Post by jovigrrl™ on Aug 5, 2010 0:20:27 GMT -4
Jon Bon Jovi's good time revival
At packed Soldier Field, a marathon of spirit-boosting nostalgia, catchy hooks, devotional pledges every woman longs to hear
MUSIC REVIEW
July 31, 2010|By Bob Gendron, Special to the Tribune
Nothing was insurmountable in Jon Bon Jovi's world Friday at the first show of a two-night stand at Soldier Field. No matter the odds, or how daunting "living in the broken home of hopes and dreams" became, the vocalist fell back on survival, deliverance and faith, leading his namesake band through a marathon 155-minute set steeped in the kind of wholesale inspirational optimism trumpeted by motivational office posters. The good-guy approach is paying dividends.
Bon Jovi remains a rare exception during a summer in which arena concert-ticket sales have plummeted. Immune to the empty seats that have greeted many big-name acts, the veteran group's current trek ranks as the current top-grossing North American tour. Bon Jovi's live appeal? Spirit-boosting nostalgia, catchy hooks, devotional pledges every woman longs to hear and a sex-symbol frontman that, together, functioned as comfort food.
Apparently recovered from a leg injury suffered onstage a few weeks ago, the 48-year-old singer refrained from running but engaged in exercises—air punches, jumping jacks, hip thrusts—to underscore the pop-rock climaxes. While his falsetto is gone, Bon Jovi's voice primarily sounded like it did in 1986, delighting a sold-out crowd that stood and shouted along to myriad hits.
Bon Jovi kept everything simple and abided by formula. Choruses clung to an assortment of wordless refrains, with "nah nah nah," "yeah yeah" and "hey hey" running a close second to the ubiquitous "whoa-oh." Several tunes seemed interchangeable. At their root, "Have a Nice Day," "It's My Life" and "Livin' on a Prayer" were the same song with different lyrics albeit parallel sentiments. No matter. Whether raising his arms, looking skyward or bowing his head, Bon Jovi sold the drama with strategic moves and a coy smile.
Yet despite Bon Jovi's thespian attempts at profound sincerity, the band's ballads mined a litany of lyrical clichés familiar to anyone who's ever composed a love note to a high-school sweetheart. "Work for the Working Man," a forced stab at sympathizing with blue-collar plight, proved equally hollow, especially considering some fans paid upwards of $1,700 for V.I.P. packages. And there was no escaping the irony as images of cultural pioneers such as John Lennon flashed onscreen next to generic slogans ("Act Now," "Rise," "Freedom") during "We Weren't Born to Follow," a by-the-book rallying cry that was anything but defiant or original.
**********************************
52,000 Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong
July 31, 2010
BY JEFF ELBEL
Such is the nearly universal appeal of Bon Jovi that even typically impassive food and drink vendors at Friday night's Soldier Field concert stopped to record songs on their iPhones. The band's last Chicago visit sold out three nights at United Center -- no mean feat in early 2008 with an economic crisis building steam. On Friday, at the first of two weekend shows, they hosted as many fans in one sold-out night.
New material including "We Weren't Born to Follow" emphasized triumph over adversity. Video screens projected the band alongside inspirational figures rendered in red and blue a la Shepard Fairey's famous portrait of Barack Obama. "You witnessed history here in Chicago," vocalist Jon Bon Jovi reminded the crowd. Even the most plaintive of the fresh cuts, "When We Were Beautiful," had an enormous, angelic chorus underpinning its wish to recover innocence lost.
But the truly massive singalongs happened when the band hauled out celebratory favorites including "You Give Love a Bad Name." The crowd erupted for "Bad Medicine," and then somehow got even louder when Detroit rogue Kid Rock joined the band onstage for a cover of "Old Time Rock and Roll." If Soldier Field had rafters overhead, they'd have been blown skyward by 50,000 raised voices. During the song, Jon Bon Jovi draped a fan's Blackhawks jersey across his shoulders.
Kid Rock charged the stage for his own opening set, interrupting a mass chorus of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Dressed in a checkered shirt and black hat pulled low, he lifted the crowd to its feet for his "Rock and Roll Jesus." He prowled the catwalk as the guitar lick from "Sweet Home Alabama" anchored "Summertime," but ran to a battered white piano to lead his 10-piece Twisted Brown Trucker band in a rendition of "Everyday People."
"Deep breaths, deep breaths," said Irish-born vocalist Keith Semple, taking in the sight as Soldier Field filled in during 7th Heaven's early set. The suburban Chicago rockers commemorated their 25th year by winning Bon Jovi's "SuperBAND Tonight" competition for local opening acts. Semple confidently led the crowd-friendly "whoa-oh" chant during heavy pop confection "Summer's Gonna Last Forever." "Better This Way" was familiar to listeners of Mix 101.9 FM.
Diane Arpino of Westmont has seen the band more than 50 times. "This is incredible for them," she said. Her friend Gina Gagliano from Downers Grove added, "There isn't a better band in Chicago to open for Bon Jovi."
At packed Soldier Field, a marathon of spirit-boosting nostalgia, catchy hooks, devotional pledges every woman longs to hear
MUSIC REVIEW
July 31, 2010|By Bob Gendron, Special to the Tribune
Nothing was insurmountable in Jon Bon Jovi's world Friday at the first show of a two-night stand at Soldier Field. No matter the odds, or how daunting "living in the broken home of hopes and dreams" became, the vocalist fell back on survival, deliverance and faith, leading his namesake band through a marathon 155-minute set steeped in the kind of wholesale inspirational optimism trumpeted by motivational office posters. The good-guy approach is paying dividends.
Bon Jovi remains a rare exception during a summer in which arena concert-ticket sales have plummeted. Immune to the empty seats that have greeted many big-name acts, the veteran group's current trek ranks as the current top-grossing North American tour. Bon Jovi's live appeal? Spirit-boosting nostalgia, catchy hooks, devotional pledges every woman longs to hear and a sex-symbol frontman that, together, functioned as comfort food.
Apparently recovered from a leg injury suffered onstage a few weeks ago, the 48-year-old singer refrained from running but engaged in exercises—air punches, jumping jacks, hip thrusts—to underscore the pop-rock climaxes. While his falsetto is gone, Bon Jovi's voice primarily sounded like it did in 1986, delighting a sold-out crowd that stood and shouted along to myriad hits.
Bon Jovi kept everything simple and abided by formula. Choruses clung to an assortment of wordless refrains, with "nah nah nah," "yeah yeah" and "hey hey" running a close second to the ubiquitous "whoa-oh." Several tunes seemed interchangeable. At their root, "Have a Nice Day," "It's My Life" and "Livin' on a Prayer" were the same song with different lyrics albeit parallel sentiments. No matter. Whether raising his arms, looking skyward or bowing his head, Bon Jovi sold the drama with strategic moves and a coy smile.
Yet despite Bon Jovi's thespian attempts at profound sincerity, the band's ballads mined a litany of lyrical clichés familiar to anyone who's ever composed a love note to a high-school sweetheart. "Work for the Working Man," a forced stab at sympathizing with blue-collar plight, proved equally hollow, especially considering some fans paid upwards of $1,700 for V.I.P. packages. And there was no escaping the irony as images of cultural pioneers such as John Lennon flashed onscreen next to generic slogans ("Act Now," "Rise," "Freedom") during "We Weren't Born to Follow," a by-the-book rallying cry that was anything but defiant or original.
**********************************
52,000 Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong
July 31, 2010
BY JEFF ELBEL
Such is the nearly universal appeal of Bon Jovi that even typically impassive food and drink vendors at Friday night's Soldier Field concert stopped to record songs on their iPhones. The band's last Chicago visit sold out three nights at United Center -- no mean feat in early 2008 with an economic crisis building steam. On Friday, at the first of two weekend shows, they hosted as many fans in one sold-out night.
New material including "We Weren't Born to Follow" emphasized triumph over adversity. Video screens projected the band alongside inspirational figures rendered in red and blue a la Shepard Fairey's famous portrait of Barack Obama. "You witnessed history here in Chicago," vocalist Jon Bon Jovi reminded the crowd. Even the most plaintive of the fresh cuts, "When We Were Beautiful," had an enormous, angelic chorus underpinning its wish to recover innocence lost.
But the truly massive singalongs happened when the band hauled out celebratory favorites including "You Give Love a Bad Name." The crowd erupted for "Bad Medicine," and then somehow got even louder when Detroit rogue Kid Rock joined the band onstage for a cover of "Old Time Rock and Roll." If Soldier Field had rafters overhead, they'd have been blown skyward by 50,000 raised voices. During the song, Jon Bon Jovi draped a fan's Blackhawks jersey across his shoulders.
Kid Rock charged the stage for his own opening set, interrupting a mass chorus of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Dressed in a checkered shirt and black hat pulled low, he lifted the crowd to its feet for his "Rock and Roll Jesus." He prowled the catwalk as the guitar lick from "Sweet Home Alabama" anchored "Summertime," but ran to a battered white piano to lead his 10-piece Twisted Brown Trucker band in a rendition of "Everyday People."
"Deep breaths, deep breaths," said Irish-born vocalist Keith Semple, taking in the sight as Soldier Field filled in during 7th Heaven's early set. The suburban Chicago rockers commemorated their 25th year by winning Bon Jovi's "SuperBAND Tonight" competition for local opening acts. Semple confidently led the crowd-friendly "whoa-oh" chant during heavy pop confection "Summer's Gonna Last Forever." "Better This Way" was familiar to listeners of Mix 101.9 FM.
Diane Arpino of Westmont has seen the band more than 50 times. "This is incredible for them," she said. Her friend Gina Gagliano from Downers Grove added, "There isn't a better band in Chicago to open for Bon Jovi."
