lost Highway tour. I find it odd how it has morphed from something that was just gonna be a handful of promo shows, to a smaller tour with a relatively minimalistic stage , to a typical full blown huge production tour. I've been wondering if maybe it would have been better for them to have kept the LH tour to smaller venues with the more minimalistic stage, and probably cheaper tickets, and then kept the bigger production for a subsequent tour, possibly a Greatest Hits tour? Anyone else think that might have been cool?