Review: Florida rain no match for Bon Jovi thunder, 2 of 2.

Guitarist Richie Sambora, left, and Jon Bon Jovi exchange lightening bolts on 'The Circle' tour

Presley might have known how to rock the jail house, but Bon Jovi knows how to shake—and use---that money-maker adored the world over.

The man is in such good shape ‘it ought to be illegal’, and his physical endurance simply stokes luscious bursts of endlessly explosive rock.

By the time Jon dispenses his personal prescription for the sea of adoring women in the house with “Bad Medicine / Bad Case of Loving You”, he’s clearly winning this love match and the rapt crowd is enjoying the thorough pounding.

No one has stopped singing and the entire house is up on its’ feet except for a jealous husband or two, sulking in their seats with another beer and their smart phone.


A young gal proudly showing off nature’s finest assets in a backless mini-top shimmies next to a 70-something partner who can not only move and groove, but he can also film the medicinal meltdown with his Iphone at the same time. What a man!

Next up, Richie Sambora moves center stage for a solo revival of ‘Lay Your Hands On Me’, smiling through the vibe because ‘ it don’t ever come for free’. His slender fingers work the neck of his ax with sure power and intuitive love while Jon changes into a baby blue long sleeve button-down denim style shirt beneath the stage.

JoviNation next glimpses Bon Jovi when he appears on a stage mid-floor, surrounded by quivering fans in ‘The Pit’, to sing Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’.

In a show brimming with memorable moments, this rendition soars and eclipses the version K.D. Lang delivered at the Vancouver Olympics. Bon Jovi’s version is the quintessential Show-Stopper, and serves to quiet the persistent rumblings from fans on this tour that he has lost some of the power and range of his voice.

One-Hit-Wonder Glamor God’s from the 1980’s don’t sing like this which is why 27 years in, Bon Jovi still rules.

Jon and Richie followed that ballad with the fan favorite “I’ll Be There For You”, once again hitting all the notes while JoviNation JoviGasmed again…this time leaving the high-pitch scream at the end to the fans.

“Something For The Pain” and “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” were next in stripped-down ballad format that saw drummer Tico Torres join Jon and Richie on stage with an old-fashioned rhythm box, and pianist David Bryan take part as well with an accordion, with Jon poking Tico when he invited him to join them by taunting, “After 27 years, Tico Torres finally the front man!”

Bass player Hugh McDonald gets to beckon the boys back to the main stage with his thumping power jab line to “Faith”, a defiant and rollicking testament to grit and perseverance augmented by fireworks inter-mingled with shots of the band on the overhead screen.

If there was a portion of the show that seemed stuck in molasses it came here as Bon Jovi appeared to ‘hit the wall’ physically as he payed particular attention to the mobile camera machines chronicling his every move.

One suspects this footage will show up in an upcoming music video or DVD release, which might explain the shift; VH1 had been filming at earlier shows in Oklahoma and Kansas City…

“Work ForThe Working Man”, which shares the same catchy backbeat as “Livin On A Prayer” seemed to be on autopilot. The song should be a solid hit, but if there was an underlying trend to this show, it’s that JoviNation prefers the rock power ballads to the more socially conscious material.

The band quickly followed with a rousing “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”, with fists pumping into the air with each “It’s alright! It’s alright!”; but again, Jon put the breaks on audience emotion and enthusiasm when he introduced “Love’s The Only Rule” .

“Too many decisions are being made in this country today by monied bureaucrats in high places, and more need to be made at home around the dinner table”, he said to cheers, adding “People today have seen their lives turned upside down in the last 18 months; and decisions are being made one of two ways: through love, or fear…”

Then, pronouncing himself an optimist and idealist, Jon Bon Jovi jumped into the pit of the circle, flashing that million mega-watt smile and touching a hand here and kissing a cheek there, all the while intoning “Loves The Only Rule”, and imploring the audience to sing along with his vision for the world today.

One lady in particular was was the beneficiary of his undiverted gaze as he held her hand and leaned in for a I-only-have-eyes-for-you kiss. Paramedics must have been standing by at the ready because she immediately took on the look of forest animal that had been hit with a hunter’s dart gun.

And with that, he was gone.

Cheering and screaming louder than a jet engine demanded more JoviGasms as the house lights dimmed to Avatar-blue, begging and beseeching Jon and the Boys to come back.

Suddenly, there they were again, Jon with his black and white electric guitar around his waist, exclaiming: “Don’t look now, but it’s 1984 again”, he mused, adding “Hard to believe this song is 28 years old. Yeah, I wrote it when I was like, 7…” he joked as the band launched their first hit, "Runaway".

By now, JoviNation is starting to feel early withdrawal symptoms. The show is winding down. Voices are shot through; bodies are dripping wet with sweat; hands are thrust in the air with the universal sign of “Love you”, when Jon and Richie approach the mic and he says:

We want to thank you for coming out tonight. We know that we wouldn’t be here for the past 30 years if it weren’t for you out there”, he said to deafening applause, “but if there are any asses out there still in seats, get em’ up to sing the National Anthem!”. With that, the two guitar duet of the baddest asses in rock riveted the crowd with a timeless “Wanted Dead or Alive”.

Then, just as the energy and passion seemed to drain from JoviNation, the fear of sudden separation from the object of our affection and the realization that two hours had just flown by in seeming minutes, came the quiet imploring chorus of a single voice, “You know we gotta hold, on….” And the JoviNation in attendance on this night took their cue, and sang every word, in unision, like a lover knowing every nook and cranny of it’s partner…to ‘Livin On A Prayer”.

At the songs end, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora stood together, center stage, spent but satisfied, beaming at the crowd knowing that they had came, they saw, and they thoroughly kicked our asses.
Yes, JoviNation, I and thousands of other Bon Jovi fans were JoviGasmed into submission, and we loved every delicious minute of it.


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