Follow That Cart!

This made me chuckle. Thanks, Kiwi!!

The Golf Cart Caravan at Hard Rock Calling.

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivators: Perfection

That's two of the guys -- anyone consider David and/or Tico perfection?

Happy Friday!

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivators: Perfection

Canadian Fans -- Free Shipping from the JoviStore

Thanks, Liz, for sending me this.

Canadians, visit the Bon Jovi store to take advantage of the free shipping offer, and happy Canada Day!

~ Hath

JonBon on Extra!

Jon Bon Jovi Talks Tour, Knee Surgery, and Tom Cruise

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi sat down in London with "Extra" special correspondent Laura Whitmore to talk about the band's mega world tour, Richie's return to the stage, his upcoming knee surgery, and Tom Cruise in "Rock of Ages."

Life on the road has not been without the bands ups and downs. Guitarist Richie Sambora left the tour in late April 2011 to enter a rehab treatment facility, but the band continued with their scheduled dates throughout North American and Europe. Sambora returned in early June and Jon told Whitmore that he's thrilled to have Richie back. "It's always good to have Richie at my side. He's doing great. There's dark clouds in everybody's worlds and he came through them. He's doing well. He's happy, he's healthy and he's focused."

Another performance Jon is anticipating is Tom Cruise in the movie adaptation of "Rock of Ages." Tom turned to Jon for advice. "He and I actually went out and he was very intense about 'how do you do this?' I said, 'Relax man, you're Tom Cruise, you can learn how to sing a song, don't worry about it!'" He added, "Knowing Tom Cruise from a far, everything that he does, he does to 11... a little rockstar analogy with a wink."

Will he go and see the movie? "I don't' know about that. I lived it, I don't need to see the movie. I was there the first time."

You can read the whole thing here.

~ Hath

Irish Times Review

Same old bad medicine and leather trousers as Bon Jovi turn up the heat

“Two nights and 1,000 songs to get through,” quipped Bon Jovi, wearing a red military-style jacket that made him look like a member of the most kickass salvation band around. You Give Love A Bad Name, Born to Be My Baby, It’s My Life and Blaze of Glory saw him keep his promise to deliver hit after hit. As the crowd raised their arms aloft to the band’s all-American anthems, it became increasingly clear why these guys keep pulling the crowds in. They’re a walking, talking, singing, axe-wielding, gun-slinging slice of the American Dream, evoking a lost era of fast cars, fast women and even faster guitar solos.

Bad Medicine brings an added dose of nostalgia as the band break into a medley that includes Van Morrison’s Gloria , Buddy Holly’s Not Fade Away and Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman . “I’m just getting warmed up!” warns Bon Jovi. Over the next couple of hours, the band turns up the heat and blows more than a few clouds away.

He may be unfairly described as the trailer trash Bruce Springsteen – he’s never been a critics’ favourite – but last night Bon Jovi proved he’s still one of rock’s heavyweights, even if he failed – once again – to knock this critic out.

You can read the whole review here.

Alright, so now I've heard it's a Drum Major jacket (paired with the walking stick), the Captain Crunch jacket, and now a Kick-Ass Salvation Army jacket.  What about you?  Anything you're calling that red jacket these days?

~ Hath

Highlights from London’s Hard Rock Calling

DVR alert to all our friends to get Sky Arts 1:

For the third year running, we will be the only place to see highlights from London’s Hard Rock Calling. The festival is renowned for delivering acts of the highest calibre and 2011’s line-up does not disappoint. Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi and The Killers headline, while famous names such as Ray Davies, Stevie Nicks and Adam Ant also feature in a strong list of acts.

Watch highlights on Saturday 23 July 10pm, Sky Arts 1 HD

Hopefully someone will be willing to share ;)

~ Hath

Surgery for Jon

... will apparently be later this week in Dublin, according to Extra:

The band has been rocking for over 27 years, and is truly dedicated to their live performance. After crossing the globe and reaching 15 nations, the band has yet to cancel a show on this tour -- and an injury to the front man definitely will not hold them back! Jon suffered a painful knee injury on June 17th while performing in Helsinki Olympic Stadium. "It was raining we were outside. It was nothing that abrupt... it just sort of gave out and tore." Jon tells to Whitmore he'll be undergoing surgery later this week in Dublin, adding, "Fortunately, we have a week off. So the doctor claims I'll be alright for Istanbul 8 days later." Although he'll go on with the show, he's not worried about his knee, joking, "I can't dance anyway, so it's not gonna hurt anybody.'

~ Hath

Who's That Girl...

... that Richie's been seen squiring around the Savoy and the HRC show?

The lovely brunette is named Yasmin Mitri.  She's a 24-year old actress/model from Sao Paulo Brazil.

Yasmin Mitri was born on 26 January 1987, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the daughter of the Lebanese Doctor Anis Ghattas Mitri and the Italian real state agent Soeli Aparecida Soleira. Her brother Anis Ghattas Mitri Filho also became a doctor, but Yasmin showed an interest early on acting, they both went to the same Italian school called Dante Alighieri, where she starred theatre acting at age 9. When she made 13 years old she worked as a model to pay for her acting lessons, travelling all around the world and appearing in many magazines and campaigns such as Loreal, Mary Kay, Niasi, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Vogue, Maxim, etc. She lived in many places working as a model such as Mexico City, Miami, Paris, Thailand, London and many others. After that Miss Mitri went to Film school back there in Brazil finishing in Paris, also done a substantial amount of soap acting in Sao Paulo and focus a little bit of her energies on tango dance wich lead her to her first and small movie role called Del Plata. With time she decided to try her career abroad and moved to England where she trained drama once again and this led to her desire to appear in feature English-language films.

source: IMDb

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivators: Stop

They know the words?

But apparently just don't give a damn.

This review from Bristol 24/7 had one sentence in it that made me smirk smugly:

The crowd took the slow song of the encore, It’s Hard Letting You Go, as a cue to go to the bar. 

I know it's one of those "alright, be done with the debate already" items like the whole man/band thing, but this is one of my hot buttons.

I love the irony of how Jon trots out the die-hard songs at the European dates because European fans "know all the lyrics" while US fans are "chorus only" fans. Then the stadium empties for a beer run during one of the songs most US die-hards would sell their cars to hear live. Karma rocks.

There were a couple of cringeworthy lines, like Ms. Williams likening Bon Jovi to the Pet Shop Boys (lol) and  calling Richie, Tico, Dave (and Hugh and Bobby) the "backup band" -- but overall it was a positive review.

She wraps with this thought:

You know what you’re getting with Bon Jovi – solid rock pop to sing/dance along to while the frontman does his thing in front of a captivating light show. And you know what, there’s nothing wrong with that every once in a while.

Nothing wrong with it at all. JonBon and his backing band (snicker) will rock Dublin for a couple nights. Perhaps the Dubliners will forego the beer run during the die-hard songs...

~ Hath

Bristol Review: Ashton Gate Stadium

From Guide2Bristol

On Monday night I went to see the Bon Jovi gig at Ashton Gate in Bristol. Not as a fan, and thinking I wouldn't really enjoy it - but I left having been totally converted. The performance was fantastic. They still have it...especially Jon Bon Jovi!

The band came out to the screams of over 25,000 fans of all ages, from newborns (a baby in a sling!) to grannies. As Jon took the stage the screams reached a crescendo, which was only topped during the encore.

Jon spoke to the crowd and drew them in to his ‘crazy summer holiday’ as he called it, wanting to heat up the crowd. He sure did that! They played a number of the old hits which were welcomed by the fans, especially the women, who also loved his rendition of Pretty Woman for them. The band too were great, with drum and guitar solos raising the heat in the stadium ready for Blaze of Glory.

As the light started to fade and the spotlights came on we knew the gig was coming to an end. The encore included Wanted Dead or Alive with a fantastic guitar solo, before ending with my favourite Living on a Prayer. The audience all joined in, and if there had been a roof over Ashton Gate it would have been lifted.

Bon Jovi finished by thanking the crowd for their support over the last 3 decades, and it was hard to believe having watched the concert that they have been around for so long.

A really fantastic night enjoyed by all, and after around two and a half hours of sheer enjoyment I was disappointed it had to finish so soon.

~ Hath

Wanted Wednesday: June 29, 1996

Please rise, for the playing of our National Anthem...

Cologne Germany. In the era of the gorgeous hair (lol).

"How we doin' so far, okay?" Jon asks, 12 songs into a killer setlist. He starts by saying the band was going to do some "alternate arrangement" songs for the crowd as a thank you. This is a nice NICE acoustic version of this song.

Richie takes the second verse (sigh) and his harmonies are just beautiful.

Let's Ride!





If you'd like the track, you can pull it here.

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivators: If He'd Teach...

Yeah, I'm sure many women would go back to school.

Several would take advantage of "Office Hours" for some "special 1-on-1 tutoring"...

~ Hath

Hard Rock Calling Bootleg

This was posted on Guitars101.com. It comes from casban, who's a staple over at Bon Jovi Bootlegs.

HRC Boot Link: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=276T1HYW

Enjoy!

~ Hath

Mid-Day Motivators: Warning!

Ah, it cant' be that bad -- can it?

~ Hath

Download: Manchester Audio

This file was given to me with no other information (source, author, etc), other than to say it's a FLAC boot. The link is here. (Thanks, I, for the link!)

If the link(s) are yours, and you do not wish to share them, please send me an email and I will pull the link.

If you want an idea on how to deal with FLAC files (what I do, not necessarily the best way), click here.

~ Hath

Resplendent Randomness: David Interview, PlayTV

Enjoy!

~ Hath

Review: Hard Rock Calling

From MusicRadar:

While a full day's entertainment was laid on for the sun-drenched masses at Saturday's Hard Rock Calling – the highlights of which being the soul-tinged rock of Vintage Trouble and Ray Davies' hit-heavy slot – the vast majority are here for one reason only – Bon Jovi.

With the sun still high in the sky Tico Torres and the New Jersey pop rockers exploded onto the stage with the salivating opening ombo of 'Raise Yoru Hands' and 'You Give Love A Bad Name'. From then on it's basically a lvie version of Jovi's mid '90s greatest hits package Cross Roads, with a handful of additions.

'It's My Life', 'Blaze Of Glory', 'Keep The Faith' and more are rapturously received and sound fantastic. Torres especially has a sounds that is unfaltering in its excellence and superbly mixed. Not a bad achievement for a festival show in front of tens of thousands of punters. You get the feeling though that it's business as usual for Bon Jovi – you could see these guys every night for a year and not hear a bum note.

True it's not all singalong, though. The three hour set does feel a little bit of a slog at times, with a mid-show lull sandwiched between the euphoric opening and closing sections.

You'd also be forgiven for thinking that one or two tracks are strung out to help Tico and co make their way through the punishing 180 minutes. The worst offender being a slightly bizarre segue into 'Pretty Woman' during 'Bad Medicine'. Yes, it was as strange as it sounds.

As the band depart after two hours many were expecting an encore of a couple more hits before bed. What we got was another hour of anthems. 'Wanted Dead Or Alive', 'Someday I'll Be Saturday Night', 'Livin' On A Prayer', 'Always', the hits just keep on coming.

Three hours, 27 songs, 50,000 very happy festival goers. All that was missing was a Tico solo.

~ Hath

Hard Rock Calling...

Full show up on YouTube (until someone pulls it down).



Thanks to WhoDaresRocks for posting. Individual tracks are also available.

FYI, this is the audio stream -- not a video (I'm sure that'll come, but until then, check out the BJCT for the videos we've found so far.

~ Hath

Review: Manchester

From the Manchester Confidential:

Bon Jovi were playing the cricket ground as part of their marathon world tour to support their Greatest Hits album, although the man himself insisted it ‘isn’t a goodbye tour or a nostalgia tour.’

That didn’t stop them rattling through their back catalogue though – racing through 23 songs from six different albums across 27 years. Every hit had the crowd singing along and waving their hands – or smartphones – in the air. There can’t be many people out there who don’t know the words to ‘You Give Love a Bad Name,’ ‘It’s My Life’ and of course the anthem that is ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’

You can read the rest of the review here.

~ Hath

PS: See, Jon, even some of the EUROPEANS don't know the songs. Check this sentence from the review.

The only disappointment a couple of songs I didn’t know, so vast is their arsenal of rock.

So there.