ROCK REVIEW

Bon Jovi Delivers Hits, Plus A Few Surprises

By JACK CORAGGIO |Special to The Courant

March 9th

Jon Bon Jovi has a number of pointed questions, comments and concerns. At
his Mohegan Sun show Friday, he didn't hesitate to share them.

In between several of the evening's 25 songs, he kept an intermittent,
stream-of-consciousness series of queries and observations going, from
how small the 10,000-seat arena is for his mega-hit-factory band to how
dangerous a rocking Bon Jovi show can be for those with heart disease.

"This show should come with a warning," the New Jersey son boasted at the
midpoint. "Those faint of heart should head to the doors while you
still can, because I'm about to throw this thing in to high gear, and
it can't be stopped!"

Despite this cautionary caveat, the audience kept stationary as the band segued
into "It's My Life," one in a multitude of crowd pleasers.

Of course, the concert wasn't necessarily bogged down by monologues. The
more-than-two-hour show was a celebration of commercially successful
rockers, a few affectionate power ballads and a couple of carefully
engineered, though welcome, surprises.

Notable surprises: During "Blaze of Glory," [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
runner-up and opening act Chris Daughtry shared the microphone with Bon
Jovi, besting the song's author with a much stronger, and convincing,
performance.

Secondly, during "I'll Be There For You," Bon Jovi handed the microphone off to guitarist [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien],
while the band's namesake disappeared from the stage, only to reappear,
acoustic guitar in hand, on a platform in the middle of the crowd. At
that moment, it seems terribly unlikely that even during the most
exciting Connecticut Sun basketball game, the decibel level was ever
higher in that arena.

While on said platform, after sweeping
through "Memory," the band played "Open All Night" off the "Bounce"
album, which, according to the singer, was the first time Bon Jovi ever
performed that tune live. To Bon Jovi's credit, it was a captivating
rendition of a song that only the more astute Jovi-heads were familiar
with.

There was more new material — Bon Jovi is currently
supporting 2007's "Lost Highway" CD — than most people paid to see — an
obscene $195 for floor seats. One was the final number of the evening,
"I Love This Town."

The band built up to the song with a
momentous version of "Living on a Prayer," followed by an encore of
"Wanted Dead or Alive," two of the most karaoke-friendly songs ever
written, as evident by the 10,000 person sing-along.

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