Saturday, April 25, 2009

Bon Jovi in Vegas

First things first, being an Aussie, April 25th is ANZAC Day which is a day of remembrance for the Australian and New Zealand troops who landed at Gallipoli in World War I and it would be remiss of me not to mention it. Lest we forget.

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In Jovi news, Bon Jovi played a show in Las Vegas today/yesterday on April 24, 2009 (it was about lunchtime on the 25th my time). No major surprises in the set -- it read like an extension of the Lost Highway Tour minus the rarities we started getting late in the second North American leg -- but good to catch some new videos of the boys. They seem to be having a lot of fun and sounding pretty good too... Hope that's reflected in the new album!

LIVIN' ON A PRAYER


YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME


SOMEDAY I'LL BE SATURDAY NIGHT


IT'S MY LIFE


I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU (Richie Sambora lead vocals)


The complete set:
Las Vegas, USA - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas (24/4/09)
Livin' On A Prayer
You Give Love A Bad Name
Lost Highway
Born To Be My Baby
Runaway
Raise Your Hands
I'll Sleep When I’m Dead w/ Start Me Up
Summertime
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
We Got It Goin' On
It's My Life
I'll Be There For You (Richie on lead vocals)
Have A Nice Day
Keep The Faith
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Bad Medicine w/ Shout
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Blood On Blood
Twist And Shout

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Bon Jovi book available for pre-order

With the work-in-progress When We Were Beautiful documentary premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival at the end of the month, the accompanying book seems to be now available for pre-order on Amazon. There's still no cover and few details but the release date is listed as October 27, 2009 and it's 208 pages long.

Also on Amazon is the Bon Jovi Encyclopedia by Neil Daniels. I have read about it before but have yet to part with my money (Besides, I'm a student; I can't go around splurging on everything that tickles my fancy, if I want to eat occasionally :P). The product description claims to include "entries on every recording and bootleg" which is a pretty big statement but I'll be keen to have a look through at some stage.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Bon Jovi documentary premiere at Tribeca

After months of waiting for news about the various Bon Jovi projects currently in the works, we have official confirmation on the documentary. Like the accompanying book (no release date for that yet as far as I'm aware), it's entitled When We Were Beautiful and will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Directed by filmmaker and photographer Phil Griffin and produced by Academy Award®-and Emmy-winning producers @radical.media, the documentary was filmed on the road and behind the scenes with the band during their 2008 Lost Highway World Tour, which famously came to a close with a historic concert in New York City’s Central Park and two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden. At the height of their success—with a number one album and a number one tour—and celebrating huge milestones, Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful susses out the secrets behind this legendary band’s determined and charismatic leader Jon Bon Jovi, and band members Richie Sambora, David Bryan, and Tico Torres. The screening will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, at 9:30pm at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, with two additional screemnings on Thursday, April 30, and Saturday, May 2, 2009; the Festival will run from April 22 through May 3.

For the full press release, click here or visit the Bon Jovi or Island Records websites. I've included some more extracts below along with some smartarse commentary from yours truly.


“Throughout the process of working with Bon Jovi, I was amazed at the candor and humility Jon and his band showed me,” said director Phil Griffin. “The result is not a neatly wrapped up bundle of staged interviews and musical interludes, but rather a series of open and sometimes difficult conversations, explored against a backdrop of music spanning 25 years. It is a film about the peace of Tico, the complexity of Richie, the drive of Jon and the brutal honesty of Dave. It is their willingness to share their stories that gives us what I hope is a very human story—that humanity is what I believe has seen this band stand the test of time.”

The peace of Tico, the complexity of Richie, the drive of Jon, the brutal honesty of Dave, and the non-existence of Hugh?! >_<

Threading intimate band-member interviews with scenes of life on the road, director Phil Griffin’s documentary vividly portrays how the band made it through the rough patches, how they reach consensus on their priorities, and how Jon leads them with strength and compassion. Avid Bon Jovi fans will find plenty of new reasons to be so devoted, but anyone can revel in this exploration of the work that goes into the success and longevity of this band’s magnitude.

Jon: "This is what we're doing."
Everyone else: "Okay."
...Consensus reached. :P

I don't know if that's how decisions are really made in Joviland, and perhaps I'm too cynical, but that was my immediate thought when I read that phrase. I'm not bagging Jon or anything, just stating that he would have a great deal of creative and business control, which I'm sure no one would disagree about.

“Nothing says rock ’n’ roll more than Bon Jovi,” said Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal.

I love Bon Jovi more than any other artist but this comment made me laugh out loud. Certainly Bon Jovi has longevity and commercial success behind them but there must be dozens if not hundreds of bands throughout history that are more rock 'n' roll than them!

Looking forward to an eventual DVD release of this though, especially if it's something more than the stock standard PR spin.

Who's going to Tribeca?

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Bon Jovi sues tribute band

Okay, so that title's not strictly true, but it's the headline that Undercover used. :P

According to this article, Bon Jovi lawyers threatened to sue all-girl tribute band Blonde Jovi for breaching the band's trademark rights.

A legal letter from the law firm Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman to the girl group Blonde Jovi has surfaced and states, “It has recently come to our attention that your band is using the mark and name BLONDE JOVI in connection with live musical performances; more specifically, a Bon Jovi tribute band. Our investigation also uncovered that you are using BJP’s “Heart and Dagger” Logo trademark prominently on your website. Unfortunately, and despite the fact that our client appreciates the reverence that your band pays tribute to Bon Jovi, as a tribute band, our client nevertheless is charged with the duty of enforcing its trademark rights. In this regard, BJP cannot allow your band to use the mark and name BLONDE JOVI (or any other BJP trademarks), as such use creates a likelihood of confusion with our client, and capitalizes on the goodwill and reputation of its well-known marks”.


Here's an extract from Blonde Jovi's MySpace blog:
Due to threatened legal action by Jon Bon Jovi's attorneys, we will be changing our name. The name BLONDE JERSEY is temporary, until we come up with a new one. If you have any name suggestions, please email us! Nothing containing JOVI, or anything similar to JOVI may be used so BLONDE GIOVI, BLONDE JOE V, BLONDE JOVIE, are not options. Thanks for your support!


There must be hundreds of Bon Jovi tribute bands, many of them using names, images and fonts associated with the band, so what's so wrong about this one? Maybe I'm missing part of the story but this seems like a thoroughly ridiculous situation. Or maybe we need to think twice about the way we pay homage to our idols in future. :\