Denver review - Despite a little twang, BJ still rocking

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Concert review: Despite a little twang, Bon Jovi still rocking

By Aimee Heckel (Contact)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Put to rest any fears about Bon Jovi gone country.

Even without the stonewashed jeans and frayed denim jacket, Bon Jovi still rocks. Hard core.

The band proved its rock cred Monday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver, part of its tour to promote its most recent album, "Lost Highway," a Nashville-tribute twist that added a fiddle/violin player to the stage.

But the crowd didn't let a little twang discourage them from throwing up their metal signs. My pinky and pointer fingers are exhausted.

After all, Bon Jovi's song "Wanted Dead or Alive" pulled out the acoustic style back in the mid- '80s. And lest you forget, the lead singer is a cowboy; on a steel horse he rides.

Not to overlook drummer Tico Torres, keyboard player David Bryan (who still sports his huge, blond, '80s curls); and lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Richie Sambora, who was recently arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Bon Jovi's so-called country songs are really more of a pop-cowboy hybrid, anyway, underscored by that raspy voice that so many of us were weaned on. And the band, which followed an opening act by ex-"American Idol" contestant Chris Daughtry, adequately sprinkled the golden oldies in between its new tunes.

The show opened with the new "Lost Highway," followed by 19988's "Born to Be My Baby" and "You Give Love a Bad Name," off the 1986 "Slippery When Wet" album. Then came a few more post-Aimee-high-school songs and some newbies, building up to the back-to-back whammy of "It's My Life" (2000) and "Bad Medicine" (1988). That is where I nearly snapped my own neck in a head-banging ring.

If you don't like hearing the fan next to you sing -- loudly -- Bon Jovi isn't your concert. Lucky for me, I am that loud-singing fan, and Bon Jovi encourages synchronized crowd singing and "spirit fingers."

The 2½-hour long show was still rocking by press time, but the band was scheduled to wrap up the concert with the crowd fave -- and my ring tone for the past six months -- "Wanted."

I was raised chugging "Bad Medicine." But even for lifelong fans, it was as difficult to distinguish between Bon Jovi's old rock style and new country flair as it was to determine whether my friends' jealousy over my seat was sarcastic or sincere. Regardless of what he sings, Jon Bon Jovi doesn't forget his over-dramatic facial expressions, finger-pointing and fist-clenching.

The show brought out the same euphoric goofiness I feel as when I climb trees as an adult, or pull out an old banana clip for my hair. Even just the word "Jovi" makes children of the '80s smirk at each other like we share an inside joke or secret handshake, because it instantly plugs us in to our inner child. When I really think about it, the giggles that bubble up when I hear the phrase "shot through the heart" are in memory of my young self.

There is a reason we loved "The Bonj" so much back in the day -- a reason the band's classics pop up at every wedding and fraternity formal. A reason why anyone born between 1970 and 1990 (give or take 10 years on either end) knows and joyfully shouts every word to "You Give Love a Bad Name."

Simply: It's because Bon Jovi is rad.

That remains true today, years after Bon Jovi tamed his electrocuted hairdo.

In fact, that was my greatest qualm about the show. I wanted more height in the hair and even just one pair of red leather man pants.

That way I wouldn't have felt so out of place in my old L.A. Gear jacket and fingerless mesh gloves.

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Elle me plait bien cette review..!!
Thanx! king