LH Magic Memory #23: Garageland in Anaheim

Magic Memory #23 from the Lost Highway tour takes us to the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The date is April 5, 2008 when a gem from the 2004 box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong is being played for only the fourth time.

To be honest, I was going to review the Toronto performance of "Garageland" from March 12 (the first time it was played this tour) but couldn't find a complete embeddable video of it. Jon's speech at the beginning of this Anaheim video is funnier though. ;)



"Garageland" is one of those songs that sounds better live than on the recording, particularly on the Lost Highway tour with Jon's superior vocals. It also has more energy live. That said, if it's an outtake from Crush -- Obie O'Brien and the band admit they didn't keep great records so we can't be sure when most of the box set material was written/recorded -- I wish it had made the album. It's a cool rocking song that segues beautifully into "Just Older".

Just two more Magic Memories to go... stay tuned!

Happy birthday Huey!

I'd like to wish Hugh McDonald a HAPPY 58th BIRTHDAY! He was born December 28, 1950 but you know he's not old -- just older. ;) Huey has played with Bon Jovi for over two decades and maybe he'll never be "official" in the band's eyes but he'll always be Bon Jovi's bass player to me. When it comes to the bottom, he's on top.



Oh c'mon Jonny, 300 Hugh McDonald Fans Can't Be Wrong!!

Merry Christmas II

Well, if the videos from the Hope Concert weren't enough, here are a couple more classic Christmas vids.

I WISH EVERYDAY COULD BE LIKE CHRISTMAS


PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS


Merry Christmas wherever you are. :)

Merry Christmas

Not everyone celebrates Christmas (myself included) but rather than a holiday of commercial and materialistic indulgences, it can be a time of reflection and generosity nonetheless. On this Christmas Eve, I'll leave you with these clips from the Hope Concert in New Jersey that Jon Bon Jovi appeared at a couple of nights ago.

BLUE CHRISTMAS


TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT - In this duet between two of Jersey's favourite sons, Jon takes lead vocals on Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run classic


Plenty more where that came from. Jon did another duet with Bruce, a duet with Southside Johnny, plus "Lost Highway" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home". Click here for a complete wrap-up (centred on Bruce Springsteen but covers the rest of the show too) and here for a YouTube guide to the concert.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

Richie Sambora also gave MusicRadar an exclusive interview two days ago which you can listen to here. It seems Jon has thwarted Richie's solo album plans once more and the band will be heading into the studio in January to work on their new album.

PS - The last three Magic Memories from the Lost Highway tour will be up by early next year.

LH Magic Memory #22: Stranger In This Town in Newark

The Lost Highway Tour kicked off with 10 very hyped-up shows at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. For the mostpart, what fans got were some rather expensive okay shows. From a diehard's perspective, the biggest single gem popped up during the 7th show: November 4, 2007. As Jon Bon Jovi slipped backstage to cool off, Richie Sambora stepped up to the mic, having sung "These Days" on the previous six nights. But not tonight. Instead, Richie performed one of his solo songs, "Stranger in this Town" for the first time in six years.

At this early stage of the tour, Richie was a better singer than Jon and I think Jon knew it too. It was also quite a fitting song, given Richie had spent the past year being tabloid fodder. I love the bluesy tones in his voice and the guitar solos in this song... not to mention the way he plays them like a man possessed (I was going to say something more risque but I don't know how young my readers are :P ).


Everybody loves a winner 'til the winners lose
And then it's front page news
Nobody loves a loser
When you're down and out, you know there ain't no doubt

Just three more magic memories to go! And then you can all flame me for not including x, y, and z. :P

Bon Jovi Fan Club Proves Itself To Be Morally Bankrupt by Anthony Kuzminski

If you haven't already, be sure to head to The Screen Door and check out Tony Kuzminski's post on the Backstage members-only concert.

Click here to read it.

An Evening With Bon Jovi '92 - Livin' on a Prayer (acoustic)

Crackstage Backstab :(

The Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi fan club is hosting a members-only concert in New Jersey in February, with tickets going on sale for $US275 tomorrow. I'm not a Backstager so the first I heard of this was an invitation to a Facebook group called "Can backstagejbj be more unfair to us?!?". Bon Jovi have always been commercial, and if you can afford this (plus airfares and accommodation if you don't live locally) then all power to you. But I feel sorry for the so-called Tommys and Ginas. In the current economic climate, I'm sure average Americans are just rolling in cash (note sarcasm). Not to mention New Jersey already got screwed on the last tour... 10 overpriced, half-arsed shows at the Prudential Centre at the beginning of what would later become the band's best tour this decade. And Backstagers are already paying $50 to use a messageboard and chatroom. I hope for their sake this is one hell of a show. An exclusive, intimate fan club gig should really be free of charge but money-grabbing stunts like this only serve to remind me and many others why we aren't members.

The final word on demo leak scam

I've already blogged about the Bon Jovi demo leak scam a couple of times, and sent countless messages and channel comments on YouTube telling people about it. Obie has said about three times on the official site that these aren't Bon Jovi songs. I can't reach everyone so maybe some people are just going to stay duped. But I'll give the final word to the man at the centre of the hoax. This was posted on Johnny Lima's MySpace blog late yesterday:

I Got YouTubed!! =(

So some nitwit (YouTube Screenname: hardrocknews) decides it would be a fun prank to post some of my songs on YouTube and claim that they're songs from a new Bon Jovi album called "Dangerous Curves". I'm not sure what would motivate someone to illegally post my songs, but even worse, give credit to another artist.

I tried to post a comment, as others have calling this phony out, but those comments keep getting deleted. I've also filled out the Copyright Infringement form on YouTube and looks like that was a waste of my time as well. It's even mentioned on bonjovi.com as bogus, yet he still continues fooling a few people.

However, if this guy's intentions for doing this were negative, then it's backfired on him as he's created a nice little buzz for me on the internet and the response he's gotten from my songs have been pretty positive. What perfect timing as I have a new album coming out shortly. I've paid for ads in the past that didn't create this much buzz for me. So, I'm done worrying about this guy and his "April Fools" joke. I just wanted to make it clear that I had nothing to do with this prank. I also want to make it clear that I don't appreciate anyone posting my music online without my permission. It's my f**king music, so please ask me first.

Peace & Love,

Johnny Lima

Now don't forget to check out Magic Memory #21... the Stuttgart show. I made you wait almost three weeks for it, so you wouldn't want to miss it, would you? ;)

EDIT: Actually, it would seem as if the final word has gone to Hardrocknews him/herself. Seems like they finally caved. As of December 4, the video titles have been renamed with the real artist credited.

EDIT #2: December 5 and the songs have now been removed. :P

LH Magic Memory #21: Stuttgart

After an extended wait, the 21st of 25 Magic Memories from the Lost Highway tour takes us to Stuttgart, Germany. The date is May 29, 2008; the location is Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion (now Mercedes-Benz Arena). Some real surprises popped up in Stuttgart, but I'll let the videos do most of the talking.

ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD - Bon Jovi performed the John Fogerty/Status Quo classic in full for the first time on the Lost Highway tour. Features a Dave Bryan keyboard solo and some great crowd singing.


THE LAST NIGHT - One of the rarer Lost Highway tracks this tour. If you like looking at Jon, you will love this video. ;)


BOUNCE - Not a personal favourite of mine, although the "Me I just don't give a f-f-f-f..." part always cracks me up. But since it's so rare, and was captured on video, I had to share it. And Jon's voice is much better here than it was during the Bounce tour.


DRIFT AWAY - A song made famous by Dobie Gray. This Bon Jovi cover version featured the much-maligned Bobby Bandiera on lead vocals. I think someone held up a sign for this song and they decided to give it a go but Jon couldn't remember the verses. Bobby, who has toured with Bon Jovi as an additional guitarist for the past few years, is often attacked by fans of the band who don't see why he should be there or why he should perform the solo on "In These Arms". I have no window into Jon's head so I can't answer that. But I can tell you Bobby has a beautiful voice and sung the hell out of "Drift Away" in Stuttgart.


WILD IS THE WIND - Played for the first time on the European leg. Great guitar work from Richie Sambora.


ANY OTHER DAY - Another quite rare Lost Highway track and a bit of a fan favourite. Includes an extended jam and band introductions.


Stuttgart, Germany - Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion (29/5/08)
LOST HIGHWAY
BORN TO BE MY BABY
YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
RUNAWAY
ROCKIN' ALL OVER THE WORLD
I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD w/ Mercy + Start Me Up
THE LAST NIGHT
WHOLE LOT OF LEAVIN'
IN THESE ARMS
(YOU WANT TO) MAKE A MEMORY
CAPTAIN CRASH & THE BEAUTY QUEEN FROM MARS
WE GOT IT GOING ON
IT'S MY LIFE
KEEP THE FAITH
I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU (Richie on lead vocals)
BOUNCE
HAVE A NICE DAY
WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME
BAD MEDICINE w/ Shout
DRIFT AWAY (Bobby on lead vocals)
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER

Encore:
LIVING IN SIN w/ Chapel of Love
WILD IS THE WIND
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
ANY OTHER DAY