Mid December last year, Bon Jovi has been nominated to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this coming April with other notables, The Cars, Dire Straits, Moody Blues, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharp. (BTW, Howard Stern will induct the band on that day). Now the band has recently announced the Spring leg and continuation of their "This House Is Not For Sale" tour that had actually started about this time a year ago. While initially I had doubts about the ability to sell out every show, (mostly because of the not-so-friendly Richie Sambora departure), I'm happy to report that there are quite a bit of middle aged moms willing to spend ticket money on this pop rock icon, just as they did when those very same moms were themselves teenagers. But it's truly not just those aforementioned "Moms" spending the money.
While the late 80's were a sensational Arena- Rock era for the band, during the 90's Bon Jovi had increasingly become popular with the adult contemporary crowd, thanks in big part to the popular ballad, "Bed Of Roses" from 1992's 'Keep The Faith'. They really gained steam in that genre with 1995's, "These Days", and later in 2000, "It's My Life". Acoustic versions of some of their popular hits, and an accompanying DVD in 2004 also contributed to the crossover success. Then, some years later, a collaboration with some other big names, (LeeAnn Rimes, Big & Rich), led to a cross-genre album "Lost Highway". The big single off that album "Who Says You Can't Go Home," featuring guest vocals from Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, struck a chord (really, no pun intended) with yet another genre; Country Music fans.
So while no other album from Bon Jovi can amass the fresh appeal of the pop, hard rock, and hair/metal sensational teenage anthem-ish,"Slippery When Wet" debut, they certainly proved to outlast most any other band from the same era. And with reason.
There's no telling how long the 56 year old Bon Jovi can sustain these performances he does, but they are nothing short of phenomenal. The sounds and production values are topnotch and they'll play 23 -24 tunes every time. So if you get a chance, certainly go see them. It'll be worth it. And I promise you, being able to sustain a 30+ year career, there'll more than just middle aged moms there.......
