Date: Fri 08-Sep-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-10

Quick Words:

Bon-Jovi-Meadows-concert-These

Full Text:

CONCERT REVIEW-

BON JOVI MAKES UP FOR LOST TIME

(with photo)

By Shannon Hicks

HARTFORD - On one hand, with three fingers cut off, Bon Jovi fans can count

the number of times the band has had to let them down by cancelling or

postponing a show.

The first time it happened was in 1987, during Bon Jovi's first headlining

tour - remember those long-haired, fringe-jacket, heel-booted, "Livin' on a

Prayer" days of the band? The second time was just about six weeks ago, when

sod destruction (so says Meadows management) following a hyper crowd at the

Connecticut stop of this year's Lollapalooza Tour three days before the

originally-scheduled Bon Jovi show forced a postponement to last weekend.

In addition to the change of date, Bon Jovi fans also had to contend with a

change of show layout as well: Instead of special guest Southside Johnny & The

Asbury Jukes opening for JBJ and the boys, a previously scheduled, but

not-yet-announced show by Bad Company and Ted Nugent (on the calendar for

September 4 but not yet on sale), was combined with the Bon Jovi show, along

with opener Mama Kettle. Southside Johnny was dropped from the bill

altogether.

Enough changes, already! By the time the band took the stage Sunday night at

the Meadows Music Theatre in Hartford on September 4, Bon Jovi fans had had

enough waiting - waiting six more weeks for this show, then through three

so-so sets by other acts - and were ready for a good Bon Jovi concert.

Luckily, that was the one thing that was never changed about the Connecticut

concert: Bon Jovi delivered the goods.

Bon Jovi concerts are a little different these days than they were when the

band was at its so-called epoch. During the Slippery When Wet and New Jersey

days of the late 1980s, a concert by Jon, guitarist Richie Sambora, drummer

Tico Torres, keyboardist David Bryan and then-bass player Alec John Such meant

lots of great songs, along with great delivery, which in the style of the

flashy late Eighties meant lots of pyrotechnics, big hair, and even shows with

extended runways or harness cords attached to Jon Bon Jovi's waist which

propelled him out over the audience during the show.

These days (which also happens to be the title of the band's latest album),

the band still delivers its two-hour shows full of great songs, but the flash

has been somewhat mellowed. Instead, there is more concentration on JBJ's

voice, Sambora's guitar playing (and even his voice, which complements Bon

Jovi's tremendously)... more time is spent on the music, rather than the

flash, which is what appreciating music should be all about.

Monday night, nearly 10,000 Bon Jovi fans turned out to hear the new and the

old, from "Runaway" off the band's debut album (unbelievably, from 12 years

ago!) to "Always," the new single that accompanied the greatest hits

collection Cross Road , released last year, to "Something For The Pain," the

latest single from the new album.

These Days , the band's sixth studio album (and the first since 1993's

"experimental" Keep The Faith , which introduced Bon Jovi fans to new ground

for the band, musically and thematically) continues the band's more pared-down

sound fans are getting used to. Album sales are not as spectacular as Slippery

When Wet or New Jersey , two of the biggest-selling albums of all time, but no

band in the world could be expected to keep that kind of pace.

Bands should be as lucky to have fans like Bon Jovi's, fans that are as

musically diverse as the band itself. Performances of "Bad Medicine," "You

Give Love A Bad Name," "Lie To Me" and "Living on a Prayer," all from

different albums - different periods of style for the band - are all equally

welcome from the band's fans.

As long as the band continues to churn out strong songs and listenable albums,

there is no reason to think that Bon Jovi's concert style of presenting great

concerts is going to die away. Music styles come and go, but great music is

always going to be welcomed by Bon Jovi fans.