San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion
HP Pavilion
So, as my 2008 concert season commences and I've hit a brief busy stretch of shows and knowing it will be another 6 months until I will have an RRR for Journey, thought I'd share with y'all...
We'll begin with an admission... I came late to Bon Jovi fandom. I'll admit it -- I couldn't get past the hair. I thought they looked ridiculous (something, time has proved, I was right on) and all I could see was Jon and Richie with perm rods in their hair. As anyone who has ever gotten a perm can attest -- you look ridiculous sitting under a hair dryer with perm rods in your hair. And these were "tough guy" rockers, well you get the picture... It wasn't that I didn't find the songs catchy and entertaining, I just couldn't take them seriously. It wasn't until Keep The Faith came out (and they'd cut their hair and gotten rid of the perms and ridiculous clothing) that I actually purchased a Bon Jovi CD. Still, they were just a band that was in the collection of many many others, and I wasn't particularly dying to see them live. A few years ago now -- I'm guessing about 2000 when Crush came out -- they came through town on tour. I'd picked up the CD and liked it and Cheryl and I had one of those "I'll go if you wanna go" conversations and picked up a couple of tickets. WOW. We were sold -- great great show -- and since that time, I've caught this band of Jersey boys every time they've passed through town.
Leap forward in time to last Wednesday night in San Jose. I had dinner with Darla and Emerson and then headed over to the arena to meet Cheryl. We were all eager to arrive on time to catch Daughtry opening. While I'm not one who watches American Idol and Daughtry doesn't get played on the primary station I listen to, I'd heard a couple of songs and enjoyed them so I was curious. Loud rock and roll -- good for the soul. My familiarity with the songs being so minimal, I just sat back and took it in. For the first time in a very long time I was watching an opening band who will be around beyond next month and based on the fact that the arena was over half filled when they started and nearly full by the time they finished, I'm sure lots of other people felt the same way. While I'm not sure I'm going to run out and pick up the CD, I enjoyed the set.
So on to our headline act. When Lost Highway came out last summer, not only did I pick it up, but I had pre-ordered it so I could get it in my hot little hands the day it came out. Oh no -- Bon Jovi's gone country.... Yeah, right. I fell in love with the CD instantly -- it's the same themes with different instrumentation, softer acoustic instruments and a pedal steel. I was curious to see how the new tunes would fit in with their usually raucous set. Some songs worked better than others. "I Love This Town," for example, was a song I was sure would fit in fine, but they didn't kick it into full gear as I thought they might. It still sounded fantastic live, but it needed a bit more oomph to it I thought. (Though I did have to laugh as the video screens flashed through the logos of the various sports teams -- only Jon Bon Jovi would think to include the San Jose Sabercats, the local Arena Football team. They don't get a whole lot of attention.) But "Whole Lot of Leavin'" and "You Want to Make a Memory" worked well with some of the more familiar ballads, and "We Got It Goin' On" was just meant to be sung in front of 20,000 people (which excuses some of the seriously lame lyrics -- I mean "bangin' and sangin' like the Rolling Stones" -- really?) Like some other Jersey boys I saw last night (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, stay tuned) Bon Jovi aren't afraid to throw in newer tunes among the old standards and SELL them to the audience so that the crowd stays on their feet and rocks out with the new music, even if they aren't as familiar with it as "Livin' on a Prayer."
A couple of highlights -- the intro to "Blaze of Glory" was a verse of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" which is probably one of my all time favorite Dylan classics. That song got even better when Chris Daughtry came out to share the vocals. Awesome. And when they played "Welcome to Wherever You Are" my heart just stopped. You ever have one of those times when things are just going really wrong and you hear a song that snags you and puts you in a mindset that this too will pass? Well, "Welcome" is one that caught me at the right time in the midst of a hellish stretch a couple years ago and I fell in love with the song, so hearing it Wednesday night was a highlight for me for sure.
After Richie's recent arrest on DUI, I had expected there to be some on-stage tension apparent, but if there's anything going on behind the scenes it didn't show up on stage. Richie got to take lead on "I'll Be There For You" and sounded fabulous. He probably has the better voice than Jon, but Jon's got the star power. You just can't not follow him where ever he is on stage or in the crowd. (Yes, for the second tour in a row, he popped out on one side of the arena and sang a couple of songs out in the audience. And yes, for the second tour in a row I was on the OPPOSITE side of the arena, though this year in the section directly across from where he appeared. Ah, if only.....) And one of the things I enjoy about the show is that Jon KNOWS he's got that star power and knows we know that so plays it up even more.
A few last things to mention -- the stage set up. It was a very cool stage and is open all around so that there is some seating behind the stage. Those seats are moderately obscured by the video screens, but the screens move and expand and contract and are really pretty incredible. The back part of the stage has a screen built into it and it raises and lowers... it's a very cool set up. I'll be able to tell ya what those seats are like next week after Darla and I go back and sit there. Hell, they're only twenty bucks and I can't really complain about having to look at Jon's ass all night...
Set List:
Lost Highway
Born To Be My Baby
You Give Love a Bad Name
Complicated
Runaway
I Love This Town
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Blaze of Glory -- w/ Daughtry - Knockin' on Heaven's Door Intro
Welcome To Wherever You Are
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Some Day I'll Be Saturday Night
We Got It Goin' On
It's My Life
Bad Medicine w/ Shout
I'll Be There For You - Richie Vox
(You Want To) Make a Memory
Bed of Roses
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Livin' on a Prayer
Encore:
Last Man Standing
Wanted Dead or Alive
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