Fans rock with Bon Jovi



Published in the Asbury Park Press 2/11/03
By KELLY-JANE COTTER
MUSIC WRITER
EAST RUTHERFORD -- Three satellite dishes, each the size of a swimming pool, swiveled toward the audience last night at Continental Airlines Arena.

The crowd went nuts, wielding glow sticks like lassoes and screaming for Jon Bon Jovi, whose face, they were sure, would soon be beamed onto those satellite dishes. Soon, the entire band came out and took their places beneath those giant stage props.

So there he was, Jon Bon Jovi, Sayreville's homegrown superstar in a blond shag, understated in a tight, black leather jacket and black trousers. Guitarist Richie Sambora provided the sartorial foil in some weird Sgt. Pepper-style jacket.

Bon Jovi, who now lives in Middletown and loves New Jersey more than ever, cast a sideways glance at Sambora, with the hint of a laugh, and the band kicked into "Bounce," the title track from the current album.

"If it's Monday, this must be New Jersey," Jon Bon Jovi said. "We've been waiting a long time to get back to this one. It's good to see you. We've been every which way around the world and back again."

The dramatic stage setup added some razzle-dazzle to Bon Jovi's meat-and-potatoes rock, but the concert was just as much fun in its low-key moments.

He toasted the season by covering the pop standard "My Funny Valentine," accompanied by the lyrical David Bryan on piano.

Jon Bon Jovi always includes "Livin' On A Prayer" on his set lists, as fans demand it. He sang the first part of the song alone. Soon, he was drowned out by fans singing along.

In the first of two sold-out shows at Continental Airlines Arena, he was relaxed before his home-state audience. His bandmates -- keyboardist David Bryan, Sambora and drummer Tico Torres, with bassist Hugh McDonald -- also are Jersey boys.

The "Bounce" tour is a happy one for Bon Jovi, as the band finds its songs all over the radio. Bon Jovi scored a Grammy nomination for the best pop vocal performance by a duo or group. The song, "Everyday," a seize-the-day rocker inspired by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is up against songs by such stalwarts as the Dave Matthews Band and *NSYNC.

The second Meadowlands show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today. Bon Jovi plans to end the tour with a concert at Giants Stadium this summer.

Bon Jovi reached back to 1982 and his breakthrough hit, "Runaway," prefacing it: "I was laying in bed today, and I was thinking about this song, and I'm laughing to myself, thinking I'm going to introduce this song this way. So, if you see this song down at the beach, buy it a drink, because it's finally old enough."

That song was older than some of his fans, but teenagers loved it all the same, shimmying into new Bon Jovi T-shirts and waving posters of Jon and Richie. Older fans held a beer in one hand and in the other, a cell phone -- to let ticketless friends know what they were missing.

Before the concert, at a sound check set for fan club members, Bon Jovi ran through some material and covered David Bowie's "Heroes."

"OK, I'll let you pick the ballad," he told his audience. "Bed of Roses" or "Always?"

The fans screamed, nearly in unison, for "Always."

"Arrgh," Bon Jovi said. "Why do you always want to make me suffer through the high notes?"

Bon Jovi also told his fans that he checks out the message board on his Web site -- www.bonjovi.com -- and therefore was aware that fans were grumbling that the band never plays songs from the album "These Days." So he played the title track.

The Goo Goo Dolls opened the show promptly at 7:30 p.m. The five-piece rock band from upstate New York began in the '80s as a college-rock band but broke through to mainstream success in the '90s and remains one of radio's consistently successful guitar acts.

A partial set list: "Bounce." "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Everyday," "Blood On Blood," "Livin' On A Prayer," "Undivided," "Runaway," "Older," "My Funny Valentine," "Always," "The Distance" and "It's My Life."