Monday, July 19, 2010

Winnipeg concert reviews

Here are some reviews of Bon Jovi's Winnipeg show.

Rob Williams wrote a pretty positive review for the Winnipeg Free Press, though he disparagingly labels The Circle "mediocre" and suggests this is the reason the band didn't focus on it (as if I wasn't disappointed enough that Jon seems to have already given up on one of my favourite albums):
WINNIPEG — With a thunderstorm warning, rain and lightning strikes Saturday afternoon, Bon Jovi's concert could have been slippery and wet.

Concert organizers were living on prayers throughout the day and they were answered right before the show's 7 p.m. start time. The storm shifted, the weather warnings were called off and the rain stopped.

"Brothers and sisters, there's only one way to hold off the rain tonight -- scream!" frontman Jon Bon Jovi urged following a slight drizzle.

The crowd complied, and so did the weather -- even Mother Nature has a crush on Jon Bon Jovi.
Check out the full review here.

Winnipeg Free Press also ran an article by Melissa Martin about a crowd of people who caught the show for free from outside:
They may not have been the best seats in the house. They may not have had beverage service and they might have been far from the bathrooms.

But boy, was the price worth it.

While about 40,000 Winnipeggers crowded in to Canad Inns Stadium on Saturday night to catch hair-rock survivors Bon Jovi deliver a set of blazing rock 'n' roll, hundreds more gathered on street corners, fence posts, and on Garbage Hill to see the show for free.

Or at least, what they could see of it.
Read the full article at this link.

Meanwhile, Darryl Sterdan wrote a cynically offbeat song-by-song rundown for the Winnipeg Sun... here's a taste:
You Give Love a Bad Name: "This ain't television, baby!" yells Jon to the near-capacity crowd. "Get up outta your seats!" Of course, he says this seconds after a giant closeup of his face was broadcast on a video screen — so it actually is very much like TV, if you wanna be picky. And when you see his mug that big, you notice his teeth are whiter than Chiclets. Seriously, I think they might glow in the dark. If I were lost in the woods with him, I would bash him over the head, knock out those choppers and drop them like bread crumbs in a trail. They're even whiter than his Rod Stewart-style tripod mic stand. The other thing you notice as they dig into this classic: Sambora is already sweating bullets. Dude, it's only the third song. Pace yourself; it's gonna be a long night.
Read the whole review here.

4 comments:

  1. Well, you will always find people who don't like a particular song or record. I thought Have a Nice Day was one of their best records, but so many fans just hated it. I try to let it roll off of me what reviewers say.

    That said, I thought the song-by-song thing was pretty funny. I would not even argue with most of it. Except I do think The Circle is a good record - BUT it took me about 6 months of listening to it to really learn to love it.

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  2. lee ann...i totally agree with you on the lost songs from the circle album....i love love love it...and i'm not sure why they have strayed from it. I don't know if they think only the peeps in USA like the record...but i sure hope they pick up back up, there are still so many good songs on there that have not been sung....keeping my fingers crossed that they will reunite with "The Circle".

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  3. I liked the song-by-song too but thought it might be one of those that fans will either find hilarious or somewhat offensive, depending on their brand of humour. ;)

    I know a lot of people don't like the Circle but there are also a lot of people who love it, and I just feel like Jon hasn't fought for it the way he did other records. Hell, they were playing This Left Feels Right cuts (Bed of Roses) as recently as the Lost Highway tour, yet they've given up on The Circle during The Circle tour? *sigh*

    FTR Have a Nice Day is my second favourite album from the decade, and one that I know I rate more highly than the average fan.

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  4. Yeah, you are right that the song-by-song thing is a love it or hate it deal. I guess after 26 years of Bon Jovi being my favorite band, I'm so used to the nay-sayers and anyone mocking them that I just don't care what others think anymore. I'm not sure the opinions of other fans even matter *too* much to me either. Mostly because if they don't know who David, Tico and Hugh are I get annoyed and ignore them after that. LOL

    Usually I just get irked when someone - be it fan or average person on the street or writer - goes "Oh Bon Jovi, I love him!" I then have to correct them that Bon Jovi are a THEM and not a HIM and that Jon isn't the only guy up on that stage. This, of course is because I'm a rabid David Bryan fan. LOL

    I also have to agree that it's too bad they have given up on The Circle songs since that is what this tour is supposed to be promoting. I think there are some great tunes there, but I did notice at my show (the last arena show on the US leg of the tour) that so many people were sitting down and even talking through most songs that came after "New Jersey" and it really baffled me.

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Thanks for giving me your time.