7/31/10

Bon Jovi: In Chicago


At packed Soldier Field, a marathon of spirit-boosting nostalgia, catchy hooks, devotional pledges every woman longs to hear

By Bob Gendron, Special to the Tribune

5:45 AM CDT, July 31, 2010

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Nothing was insurmountable in Jon Bon Jovi's world Friday at the first show of a two-night stand at Soldier Field. No matter the odds, or how daunting "living in the broken home of hopes and dreams" became, the vocalist fell back on survival, deliverance and faith, leading his namesake band through a marathon 155-minute set steeped in the kind of wholesale inspirational optimism trumpeted by motivational office posters. The good-guy approach is paying dividends.

Bon Jovi remains a rare exception during a summer in which arena concert-ticket sales have plummeted. Immune to the empty seats that have greeted many big-name acts, the veteran group's current trek ranks as the current top-grossing North American tour. Bon Jovi's live appeal? Spirit-boosting nostalgia, catchy hooks, devotional pledges every woman longs to hear and a sex-symbol frontman that, together, functioned as comfort food.

Apparently recovered from a leg injury suffered onstage a few weeks ago, the 48-year-old singer refrained from running but engaged in exercises—air punches, jumping jacks, hip thrusts—to underscore the pop-rock climaxes. While his falsetto is gone, Bon Jovi's voice primarily sounded like it did in 1986, delighting a sold-out crowd that stood and shouted along to myriad hits.

Bon Jovi kept everything simple and abided by formula. Choruses clung to an assortment of wordless refrains, with "nah nah nah," "yeah yeah" and "hey hey" running a close second to the ubiquitous "whoa-oh." Several tunes seemed interchangeable. At their root, "Have a Nice Day," "It's My Life" and "Livin' on a Prayer" were the same song with different lyrics albeit parallel sentiments. No matter. Whether raising his arms, looking skyward or bowing his head, Bon Jovi sold the drama with strategic moves and a coy smile.

Yet despite Bon Jovi's thespian attempts at profound sincerity, the band's ballads mined a litany of lyrical clichés familiar to anyone who's ever composed a love note to a high-school sweetheart. "Work for the Working Man," a forced stab at sympathizing with blue-collar plight, proved equally hollow, especially considering some fans paid upwards of $1,700 for V.I.P. packages. And there was no escaping the irony as images of cultural pioneers such as John Lennon flashed onscreen next to generic slogans ("Act Now," "Rise," "Freedom") during "We Weren't Born to Follow," a by-the-book rallying cry that was anything but defiant or original.

The group fared better on upbeat older music ("Bad Medicine," "Runaway") that allowed drummer Tico Torres a chance to beef up the keyboard-heavy mix with rhythmic muscle. "Wanted Dead or Alive" rang true with an authenticity other material lacked, and a cover of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll," performed with opener Kid Rock, resonated with an invigorating soulfulness that temporarily smeared the band's polish.

If you go Saturday:

Be aware that Friday's show ended nearly an hour later than the city's normal 11 p.m. all-ages curfew. Plan accordingly. Bon Jovi took the stage at 9:25 p.m. Opener Kid Rock went on shortly after 7:45 p.m., following a short set by 7th Heaven. If you have field seats, keep your ticket on your body at all times. Security is tight and abundant. Will call is at the Southern entrance. In getting to Soldier Field, try and take public transportation. By 6 p.m., traffic backed up for miles between Belmont and Oak on Lake Shore Drive. Parking is expensive. Find a restroom early. Lines for the women's bathrooms looked exceedingly long.

7/29/10

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi is back: It's been a long, long road


By Allison Stewart, Special to the Tribune

July 30, 2010

Over the course of 25-plus years, Bon Jovi has morphed from pop metal also-rans to a Garden State cultural institution. How did it happen? We're still not sure.

Having an underrated catalog helps. So does having a secret weapon frontman like Jon Bon Jovi — it's not for nothing that he's called a hair metal renaissance man.

In honor of the band's mind-boggling two-night stint at Soldier Field in support of its latest disc, "The Circle," we've compiled a decades-spanning guide to the finest and most obscure Bon Jovi facts.

Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud: Iranian president whose re-election was one of the pivotal events inspiring the band's hit "We Weren't Born to Follow."

Axelrod, David: President Barack Obama's political adviser and alleged Bon Jovi fan. According to Jon Bon Jovi, Axelrod has the printed lyrics of the group's "Work for the Working Man" framed on a wall of his West Wing office.

Bono: The politically influential rocker to whom Jon Bon Jovi has been compared, thanks to his friendships with East Coast politicians such as Hillary Clinton, whom Bon Jovi refers to as "Mrs. C."

Costello, Elvis: Once recorded an unreleased cover of "Bad Medicine."

de Soto, Hernando: The Peruvian economist whose theories on poverty and capitalism have been cited by Jon Bon Jovi.

Flockhart, Calista: "Ally McBeal" star and onscreen love interest to Jon Bon Jovi, about whose tonsorial perfection she reportedly once marveled, "Each hair must have its own stylist."

"Guitar Hero 5": The video game in which Kurt Cobain's avatar could be used to sing non- Nirvana songs, including "You Give Love a Bad Name," leading to protests by Courtney Love and ex-Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. "I don't know that I would have wanted it either," Jon Bon Jovi admitted to the BBC.

Hair: It's real, and it's all his, according to Jon Bon Jovi, who once urged a journalist to pull on it. "It's very real and soft," the journalist reported.

"Idol, American": During a Season 6 appearance, Bon Jovi was clearly less than thrilled with contestant Blake Lewis' beatboxing version of "You Give Love a Bad Name." "I don't think Jon Bon Jovi had actually ever seen 'American Idol' or knew what I did," Lewis said afterward.

Lane, Diane: Actress who briefly dated Jon Bon Jovi in the '80s, during a period of semiobscurity for both.

Mijovi: An energy drink whose name and slogan ("itsmilife") attracted the attention of Jon Bon Jovi's lawyers. "We were shocked to see that he would object to a positive beverage," the drink's creator said.

" National Lampoon's Pucked": An '06 hockey comedy so terrible even Jon Bon Jovi complained about its awfulness. And he starred in it.

Robots: Five immense robotic arms hold up onstage video screens during the band's tour. The robots, who move in concert with the music, are similar to those featured in the movie " Terminator Salvation."

Rose, Axl: Guns 'n' Roses frontman and Jon Bon Jovi nemesis of long standing. "That [expletive] hasn't made a record in 13 years and he gets all that attention," Jon Bon Jovi told an interviewer. "You know what I've done in 13 years? A lot."

Scott, Bon: The late AC/DC lead singer reportedly was part of the inspiration for John Bongiovi's early-career name change.

"7800° Fahrenheit": Bon Jovi's second, and likely least favorite, album, about which he once said, "My whole second album I try to avoid."

Springsteen, Bruce: Ranked just above No. 7 Jon Bon Jovi in Billboard magazine's most recent Ten Sexiest Men in Music poll (No. 1? Adam Lambert).

Torres, Tico: Bon Jovi's longtime drummer, and, incredibly, the only band member (formerly) married to a supermodel (Eva Herzigova). Also, one of the band's only members not to get his own 6-inch action figure.

" Vampires: Los Muertos": A pre-"Twilight" popcorn flick in which Jon Bon Jovi played a vampire slayer. Sample dialogue: "The only choice left is how to die — slow and painful, or quick and easy."

"Who Says You Can't Go Home": The Bon Jovi hit appropriated by Sarah Palin during her 2008 campaign rallies, much to the band's public chagrin.

Bon Jovi: Jon gets beat by Bruce again...

Billboard.com did an online poll to find out who the sexiest man in rock is, since it's an online poll I think the results are a little skewed (IMO).

Billboard’s Top Ten Sexiest Men In Music:

1. Adam Lambert (It's like saying Keisha is the hottest woman in music)
2. Nick Jonas (Really????? Maybe to a 16 year old)
3. Chris Brown (hot only if you like a boyfriend & a beat down)
4. Justin Timberlake (BARF, I still don't see what other people see in him)
5. Enrique Iglesias (Even since it got removed all I see is a big mole on his face)
6. Bruce Springsteen (BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCE Surprising to see him on the list but awesome since a majority of the artists cater to the tween acts which means their parents got on the net and voted!)
7. Jon Bon Jovi  (7th, to me this is WORSE than being dropped off the Forbes Richest Musician list!)
8. Usher
9. Maxwell
10. Drake

Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi: Stadiums are just what we do

Good interview with Jon.


Jon Bon Jovi is standing up.

The only reason that's news is because he blew out a calf muscle on stage July 9 during a concert at New Meadowlands Stadium in his home state of New Jersey.

"I got another leg," he told the crowd. "I don't need this one."

He hobbled back to the microphone and finished the show with "Livin' on a Prayer."

"The leg's back now, miraculously, with all the rehab I've had," Bon Jovi told the Sun-Times in an interview Wednesday. "If I was a football player, I'd say I'm 'probable' to play. Really I've just nursed all the sympathy I could get at home, and now I've gotta go back to work."

Work is a prominent theme on his latest record, "The Circle." Bon Jovi's job has looked the same for nearly 30 years -- playing one massive stadium show after another. This weekend, he returns to Chicago for two nights at Soldier Field. After that, more stadiums and arenas in 30 countries for the next two years. Again.

BON JOVI
with Kid Rock and 7th Heaven (Friday)
with Kid Rock and the Worsties (Saturday)
7 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Soldier Field, 1400 S. Museum Campus Dr.
Tickets: $36.50-$500; ticketmaster.com (Friday is sold out)


The Circle Tour already is the top-grossing tour in North America. Bon Jovi's last tour also had that distinction, in 2008. Amid all the reports of canceled shows and trimmed-back tours this summer, Bon Jovi's stadium gigs emerge as one of the few winners. Thus far in 2010, he's played 38 shows, selling half a million tickets and banking $52.8 million, according to Pollstar.

Since long before the band hit it big with the 1986 album "Slippery When Wet" ("Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Wanted Dead or Alive"), Bon Jovi has been playing the big venues. "It's what we've done since the inception of this band," he said during a conversation that reflected on the first stadium shows, the new music business and writing a song about Jennifer Hudson.

Q. These tours are clearly huge undertakings. Do you have a limit? What would be too big for you?
A. Well, I was the guy quoted saying that I wanted to play and sell out the desert -- more than once. I've always been very comfortable in the big venues. It's not an issue of being too big as long as it's manageable, for us and the fans, and the business calls for it. And we're having fun, which we still are.

Q. Do you remember the first arena you played?
A. Yes: 1983, opening for ZZ Top at Madison Square Garden. Talk about a daunting venue -- this was before we'd even released a record. It took courage, but we did it. ... It was really only daunting inasmuch as this was the fabled Madison Square Garden, a place where heroes have walked. Every kid out there thinks that tennis racket is going to turn into a guitar and they're going to have the chance to speak to someone. We got there. We got in trouble, too. We had more people backstage than ZZ Top had times 10. We invited everyone. There was one case of beer between about 150 people. We didn't even get to meet ZZ. It was a fantasy.

Q. Do you still get nervous at all?
A. Not so much nerves, but anticipation. I ask: "Are you prepared?" I've never had stage fright, if that's what you mean.

Q. What do you attribute that to?
A. If you really want to dissect it, it goes back to the drinking age in New Jersey being 18 back in the '70s, which meant you could sneak into bars as young as 16. You'd get to see bands, and you thought that was the big time. And every step along the way, that was the big time. From the dance to the club to headlining a club to theaters and stadiums -- every step on that path you said, "This is it! I've made it!" ... It all goes back to that naivete or innocence at 16. I didn't have to go to the service, and I was young enough I could live at home, and I didn't have a family to support, so I could chase this dream. When the drinking age changed to 21, it changed the opportunities for the next generation of kids. Now you had to get to about 19 before you could sneak in and see a rock band, and by then things can be different.

Q. In the '80s, you had the quintessential success story: make a record, hand it to a DJ, he plays it, it catches on, sign the record contract. Could you pull that off today?
A. Yeah, but in a different way. The public spaces are on the Internet now, and the audiences aren't as big. "The Loop" [Chicago's WLUP-FM] had a voice back then. There were places like that where DJs had influence and were style makers. There are a couple of those guys still in the world. Pierre Robert in Philadelphia [at WMMR-FM] is a throwback to that. He guides you through what's going on, including some social activism. But if a kid like me walked into a Clear Channel chain now ... no one's going to come out and say, "Sure, let's spin this on the air in Chicago!" He'd get his ass whooped.

Q. When did you realize that had changed?
A. One day in Chicago. I remember walking Michigan Avenue -- right? where all the stores are? -- to that huge Virgin Megastore that was there until three or four years ago. I'd go there whenever I was in Chicago. I'd buy DVDs and CDs and whatever junk, anything and everything. I walked down there one day to see it all gone and thought that's the beginning of, not the end but -- it was definitely my nose slamming into the face of the record business and thinking, "Well, the new generation better find us a trick, because the old generation has given away the keys to the kingdom."

Q. Puts "7800 Fahrenheit" in a new light, eh?
A. You know, I had a conversation with Doug Morris, now the head of Universal [Media Group, Bon Jovi's current record label]. He was president of Atlantic Records when they tried to sign me in 1983. There we were in a meeting with [Atlantic founder] Ahmet Ertegun and Doug and all these guys trying to sign me, and we didn't sign. I did my deal at Polygram. But Doug wound up at Unversal, and I asked him, "What would have happened if I'd signed with Atlantic?" He said, "To tell you the truth, I don't know if we'd have made 'Slippery When Wet.'" I said, "Why?" He said, "You know, your first two albums did OK, but chances are we wouldn't have given you that third shot. That's the way Atlantic used to think. If you're not headlining after two records, move on." And now here he is the president of my label, saying, "Sure glad we didn't drop you."

Q. I'm guessing this is why you remain in at least some contact with aspiring bands, putting contest winners on your stadium bills [like Chicago's 7th Heaven, opening Friday's concert].
A. I've been doing the opening band contest for years. I love it. I want them to get the opportunity to go out there and see what it would be like on Christmas morning, the way we lived. If anything, it's a motivation tool. When they've tasted that ZZ Top moment, they go back home and work harder and figure out things, whether it's soliciting fans in the aisles with fliers they've made or giving away CDs 'cause they've made 500 of them or calling the newspaper and telling them what you do, getting an article written about you. My day or this day, you've got to work hard at it.

Q. How's "The Circle" doing?
A. Well enough, in this day and age. I think it's a fabulous album that says a lot.

Q. You do seem to be tackling topical matters more than ever here. How do you approach current events without crossing the line into folk music?
A. We think universally and timelessly. Case in point: the song "Bullet." One Sunday morning Richie [Sambora, guitarist] was at my house, and I'm watching "Meet the Press," and it's about Jennifer Hudson's brother-in-law, what's his name? The guy who killed her family members on a rampage? [On Oct. 24, 2008, actress-singer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew were murdered on the South Side. Hudson's estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour, has been charged with the murders.] He's this guy going, like, "Why didn't I get mine?" Awful. But instead of sitting down and writing a song with his name in it or hers, with a specific day and date, you make your case because this same situation is going to happen again in five years somewhere else. You speak to the larger issues. You ask whether the song will stand up 20 years from now and is the message going to be clear.

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi makes up for lost time with a Regina stadium show heavy on hits and deep cuts

They performed This Is Our House TWICE.  I guess this will be the first single off what I am dubbing Crossroads 2.0. I'm personally on the fence about this song because #1 it was performed at Gillette Stadium whenever the Patriots score (If Jon's such a big Giants fan why wasn't it played in Giants Stadium whenever the Giants Scored? I'm mean c'mon Jon, what the F?) and #2 it better have more lines than what was played before the shows this tour. But those are just my opinions so...

Troy Fleece/Leader-Post

Jon Bon Jovi having fun on the stage at Regina's Mosaic Stadium

By JEFF DeDEKKER
Leader-Post

Even Jon Bon Jovi is willing to admit that time flies when you’re having fun.

“Somebody told me before the show that it’s been 20 years since we were last in Regina. How is that possible?” the 48-year-old rocker asked the estimated crowd of 35,000 at Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday night.

“I like lots of things about Regina. I liked the fly over before the show. I liked the nice things written about us in the newspaper. And I met Jovi, a baby who was named after the band. It won’t be another 20 years before we’re back in Regina.”

Currently touring in support of their their latest album, The Circle, Bon Jovi certainly made up for lost time with an impressive 23-song, 135-minute set. Bon Jovi, joined as always by Richie Sambora (guitar), Tico Torres (drums) and David Bryan (keyboards), dipped deep into the band’s discography and gave the crowd a taste of the music that’s enabled the New Jersey rockers to sell 130 million albums worldwide over the past 26 years.

Opening with “Blood On Blood” and “We Weren’t Born To Follow,” Bon Jovi decided to challenge the crowd right off the bat.

“Regina — are you with me out there?” he shouted.

The answer was a resounding yes and when Bon Jovi asked the crowd, “Show me what you’ve got,” they responded with an enthusiastic singalong of “You Give Love A Bad Name.”

While the music was front and centre, the massive stage was also a sight to behold. Backed by a high definition video screen in the shape of a half circle — it measures an imposing 115 feet wide by 50 feet high — the stage also included a circular ramp into the crowd. With rectangular video screens on each side of the stages, fans were guaranteed not to miss a beat, whether it was a sly smile from Bon Jovi or a sneer from Sambora.

During “We Weren’t Born To Follow,” a song about standing up and fighting for a belief, the screen filled with images of Lance Armstrong, the Wright brothers, President Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey and Martin Luther King Jr. It was interesting imagery — most people wouldn’t compare Lance Armstrong with Martin Luther King Jr.
Bon Jovi, who usually is very active on stage, apparently was limited by a calf injury he suffered on July 9 while performing at the new Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. It took Jon 11 songs but he finally made it out onto the circular walkway. It was a gentle stride out into the crowd and although Jon didn’t appear to be limping, he definitely wasn’t his usual high-energy self.

The pre-concert press kit indicated Sambora brings 15 different electric guitars on the road and if he didn’t use all 15 Wednesday night he came close. It seemed he changed guitars with every song but what didn’t change was Sambora’s skill — he plays like a man possessed, with poise and confidence. He might not be AC/DC's Angus Young but Sambora is capable of holding more than his own with it comes to guitar licks.

Sambora also proved he was more than just guitar player by taking centre stage and lead vocals for “Lay Your Hands On Me.” Sambora’s voice fit the quintessential rock ballad perfectly as he morphed into a church choir leader orchestrating the congregation.
Jon’s voice sounded great, the band sounded great, the visuals were impressive but the set did hit a bit of a lull one hour in with “(I Want To) Make A Memory,” “I’ll Be There For You,” ”Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night,” “In These Arms” and “Work For the Working Man.” This isn’t a knock on the songs — the material definitely was good — but stringing that many slower songs together took the crowd out of the performance.

The band regained its footing, ending the set with “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and “Keep The Faith.”

Jon threw a curveball with the first song of the encore: “This Is Our House.”

“We’re going to play a song we’ve never played live before,” Jon explained. “And I hope you don’t mind but we’re going to film this for a video. So if you want to fix your hair and makeup, go ahead.”

Before playing the song a second time for extra filming, Jon had an interesting suggestion: “I wouldn’t mind if the Riders wanted to use this as they’re new theme song.”

Of course like any great showman, Bon Jovi kept the best for last, completing the encore with “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and a haunting version of the band's king-making hit, “Livin’ On A Prayer.”

On the latter, it sounded as if all 35,000 sang every word. It was a great way to end a great night.



Bon Jovi set list

1. “Blood on Blood”
2. “We Weren’t Born to Follow”
3. “You Give Love a Bad Name”
4. “Whole Lot of Leavin’ ”
5. “Born to Be My Baby”
6. “Lost Highway”
7. “It’s My Life”
8. “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”
9. “We Got It Goin’ On”
10. “Bad Medicine”/“Pretty Woman”/“Shout”
11. “Love Is The Only Rule”
12. “Lay Your Hands on Me”
13.“(I Want To) Make A Memory”
14. “I’ll Be There For You”
15. ”Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night”
16. “In These Arms”
17. “Work For the Working Man”
18. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”
19. “Keep the Faith”
Encore
20. “This Is Our House” (twice)
21. “Wanted Dead or Alive”
23. “Livin’ on a Prayer”

Bon Jovi: It just make you say awww....

Awww.... this is so sweet.  Today most guys who go to see Bon Jovi are there with their girlfriends wives significant others so this probably would not happen.


In the world of music, the year 1989 was full of wild hair and classic rock. It was also the last time Bon Jovi performed in Regina, as part of his New Jersey tour.

For Jim and Michelle Weins, that tour forever changed their future.

“I was just going to have some fun with the girls,” Michelle said. “See a band that we idolized, back then -- listen to some music. I never once thought that my life would change that night.”

It was at the Agridome that August night when two teens came face to face for the first time.

“I just looked right at her and said, ‘Hi, I’m Jim’,” Jim said.

Heavy metal band Skid Row was halfway through their performance when Michelle lost track of Jim.

“I looked over and he wasn’t there anymore,” Michelle said. “Then I realized he was standing right beside me.

“Within minutes we were holding hands.”

Twenty-one years later, the couple is still together, including 13 years of marriage. They have three kids and a collection of Bon Jovi memorabilia. It’s a story they are not afraid to tell others about.

“We always have this argument back and forth about who grabbed whose hand first,” Jim laughs.

With Bon Jovi taking the stage once again in Regina, the Weins say the night is about much more than just music.

“It’s something to celebrate our whole lives together, how much our lives have changed from back then, when we were just two silly kids from highschool,” Jim said.

To them, the concert represents over 20 years of happiness.

7/28/10

Bon Jovi: You can't bring what into the stadium?

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come and its only for this one show.  But according to this article...

By CBC News

Regina police plan to add an extra 75 to 80 police officers to ensure a Wednesday night rock concert featuring Bon Jovi goes smoothly.

Regina police plan to add an extra 75 to 80 police officers to ensure a Wednesday night rock concert featuring Bon Jovi goes smoothly.

While officials did not have the cost associated with the additional police presence, they said the bill would be covered by the promoters of the event.

"One of the goals of this event, from a police perspective, is to assist Regina in hosting a major concert with a minimum of inconvenience to residents of the neighbourhoods surrounding [concert venue] Mosaic Stadium," police said Tuesday.

About 30,000 people are expected to attend the show, which is expected to run until 11:30 p.m. with gates opening at 5:30 p.m.

Police officer will focus on ensuring vehicular and pedestrian traffic before and after the show is safe and effective.

Officers will also be on had at entrance gates to help security.

Items that will not be allowed into the stands include:

Cameras and recording devices.
Laser pointers.
Knives or any other weapons.
Gang colours.
Fireworks.
Chairs, strollers, umbrellas.
Aerosol cans.
Food.
There will be alcohol for sale and police are reminding people who drink to plan a safe ride home.

A shuttle bus service will be available, free of charge, to and from the show and Regina shopping malls, including Victoria Square, Northgate, Southland and Normanview Crossing, starting at 5 p.m.

The cost of the service is being supported by the insurance company SGI, a provincial Crown corporation.

Gang colors???  At a Bon Jovi show?  Aerosol cans, what the hell am I going to do with that extra can of aqua net I bring to concerts (especially Bon Jovi Concerts)?  Fireworks?  Don't we have to bring our own in for Keep The Faith?

Cameras?  Does this mean no digital cameras?  No Youtube videos.

Should I be concerned that they might do a rarity or something we haven't heard in a long time.  Jon likes to change things up a bit so....  *cough*

Nah I'm not concerned, I'm not worried.  Enjoy the show tonight Regina.

7/27/10

Bon Jovi: Is it really that bad??

I'm kind of fascinated with biographies of people and reading also helps my trivia knowledge.  So in the grand scheme of Rock N Roll there are so many other things that are worse than laying on a bed w/ 4 semi nude women.
Let's look back at debauchery in Rock N Roll courtesy of Snopes.

First stop 1967 England.  The Rolling Stones and the Mars Bar

A Mars Bar Fills That Gap

Claim: When British police conducted a drug raid during a party at Keith Richards' Redlands estate in 1967, they found Mick Jagger eating a Mars bar out of Marianne Faithfull's vagina.

Cover of "The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shel...Origins: When nineteen police, on a tip-off, raided a party at Keith Richards' estate in February of 1967 in search of illegal drugs, Mick Jagger Richards, Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, and six other male guests were lounging about a downstairs room watching TV and listening to music. Faithfull wore only a large, orange fur bedcover that she had wrapped around herself after taking a bath a little while earlier. The police searched the house and the persons in it, gathered various pieces of evidence, and left. A month later, Richards and Jagger were summoned before the court on drug charges. By the time the trial started at the end of June, a rumor had already started spreading that when the police arrived at Redlands, "they had interrupted an orgy of cunnilingus in which Jagger had been licking a Mars candy bar pushed into Marianne's vagina."

There was absolutely no truth to the rumor, however. The police did not burst into the house, catching everyone unaware: they knocked very loudly at the front door, and Keith calmly got up to answer it. At the time police arrived, the room was, in the words of Christopher Gibbs, one of the guests at Redlands that evening, "a scene of pure domesticity." 
Keith Richards 
At Keith Richards' trial, much was made of 'Miss X' (i.e., Marianne Faithfull), the single female guest who had been present when police entered Richards' house. One female detective testified that when the police squad arrived, Faithfull had been "completely naked." Another male detective stated in court that as he had studied Marianne Faithfull during the raid to detect signs of drug use, she had purposely let the fur bedcover she was wearing slip, "disclosing parts of her nude body." (Faithfull later admitted that she had indeed given the police "a quick flash.") These lurid details about a naked girl wrapped in fur rug, brought out at the trial and reported in the press (although largely untrue), established the idea that the police had interrupted a drug-induced orgy.

Next is a story that may be slightly true.  It's 1969 and Seattle.  A Red Headed girl meets history courtesy of Led Zeppelin, rope and assorted fish.


Claim: Members of Led Zeppelin once employed a mud shark on a female groupie.

Then there was the infamous "mudshark incident," which was actually more like a red herring. In 1969, Led Zeppelin checked into Seattle's Edgewater Inn. The place was a favorite with musicians because guests could fish from their rooms. The band hauled in some fish. Then they hauled in a seventeen-year-old redhead named Jackie. She mentioned she really liked being tied up. The obliging Englishmen ordered a rope from room service. Next, Jackie removed her clothes and the boys tied her to the bed. Then the road manager entertained the band by taking a red snapper and introducing it to the girl's private parts.2

The most ubiquitous non-Stones-related tale is unquestionably the infamous "mud shark" legend, which relates how members of Led Zeppelin supposedly employed a (live) shark as a sexual device with a pliant female groupie. This story is tough to classify as either "true" or "false" because so many different versions with varying details exist, but we might safely say it's one of many legends formed from a kernel of truth covered with several layers of exaggeration and embellishment.

The core incident took place at The Edgewater in Seattle (probably at the time of the group's 27 July 1969 appearance at the Seattle Pop Festival), a hotel on Puget Sound from which guests could fish right out the windows of their rooms. According to Richard Cole, Led Zeppelin's road manager, he and drummer John Bonham (aka "Bonzo") were busily engaged in the pastime of catching sharks through an Edgewater window when they were interrupted by some persistent groupies, but what occurred next didn't quite live up to the notorious modern version of the legend:

The true title of Led Zeppelin IV
It wasn't Bonzo, it was me. It wasn't shark parts anyway: It was the nose that got put in. We caught a lot of big sharks, at least two dozen, stuck coat hangers through the gills and left 'em in the closet . . . But the true shark story was that it wasn't even a shark. It was a red snapper and the chick happened to be a f_______ redheaded broad with a ginger p____. And that is the truth. Bonzo was in the room, but I did it. Mark Stein [of Vanilla Fudge] filmed the whole thing. And she loved it. It was like, "You'd like a bit of fucking, eh? Let's see how your red snapper likes this red snapper!" That was it. It was the nose of the fish, and that girl must have come 20 times. But it was nothing malicious or harmful, no way! No one was ever hurt.

So yes, a female groupie was sexually engaged with a fish, but the fish was not a shark (and was presumably dead from having been stuck on a coat hanger), it wasn't "stuffed" inside her, the only member of Led Zeppelin present at the time (John Bonham) was merely an onlooker rather than an active participant, and the woman left the hotel unharmed. (Richard Cole may not have been the most accurate chronicler of Led Zeppelin's history, but since his accounts tend to run to excess it's safe to assume the reality was no wilder than he presented it. In any case, accounts given by others connected with the incident don't substantially contradict Cole's version.)

Nonetheless, tales of sexual exploits involving groupies and animals are familiar entries in the Led Zeppelin canon of rumors:
One evening, two young girls were lounging in the bathtub of Led Zeppelin's hotel suite. Page walked in. He giggled, "We figured you need something to keep you company." Then he threw four live octopuses into the tub. The young ladies wound up enjoying the octopuses more than the rockers. "Oh my god," squealed one of them, "I've gotta get one of these. It's like having an eight-armed vibrator!"

Led Zeppelin later cheered on another adventurous female fan while she made love with her pet Great Dane. The boys in the band even provided strategically placed bacon for the Great Dane's pleasure

And if you want tales of Rock N Roll excess from 4 guys that don't remember half of what they did check out Motley Crue: The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band, some of the stories you're just like, EWWW how could a woman exploit herself like that.  But it's a good vacation/conversation starter book.


Bon Jovi: Another article on 'the book'

Another day and another story with pictures about that book.  I'll save the picture for the end as it is NSFW.  And please tell me if you look closely next 2 the second blond right near the edge of her panties on the left, ok maybe I'm imagining it.  Or maybe not.  It looks decidedly phallic in nature.



By Lizzie Smith
Last updated at 11:10 AM on 27th July 2010

He's known as the nice guy of rock and roll.

But newly released photos show a different side of family man Jon Bon Jovi - the wannabe star trying to make it in the music industry.

The posed shots show the singer lying on a bed with four naked girls on top of him, in a provocative scene.

Before he was famous: Jon Bon Jovi the aspiring rock star poses with four semi-naked girls in a 1985 photo published in new book Sex, Drugs And Bon Jovi
They were taken by famed photographer Ross Marino in 1985 when Jon was just 22, busy promoting second album 7800°Fahrenheit.

It wasn't until the release of Bon Jovi's third album, Slippery When Wet that the band shot to superstardom.

The never-published pictures were kept locked away for more than 20 years by the band's former tour manager, Rich Bozzett, who has included them in his new book charting his time with the band.

He told Mail Online he tracked them down years after they were taken at the request of Bon Jovi, who asked him to destroy them after remembering their existence following his rise to fame.

But Bozzett kept them along with other memorabilia from his seven years with the band.

He said he had great memories of travelling the world with the unknown band during their rise to fame - and particularly of Jon Bon Jovi.

'He treated me very well, I felt he was a nice person, and very genuine.'

He said he remembers the photoshoot well - and that Bon Jovi enjoyed it.

'Back at that time, you're a young man, you're going to enjoy something like that,' he said.

But he said that the shoot was a set-up, with Bon Jovi already dating the woman who would become his wife, his teenage sweetheart, Dorothea Hurley, the mother of his four children.

'We were trying to toughen up the image,' he explained, saying the huge record sales of bands like Motley Crue inspired the idea.

In his book Bozzett, who now works on house renovations, also talked about the alleged drug use of members of the band.

But the 52-year-old, who said at times he felt like the 'sixth member' of the band, said Bon Jovi were nothing like their more edgy contemporaries.

'I'm thankful that I worked for him [Jon], he was basically squeaky clean.'

Bozzett was eventually dropped from the band and claims he was denied his share of profits by their then-manager.

But he said his book was not motivated by malice - he just felt the time was right to tell his story.

'I would tell people stories and people would just be fascinated,' he explained. 'They couldn't hear enough of it.'

Ok, here's the picture unlike the US the UK likes nipples and won't blur them out.  This is also why you don't ever sleep with hotel room comforters on your bed.  And eww Alec.
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Bon Jovi:Bon Jovi Mosaic Stadium concert

Another day. Another interview where Jon lies. And no it's not about those pictures on TMZ.


Jon promises special show for Regina

BY JEFF DEDEKKER, THE LEADER-POSTJULY 27, 2010 2:04 AM

BON JOVI
(with Kid Rock and Enjoy Your Pumas)
6 p.m. Wednesday
Mosaic Stadium

Life as a rock star has many perks, with fame and fortune providing a life that most people can only dream about.

While some artists may take the adulation and money for granted, Jon Bon Jovi understands that with success comes expectations and responsibilities. During a recent telephone interview, Bon Jovi talked about the fan base the band has cultivated over the past 25 years and the impact the support has had on the band.

A prime example are Blaine and Chera Miller of Regina. The couple has seen Bon Jovi perform nine times and consider themselves lifelong fans of the band. When they were married, their first dance was to "Thank You For Loving Me," and when their second child was born last year, they named the youngster Jovi.

When asked how such dedication made him feel, Bon Jovi sounded genuinely touched by the gesture.

Jovi??? You named your kid Jovi? My vet says they have a dog named Jovi (and it's owner claims to be Jon's aunt, go figure) but you named your kid Jovi?

While I mock it I'm also having a sense of why didn't I think of that moment as well.

"It's humbling. It's very humbling to think that you've touched somebody's life for them to make such a kind of an important decision in their lives," said Bon Jovi.

"It's humbling."

Although the Millers will be seeing Bon Jovi for the 10th time when the band brings The Circle Tour to Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday, they will be viewing a show unique to Regina. Bon Jovi plans on playing a number of the band's hits like "Wanted Dead Or Alive," "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer" and "It's My Life" but the set list has been changing from night to night on the current tour.

Bon Jovi, along with bandmates Richie Sambora (guitar), Tico Torres (drums) and David Bryan (keyboards), decided the only way to keep the tour fresh was to tinker with the set list each night. The everchanging set list not only challenged the band members but the video crew as well.

"They're pretty good, I have to say. I challenged the bastards," Bon Jovi said with a laugh. "We just concluded 12 nights in London at the O2 (Arena) and the number of songs started to add up because I couldn't bear to go out there and ever perform the same set twice.

"I said the goal was to play 70 different songs over the course of the 12 nights. I was calling some of them on the fly and I'll be damned that by the first chorus, that video didn't make a liar out of me. They were right there. They kept up pretty good."

*cough* Rarely do they fly by the seat of their pants. Songs are done at least once during sound check. Audibles are planned.  The excepting will be at the end of the article, I promise its a good one.

The challenge of expanding the set list has been enjoyable for the band.

"During the course of the late afternoon, we come in every day, even 60 shows in, and do a power sound check. I'd have a list of songs in my head -- 'I was thinking about this one from that album. Why don't we play this one and tomorrow we'll do it.' I always kept them going," explained Bon Jovi. "It became a bit of a game for us so that by the end even Tico was bringing me a list of songs saying, 'We didn't do this one and we didn't do that one.' It became fun, because for whatever it's worth, not that many bands go out there and do 70 different songs in one location."

Another aspect that separates Bon Jovi the band from other groups is how its music has changed over the years. Many bands find a formula that works and then spends the rest of its career trying to duplicate that sound with every passing album.

Bon Jovi had no interest in following that blueprint for success.

"On our first record I was 21 years old and now I'm 48. If I didn't change it would be sad. It would be too bad," said Bon Jovi. "No matter who the artist is, if you've been around that long, your sound has gone through ebb and flow periods, introspective and experimental periods. It would have to in order to have a long body of work. I'm thinking of guys that I should never compare myself to but nonetheless have had long careers -- Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, (Bruce) Springsteen, (Elvis) Costello, guys that I admired. They all experimented."

Bands such as AC/DC and Nickelback have fashioned wildly successful careers by sticking to the tried and true method. Bon Jovi applauded their success but reiterated that style was not for him.

"To each his own. That's not for me."

I've seen Bruce Springsteen several times and at every show someone from the audience will have a sign, the last show I went to the guy had a sign that said, "ROSIE COME OUT TONIGHT!!!" and he ran down the steps towards the stage and I'll be Damned Bruce screams out, "ROSIE COME OUT TONIGHT!" and the E Street Band broke out into the intro of Rosalita (Come Out Tonight).

But here's the Bon Jovi special one, from Amsterdam on the Lost Highway tour (you notice rarities only come out in Europe), Stick to Your Guns, and this song shows us once again the awesome-tastic-ness of one Richie Sambora who's telling Jon the chords at the beginning of the song.


7/26/10

Bon Jovi: Babies Go Bon Jovi

I don't have any children.  It's a good thing for me I admit I'm selfish.

I also happen to despise radio Disney and all those Kids Bop records.  Having a chorus of 7 year olds sing Green Day doesn't make it any better it's still Green Day, sung by 7 year olds.  Let your kids listen to real music.  My niece knew all the words to RUSH's Moving Pictures CD at 3.  Does she listen to Kids Bop, no.  But she's not listening to Jay-Z either.

I was trying to find out if Crossroads 2.0 was up (aka Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits volume 2) So I found this on Amazon instead. 

Babies Go Bon Jovi

 

First of all... the New Jersey album cover was a leather jacket not a denim jacket, while Jon wore a denim jacket that said Bon Jovi New Jersey on it, the album cover was leather.  Anyway Babies doing Bon Jovi is like Midi elevator music versions of Bon Jovi.  It has 14 songs on it and the only redeeming thing is there is no Who Say You Can't Go Home (see Jon BABIES don't like it either)


New Jersey (album)Track listing looks like this:

 

 

1. Always 
2. Never Say Goodbye (this is actually really pretty although I don't know how you can get to the part with Remember when we used to Park down on Butler Street out in the Dark Remember when we lost the keys, and you lost more than that in my backseat baby... and not wake your baby with laughter.
3. Living On A Prayer
4. Born To Be My Baby
5. You Give Love A Bad Name
6. (You Want To) Make A Memory
7. Bells Of Freedom
8. I'll Be There For You
9. This Ain't A Love Song
10. Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
11. Wildflower
12. Blaze Of Glory 
13. It's My Life
14. Bed Of Roses

So many ballads it looks like a bad Time/Life Love CD that you can purchase at 3 AM off the TV.  And the exclusion of Wanted and Have a Nice Day (teach your kids young to disrespect authority, see I shouldn't have children mine would be flipping everyone off and I would be laughing about it.)

 






It's Always midi'ed up for babies, and if that doesn't make you want to cry like a baby check this one out (no they didn't do lay your hands on me)



This company has taken it upon themselves to Baby-fy other artists. My Friends are big fans of Depeche Mode:

I think I prefer Nouvelle Vague's Just Can't Get Enough if I can't get the original.



But here's the one that really makes me cry. The Rolling Stones Satisfaction:


If Mick Jagger were dead he would roll over in his grave

7/25/10

Bon Jovi: Bon Jovi gives arena rock a good name

By Jim Sullivan


Photo by Faith Ninivaggi

Somewhere, deep inside Gillette Stadium Saturday night, Bill Belichick was smiling.

It had nothing to do with the Patriots [team stats], and everything to do with a sold-out concert by the coach’s favorite band, Bon Jovi. He wasn’t alone. About 51,000 others were expressing joy.

Bon Jovi delivered two hours and 25 minutes of hit-packed, slick, polished arena rock, bumped up to the stadium level. (Bon Jovi also packed the Razor in 2003 and 2006.)

“This ain’t television, baby, get up out of your seats!” singer Jon Bon Jovi shouted early on, before “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

From their mid-’80s beginnings, main songwriters Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora wrote power ballads and rock songs to reach the far corners of wherever they played. Big, major-chord tunes, with broad-stroke sentiments and traditional rock-star strutting. Flashes of metal, but primarily an onslaught of pop hooks. Say this: Over nearly three decades, they have remained true to their roots.

Bon Jovi’s songs are essentially triumphant slogans. “It’s My Life” and the concert-closing “Livin’ on a Prayer” hit those easy-listening anthem marks with perfection. But they’ve taken on some weight lately, and two highlights were the elegiac “When We Were Beautiful” and the pounding “Work for the Working Man,” played near the end. In those, we heard rousing, Springsteen-esque Jersey populism.

Still, they’re not political. “We Weren’t Born to Follow” may have had a plethora of political images on screen - JFK, MLK, John Lennon, Winston Churchill - but Bon Jovi’s message was simply to take charge. Of what? Your life, presumably. Fight the fight and you’ll succeed. Call it vague activism.

There were few curves and numerous fastballs down the middle, from the opener, “Blood on Blood,” through encore selections “I’ll Be There for You” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Bon Jovi’s forte is pushing the pop pleasure button again and again. They’re proudly old-school, and their Bob Seger cover, “Old Time Rock and Roll,” with opener Kid Rock joining them, was a salute to that school and style.

Kid Rock comes from a newer school. But he loves the classic hits too - and during his hourlong set he played Sly Stone’s “Everyday People” and Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever.”

But he is a genre masher, a poor man’s Beck. Kid and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band shuffled hard rock, rap, metal, soul and country. Kid Rock took a turn at the DJ console, scratching while pouring (and downing) a shot of Jack Daniel’s and saluting bad-boy behavior.

He had the hit seasonal song a year ago with “All Summer Long,” and it worked again Saturday. It boasts the Lynryd Skynyrd/Warren Zevon signature riffs, which anchor a nostalgic tune about misspent youth. Rock, shirtless and sweat-drenched by the end, is a reprobate with smarts, skill and showmanship.

BON JOVI, with KID ROCK

At Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Saturday night.

Bon Jovi: Setting Up For Bon Jovi

Set up in under way in Regina. 

Preparations underway for massive Wednesday concert

Reported By Trelle Burdeniuk

Photo of the field of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...From football stadium to concert super centre. The conversion of Mosaic Stadium to prepare for Wednesday's concert is well underway.

Neil Donnolly with Evraz Place says the atmosphere will be electric. "It's going to be fantastic. I mean you've got an incredibly solid entertainment bill with Kid Rock and Bon Jovi together. We've got nearly a full house of people...over 30,000 people are coming to the event."
Image via Wikipedia

 
However, he says there are still some tickets left for last minute fans.

But for those who already have their tickets, grab your air guitar and start preparing for a great concert.



Bon Jovi: Never say goodbye


By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff | July 23, 2010

Bon Jovi may only be playing one show at Gillette Stadium (tomorrow, with openers Kid Rock and local band Mission Hill), but thanks to recent residencies at other venues — including 12 nights at London’s O2 arena — the band is primed to play just about anything. Whether it’s tracks from the multiplatinum rockers’ most recent release, “The Circle,’’ expected hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer,’’ or a deep cut from his “Young Guns II’’-inspired solo album “Blaze of Glory,’’ Jon Bon Jovi is prepared. “A lot of bands write a set list and go out and do that all year. We’ve never been that kind of band,’’ the frontman said recently by phone from Philadelphia. Just don’t expect to hear ’80s pop metal anthem “In & Out of Love.’’ Ever again. “Oh lord, no thank you. Pass.’’

Q. You appeared on the Tonys last month via satellite to congratulate your keyboardist Dave Bryan on being nominated for, and eventually winning, the best musical award for “Memphis.’’ Even though he had to take a break from the tour, you must have been thrilled.

A. We’re very proud of that; it’s a hell of an accomplishment for a first time.

Q. That got me to thinking: a Bon Jovi jukebox musical, perhaps? It certainly worked out for Frankie Valli and Abba.

A. Yeah, right? We’ve got a song or . . . two in that [musical] “Rock of Ages.’’ When you have a catalog of music that’s cross-generational and it’s universally accepted as [ours has] been, you’re not saying something that hasn’t crossed my mind.

Q. You were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last year. What was that like?

A. I’m very proud of it. I love it. . . . But . . . now you’re staring at a blank piece of paper and you’ve got to do it again.

Q. When you get an award like that does it tempt you to reflect on your evolution from the first album to “The Circle’’?

A. Absolutely. We’re not trying to be something we’re not, and we’re not trying to rehash the past and rewrite “You Give Love a Bad Name.’’ When I was 25 I never wanted to be 50 and pretending to be something I wasn’t. And now that I’m 50, I’m not going to pretend to be 25. This is part of growing up in public and having shared a life with a lot of people who’ve witnessed it. So “The Circle’’ is a huge leap, a mature step, I think.

Q. Bon Jovi has a group of songs it has to do every night. Are you tempted to rearrange them? Do you ever find yourself mentally going over your grocery list during “You Give Love a Bad Name’’?

A. Don’t think that that hasn’t happened. (Laughs.) But yes, there are going to be that handful that it’s unforgivable if you didn’t do them — “Wanted,’’ “Livin’ on a Prayer’’ — and you understand that. Because I remember being a fan and seeing Eric Burdon doing reggae versions of the Animals and I thought “Oh no, no, no. I don’t want to hear reggae versions. I want to hear ‘Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ the way it’s supposed to be sung.’’ And yet I understood why he was over it. But I still like singing “Livin’ on a Prayer.’’ Who wouldn’t with the response it gets after all these years?

Q. Or the response it gets after a few beers, which is when most people find themselves singing it.

A. It’s the karaoke song of the century.

Q. Are you a studio guy or stage guy? Or does it feed different parts of you?

A. One feeds the other in this order: writing it, recording it, and then performing it live. Writing it, you think you have something. Recording it and realizing you do in fact have something makes you want to share it with the audience and then you go out there and do it.

Q. So it’s all good for you?

A. No, it’s just different stages of good. The writing to me is the best, it’s my favorite. Recording is second and then touring is third because it’s physically demanding, it takes you away from any kind of a life, it’s tedious. But when you’re in good shape and you’re doing what we’re doing now and the kinds of ridiculous accomplishments we’re having in this last decade, it’s pretty hard not to enjoy it.

Q. Be honest, have you ever had nightmares about losing your hair since you haven’t actually lost it?

A. Thank the lord! It’s like “mirror mirror on the wall.’’ (Laughs.) But you’ve gotta know how to grow old gracefully and just know that you’ve got to deal with it. It’s all part of the process, I ain’t 25 but I’m not 65 yet either. I’m just enjoying the ride.

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