Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community - My Review of Friday's Show

Most of this is from my journal, but I did update a few comments. Still, most of it is immediate reaction.

Becky

Friday 11-14-03

I'm just back from the first concert. It was amazing! I wondered beforehand how the band would sound with these new styles. It boils down to the fact that Bon Jovi is a great live act. They are in their element when they're in front of an audience.

The studio recordings do not reflect what the band becomes when they hit the stage. Part of what's missing on a CD is Jon's charisma and showmanship. He captivates the crowd in any setting. Maybe part of what is missing is the true interaction of the band since they meld together in perfection and recordings are done in tracks. Nonetheless, that's the long way to say that TLFR doesn't do the band's live act justice.

Okay, the set list was the same as the CD in the same order, sprinkled with occassional treats like The Last Man Standing and Thief of Hearts. Both should have made the cut. Jon said he wrote them for the CD and then pulled them, but he wanted us to have a chance to hear them. He said specifically that he's very protective of The Last Man Standing and it's a song he really believes in. The problem with the song is that it's rather scathing toward the music industry. There was a lyric something like, "Keep your super pop hip hop shock rock..... digital downloads." I couldn't understand it all. It's a standout track. I can imagine a video for it with Jon calling spectators in for a freak show that turns out to be Bob Dylan.

Thief of Hearts was very catchy. Part of the lyrics were "I am the thief of hearts, the shadow on your wall, the whisper in your ear, the footsteps in the hall." Cheryl commented to me, "Yeah, he is the theif of hearts. He stole our hearts a long time ago." And we haven't gotten them back since.

We also heard Misunderstood which had a lot of people who were previously sitting get to their feet. We did sit most of the show. It was that kind of setting. Saturday Night, Joey, and Blood on Blood were also performed. They did a fantastic rendition of Dr. Hook's "Sylvia's Mother." Jon said he and Richie were riding in a van in Holland and heard it on the radio and he commented to Richie later that it was a great song and Richie said he thought so too. They both wish they'd written it.

There was a problem with the drums. I understand they weren't recording the sounds correctly. The down time getting that problem fixed gave Dave a chance to dilly dally on the keys and start performing the Peanuts theme song and Jon started dancing like the Peanuts characters. It was really cute. Then Dave went into Room Full of Blues which was dynamite and they threw in Love for Sale. Even though they were unscheduled filler for Friday, Love for Sale and Room Full of Blues were scheduled for Saturday. I suppose it was to make sure they had the exact same songs on both nights.

The shocker is this: the highlight of the show was.... are you ready for this? You Give Love a Bad Name. HOW did Bad Name go from my least favorite of their live songs to this? Well, it's all about Jon, baby! The voice, the charisma, the sex appeal. He has the same aura that I imagine Elvis had--the ability to turn intelligent, reserved girls into screaming maniacs who, to put it bluntly, have moments where they just want to do him. Bad Name got a wild estrogen filled standing ovation and one girl behind me shouted, "Do it again!" I personally have never screamed so much in a song in my life. And it was Bad Name! I'm still in shock. I wish they had done it again, a few times.

There were three do-overs: Wanted, Prayer, and The Last Man Standing. There was a large faction of really stupid people who decided to rush the stage for the do-overs. It was like a stampede of wild horses. Jon looked out at everyone and asked, "Who let this happen?" He politely explained that everyone had to go back to their seats. Well, DUH! They're doing over songs from the beginning of the show. That means we all needed to be where we were at the beginning of the show. They even had to redo Richie's hair right there on stage because he'd been wearing his cowboy hat and he had to get back the pre-cowboy hat look.

Before Born to Be My Baby, Jon talked about the difference in the East and West coast. He illustrated by saying that west coast parents tell their kids a bedtime story starting with, "Once upon a time." East coast parents start with, "You ain't gonna believe this shit!"

Richie fans are crazy. They love to shout his name. So some of the Jon fans would shout Jon every time the Richie fans shouted Richie. I shouted, "Everitt!" LOL BTW, Everitt Bradley who was in the Big Dogs and Bobby Bandiera, and Jeff somethingoranother from SSJ's band were helping out. Olivia D'Abo was nowhere to be seen or heard.

Jon was wearing a light tan shirt, looked like moleskin, and black or charcoal gray pants. He was hot--especially during Bad Name. Dave and Jeff were both in black and white. Richie had what Cheryl called a middle-school schoolboy look with a colorful hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Other bits of conversation--before one song Richie got out his belzookie and Jon said that if anyone could name the instrument, they could stay in his room. Richie joked that he wasn't telling, but would sell the information. Some girl shouted for Jon to take hi shirt off so he told her he would if she would and started unbuttoning his shirt. Apparantly she took her shirt off and he told her, "No, no, I was kidding!"

All of the songs truly sounded great in the live format. WDOA was electrifying and Everitt's addtiont added a spark. LOAP wasn't too far from what we know as acoustic Prayer. Bad Medicine was hot and sexy and I would probably be raving about it's sexy groove had Bad Name not been such a standout. It's My Life was beautiful and haunting. Jon said that it shows some of the hurt in this format. I remember thinking, "I wish Jag was here to hear this." LYHOM was smooth as silk. Bad Name.... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. This performance even topped the jungle screams in terms of sex appeal. I rode home with some of the film crew and told them they had to use Friday's Bad Name even if they used everything else from Saturday which they said they probably would use Saturday's footage because the light and screen themes changed. I told them they ought to compare both nights and judge by the audience reaction from Friday compared to Saturday. Friday was just wild. From their perspective Saturday might have been better for filming, but from a fan's perspective, Friday was better for catching the excitment.

Everyday was another highlight. I actually like the new version better than the old. It's sort of my theme song. The notion of living my life everyday is what made me hop on a plane and fly to Jersey to these shows. Bed of Roses as similar to other acoustic performances. I'll Be There for You was a duet with Jon and Richie singing practically every word together. Always was flawless. It was such a georgous performance.

Jon sounded great all night long. I noted to myself during Sylvia's Mother that he would have a great voice for country music. Yet on Bad Medicine he was was singing like the rock god he is. Bad Name had a jazzy bluesy feeling. You could picture him in a smokey club driving the audience wild. Oh, wait, that's what he was doing at the Borgata, sans the smoke. Hearing Jon sing was the best part of the show, but I also have to give credit to Richie for playing different instruments and Dave for damn near brining the house down with Room Full of Blues. David really got to shine in this setting. Well, so did Jon and Richie. But they'd be nothing without the rhythm section.

I wish everyone could have seen this show. It brought new life to old songs and a greater appreciation for the sound of TLFR. The film crew folks said the DVD should be ready by December 1. I don't think they meant hit the shelves by then, but ready to go to production. BUY IT! The show was amazing. I'll write up what I can about Saturday later.