Blueshadow's Bon Jovi Blog » Jon Bon Jovi

Hard Rock Calling Photo Gallery

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:36:54 +0000

Gigwise has a gallery of photos from the Bon Jovi show at Hard Rock Calling.

The Bon Jovi ones are 4 through 8. They’re all Jon though. (I was hoping for at least a shot of the entire band together.)

And Jon’s wearing that ridiculous red jacket again. It looks like something that Michael Jackson would wear, and it looks silly on Jon. The aviator sunglasses would have worked much better with a black shirt of some kind–preferably the black leather one without the sleeves. If he’d worn that, he would have been hot even with the knee brace.

(Though a quick check of BonJovi.com shows a Hard Rock Calling banner with a picture of Jon wearing something sleeveless and black. Much better!)

Weighing in on the iTunes debate…

admin — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 02:41:39 +0000

I didn’t comment on the whole Jon vs. Steve Jobs debate earlier this week. Mostly, that was because it’s been a long week, and I’ve been tired at night. In general, I’ve learned that posting while tired doesn’t always lead to the best judgment in terms of what to post, so that was one topic that I really wasn’t up to discussing.

I’m going to buck the trend and say that for the most part, I’m with Jon. (And you’ve heard that from me before.) I love cover art. People like me are the reason why they sell frames for album covers. Sadly, I was born a bit too late for the days of vinyl–by the time I was amassing a music collection of any real size, it was all CDs, so I own very few actual vinyl albums. However, even in the age of the CD, the cover art still mattered, and there was still an insert for notes and lyrics.

In terms of the content of albums, the album format does serve an important function. It can be misused to prop up songs that are nothing more than filler–but it can also be used to take songs that are a tough sell on their own and allow them to reach an audience. Songs like ‘Dry County’ are the songs that albums were built for.

Had I been using iTunes at the time when I bought Keep the Faith, I would likely have left much of the album behind. I would have abandoned ‘If I Was Your Mother’ and ‘Dry County’, for no better reason than that they were not what I expected. And without those songs, I probably would never have seen all that Bon Jovi had to offer, and never would have looked deeper.

Yes, you can get burned buying albums by the cover alone–to this day I don’t really care for Poison’s Native Tongue, and I bought that one based on cover art and the name of the band. But more often than not, the albums where I’ve gotten ‘burned’ was a matter of discovering my own personal taste and learning about various artists.

To this day, buying music is still one area where I am a complete Luddite. I work in a heavy technology field, and it astounds people that I still interact with music through physical media. But I’ve stuck with buying CDs because as far as I’m concerned, it does provide a superior experience.

Philly Eye Candy Commentary…

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:34:59 +0000

And now, for the girly part of the post about last Wednesday’s Bon Jovi show… my commentary on Jon and Richie’s outfits! (The review of the concert itself can be found in this post.)

Jon’s first outfit was the best one, as far as I’m concerned. I like the tight pants, and the view from my seat provided me with a good angle on his butt. Combining those pants with that black jacket made for a pretty good rock star outfit, and I’m a sucker for the rock star ‘look’. I would have liked it even better if he’d ditched the shirt under the jacket. From my angle, it was hard to tell that it was actually a shirt–the center part of it was basically the same color as his skin, so I initially thought that he wasn’t wearing a shirt and something odd had happened to his chest hair.

As for Jon’s second outfit, I liked the way that long-sleeve t-shirt hugged his arms. But personally, I’d have preferred it if he’d skipped the t-shirt and just worn the vest buttoned up without a shirt. (I have a poster of Jon rockin’ the vest-without-shirt look from the Keep the Faith era, and it’s one of my favorites.) Jon’s got buff arm muscles–he can still skip the shirt and look hot. Plus, the t-shirt was so long that it covered up his butt a bit.

Jon’s third outfit was better–at least that one didn’t cover up the butt. No rock star can go wrong with a basic leather jacket and t-shirt.

Also, Jon’s hair was just about perfect. I’ve always thought he made a good blond, and the longer hair softens up his face a bit.

Richie started off with the outfit that he’s been wearing at the last several shows, with the jacket and vest combo. However, it’s a good outfit. Back to that whole ‘rock star look’ thing–it makes him look like a rock star.

Plus, Richie was in good shape last night. He’s really looking good–and starting to give Jon a run for the money in the handsome rock and roll hottie department again.

All told, there was plenty of eye candy at the Wells Fargo Center last week.

Review: Jon Bon Jovi on Delilah

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 01:35:01 +0000

Now, I don’t usually listen to Delilah. The music on her show isn’t really my style. However, a little Jon Bon Jovi can go a long way. (That man even got me to watch American Idol, three times at that, and I really don’t like American Idol.)

I didn’t find out about Jon being interviewed on the show until just tonight, so I came in a little late–but just in time to hear ‘What Do You Got’.

I’ll give Delilah props for that–and the whole show, really, since they played ‘I’ll Be There For You’ and ‘Thank You For Loving Me’ as well. I get stupid excited whenever I hear a Bon Jovi song get played that’s something other than Wanted, Bad Name or Prayer. I think that’s because it happens so rarely. So the show was a bit of a treat, what with the combination of the interview with some good Jovi ballads.

Most of the interview bits weren’t particularly earth-shattering. Jon talked a bit about his charity work and the movie that he’s signed up for.

But I have to say that I wasn’t really paying attention to just what he was saying. I hadn’t really thought about how sexy Jon’s voice is in a long time–even though it was one of the first things that I had noticed–and liked–about his music. Most of the interviews that I’ve encountered lately have all been video interviews, and I was paying more attention to the video. The radio interview made me pay attention to his voice.

It was actually a nice reminder of the fact that when I first encountered the band, Jon’s voice was one of the first things I really liked. I was attracted to the man on the basis of his voice, long before I knew what he looked like. It’s amazing how one little, nice interview can remind me of something I enjoyed so much.

What makes a favorite album?

admin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:37:35 +0000

I’ve counted Richie Sambora’s Stranger In This Town as my favorite album from the first time I listened to it. But I’ve never quite been able to quantify exactly why that one album made such a deep impression.

It is one of the few albums that I’ve ever encountered that I never skip a track on when I listen to it. But that can’t possibly be the only thing that made it my favorite. There are other albums like that out there–Jon’s Blaze of Glory is another that contains nothing but songs that I love. Much as I love every track on it, it’s not the album that comes to mind when someone asks me for my favorite album.

Sure, it’s got its share of songs that get into your head and won’t get out–’Rosie’ and ‘Father Time’ especially tend to linger for me. But if that was the only criteria, well, even Jimmy Buffett’s Banana Wind has way more of those.

There’s something about the songs on Stranger In This Town. They seem to have so many different facets to them–every time I listen to it, I can hear something different in them. The depth of the musicianship and skill on these songs is just amazing. This was the album that really illuminated how much Richie really contributes to Bon Jovi.

This is an album that I can lose myself in–anytime, no matter what mood I’m in. Sure, all of the things that I listed above contribute to making this album my favorite. But above and beyond that, somehow, something in this album spoke to me from the first time that I heard it, and whatever it is, it still captures me every time I listen.

Commentary: Australian Interview with Jon

admin — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 01:22:35 +0000

Yeah, I’m coming to this a couple of days late, but I had already gotten the idea for the post about ‘Secret Dreams’, and I wanted to finish it out before I lost my inspiration. For some reason, that particular song just spoke to me on Wednesday, and I needed to get it written up.

So, anyway, back to today’s topic. Jon did an interview with the Australian Today Show. It’s actually pretty good–he’s smiling, and he seems to be happy to do the interview. (Love his smile. Can’t resist it.) Most of it’s not news, but there were a few interesting bits and pieces, plus the eye candy.

Anyway, Jon mentioned that his acting career is dead. I found that a little bit disappointing. Yes, he’s done a few real stinkers, but he’s also done a couple of movies that I really enjoyed. Both The Leading Man and U-571 were solid pieces of work. I know I would enjoy seeing him do more of that kind of work. Maybe he’ll channel some of that acting impulse into more of the band’s videos, like one of the commenters suggested on my review of ‘What Do You Got’. I think it’s a good idea; it certainly worked out well on the video for ‘Make a Memory’, which I thought was a well acted and beautiful video.

In terms of the eye candy, Jon’s wearing the light blue shirt this time. It fits nice, but I think it’s too light. A brighter or darker blue shirt would help highlight his blue eyes–and you know I’m a sucker for his eyes. However, he is looking good in this interview. He looks like he’s rested and relaxed, and that brings out the handsome aspects of his face.

Commentary: Jon’s Interview with E!

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:23:30 +0000

E! Online has a video interview with Jon about the end of the current leg of the tour.

Most of the questions are the same ones that get trotted out in every interview when the band is on tour.

However, the way that Jon talks about the upcoming Greatest Hits album is interesting. He references Cross Road as a ‘volume 1′. To me, that sounds like the upcoming album will pick up where Cross Road left off. If that’s true, then my prior speculation about what would be on it was completely off base. It opens up a lot more space for the post-1994 hits and makes it easier to fit in the new songs that were promised.

And now, for the shallow stuff: Jon’s looking pretty good. Now, as you know, I’m a big fan of the blond hair, so videos like this one are a complete treat. The blue shirt looks especially good on him.

Review: Elvis in Vegas

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:13:08 +0000

I promised that I’d be back with a separate review of ‘Elvis in Vegas’ today. After all, it’s not every day that Meat Loaf records a song co-written by Jon Bon Jovi. That warrants a post in its own right.

I don’t know that I would have made this connection if I hadn’t known that Jon was one of the songwriters for ‘Elvis in Vegas’, but the song really reminds me of ‘Right Side of Wrong’ from Bounce. It has the same sweeping narrative feel as ‘Right Side of Wrong’, and it also has the same sort of living, breathing imagery throughout the lyrics. That’s probably Jon’s touch; he’s always been good at that kind of song that tells a story, but this one is an outstanding example.

I suppose that I shouldn’t be surprised that ‘Elvis in Vegas’ turned out to be one of my favorite songs off of Hang Cool Teddy Bear–after all, it does have Jon, Desmond Child and Billy Falcon behind it, and those three have been responsible for many of my favorite songs.

But above and beyond that, I like the song because it plays to a lot of Meat Loaf’s strengths. This is one of the few songs on this album that really taps into the expressive range that Meat Loaf can bring to his performances. He can make you believe whatever he’s singing about–and with that power behind the lyrics, this song shines. The chorus on this song is nothing less than a thing of beauty.

This song is definitely a keeper. As a matter of fact, it’s probably going to shape up to be one of my all-time favorites.

Santa Fe live at the O2!

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:21:12 +0000

This just goes to show that I need to pay attention to my own blogroll around here. Lee-Ann picked up on this over a week ago (she’s got the video of ‘Santa Fe’ and a few others over at Blame It On The Love, so I won’t repost ‘em here).

‘Santa Fe’ is only one of my favorite songs of all time… and it took me this long to catch up on my reading and figure out that they actually did this live at the O2. Makes me wish I lived in London, because the lucky folks in the audience at the O2 shows have gotten plenty of treats. (See also the blue sleeveless shirt that Jon was wearing in that video.)

Anyway, ‘Santa Fe’ has been one of my favorite songs ever since I first brought home my copy of Blaze of Glory. It has actually come up a couple of times when I was writing Random Song posts for this blog, but I always skipped it because I wasn’t sure that I could do justice to the song, or my feelings about it. Something about the powerful delivery in this song just spoke to me. It’s certainly one of Jon’s best outings as both a songwriter and a performer.

(I substantiate that claim by the fact that several people have simply refused to believe that the song they were hearing could possibly have been a Jon Bon Jovi song. The least insulting of these was my mother, who merely thought that it was Richie.)

That legendary status made me a little nervous when I saw the video show up on Lee-Ann’s blog, doubly so when I saw that it was one of the acoustic performances. I guess I was a little bit afraid that it might have gotten TLFR’d, or that Jon’s voice wouldn’t hold up, and I’d be disappointed.

Ultimately, though, it was anything but disappointing. Sure, the acoustic performance doesn’t quite have the same fire as the original, but it still works. Part of it is that Jon performs the song straight–it’s not a re-imagining (the TLFR treatment that I had feared) but just the real thing. Right down to the “Lord have mercy” before the solo. Jon doesn’t soar in quite the same way as the original, but his voice was great in this performance.

Also, Dave’s accordion is actually quite welcome here. I actually find its sound to be superior to the strings in the original recording.

And on a final note, I have to say thank you to Lee-Ann for gathering up all of these great videos, not just from the O2, but from all of the tour.

Hotness from the O2

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:41:47 +0000

Monsters and Critics has a photo gallery from the shows at the O2.

All I can say is how come we didn’t get that hot black leather shirt at the Wachovia Center back in March? Sheesh. Those pix hit all of my weaknesses when it comes to Jon. Black leather. Bare arms. Hairy chest. Floppy blond hair. Tight pants. That picture is almost as hot as my Keep the Faith poster. (Maybe even a little better–the KTF poster doesn’t have the chest on display.)

Plus, they’ve got a few good shots of Jon’s grin. The fourth shot of Jon in the gallery is great–I’m not sure what’s going on there, but it looks like he’s laughing. Makes me wish I knew what was getting that reaction. (So does the facial expression in the one where he’s holding up the guitar. He’s definitely looking at something-or someone.)

There’s also a picture of Jon and Richie playing their guitars that I just love. Those are classic Bon Jovi ‘solo faces’ on them both–Jon’s got the lip stuck out so far it’s blatantly visible in profile!

And the shot of Kid Rock sitting at the piano and sticking out his tongue is a great shot. Whoever got that one was definitely a good photographer–moments like that are tough to catch on film, but great when you do get them.

If you haven’t seen these already, they’re totally worth checking out.