Bon Jovi live

Bon Jovi
United Center, Chicago
Saturday, February 23, 2008

The boys in Bon Jovi never fail to capitalize on the periphery fluff that made them household names. Sure, now-classic songs “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” from 1986’s chart topping Slippery When Wet fanned the flame of their popularity, but if Saturday’s show (the first in a three-night run at the United Center) is any indication, the music takes a backseat to the more pressing matter of the tightness of Jon Bon Jovi’s jeans.

The charismatic frontman — he of chiseled jawline and pronounced cleft chin — sported black denim stretched across his nether regions to the delight of an enthusiastic, mostly female crowd. Spending the two-hour-plus set bouncing up and down like Rocky Balboa preparing for a round in the boxing ring, the lead singer made eyes with the upper rafters through four giant projection screens and even locked lips with at least two hyperventilating fans.

Bon Jovi’s bad-boy guitarist Ritchie Sambora, tried to beat Prince in the outrageous get-up category with a long-tailed purple coat and his trademark predilection for cowboy hats.

Bon Jovi have long woven the cowboy/outlaw theme throughout their tunes, even more so this decade with last summer’s Lost Highway (Mercury Nashville). More Marie’s country than Donny’s rock ‘n’ roll, the new album finds the quartet collaborating with country stars Big & Rich and following in the footsteps of 2006’s crossover success, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles. With a female fiddler en tow, Bon Jovi peppered tracks from Lost Highway throughout the energetic set, including the title track, “Summertime,” “We’ve Got It Going On,” and the ballad of the bunch, “(You Want To) Make A Memory,” sung by Jon from the middle of the arena.

Despite a slew of new tunes, the night belonged to the hits. A riff of Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” introduced the wailing “Blaze Of Glory,” while “Born To Be My Baby” charged all the way through to a full audience sing-along. “Bad Medicine” chugged like a freight train thanks to drummer Tico Torres, and David Bryan’s synths injected “Runaway” with a dose of nostalgia.

Sambora took center stage for “I’ll Be There For You,” while Jon exited for a much needed break. Unlike when Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry takes over the reins for Steven Tyler and half the audience files out for a drink/bathroom break/smoke, the capacity crowd let Sambora show off his oft-underused vocal chops.

Jon’s not the only one able to hit the high notes, it’s just that he does it so well. And Saturday was no exception, until he let the audience do the heavy lifting on the chorus of “Livin’ On A Prayer.” Not that anyone seemed to mind.

The biggest surprise of the night came during the encore when, swaddled in a blue halo of light, Jon laid his claim on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Sticking closely to Jeff Buckley’s definitive version, Jon, backed by violin and Bryan’s diminutive keys, lived up to the template set by the late singer. Buckley aficionados would have been proud, once they got over the abject horror of a former hair band daring to throw down their feel-good shackles.

— Janine Schaults

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly