Las Vegas Weekly

April 25, 2009 · 1:59 PM

Bon Jovi rocks out (but doesn’t sell out) at the Joint

By Melissa Arseniuk

Bon Jovi - still rockin' after all these years. Just not in as high a pitch.

Photo: Erik Kabik / RETNA / Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

It had to happen sooner or later; organizers were just hoping for “later.”

Last night’s Bon Jovi concert appears to be the first show at the new Joint to not sell out.

The 4,000-seat venue opened its doors at the Hard Rock last weekend with a trilogy of inaugural weekend sellouts, The Killers, Avenged Sevenfold and Paul McCartney.

While many thought last night’s session of classic rock revival would be an easy draw, the increasingly cash-conscious public didn’t bite.

And the show wasn’t cheap: Tickets ranged in price from $191 to $746, before taxes and fees. When Bon Jovi played the MGM Grand last April, ticket prices ranged from $68.25 to $210. Meanwhile, passes to the band’s next gig at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival are just $40 – a fraction of last night’s prices.

The Hard Rock’s vice president of entertainment, Paul Davis, previously said the resort is “doing everything (they) can” to keep ticket prices low. Time will tell how successful – or, perhaps genuine – Davis and his colleagues will be.

Tickets to see the Joint’s new resident headliner, Santana, are selling for $79 to $299, and passes to tonight’s Kenny Chesney-Miranda Lambert-Lady Antebellum show (which also has yet to sell out) are $95.50 to $396. When The Killers opened the venue a week ago, seats were priced from $51.50 to $146.

Last night’s steep prices were a carbon copy of last weekend’s offerings for the McCartney show. But while both Bon Jovi and McCartney are legends in their own right, only one act featured a former Beatle.

A box office sales agent admitted there were “a considerable amount” of floor seats available at 9:50 p.m. last night, just ten minutes before Jon Bon and the boys took to the stage.

General admission on the floor came to about $205 per person, after taxes, he said.

Once the show got underway, however, Bon Jovi gave fans a respectable return on their investment and delivered nearly two straight hours of rock.

The band treated fans to updated renditions of “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “It’s my Life” and “You Give Love a Bad Name,” among several other hits from their collection.

They also performed a few covers, including half of the Rolling Stones’ hit single, "Start Me Up” and ‘50s throwbacks “Shout” and “Twist and Shout.”

The crowd, which was largely drawn from the late-30s, mid 40s set, ate it up.

In fact, some in the wheelchair section loved it so much that they stood and moved to the music. At the high point, during the band’s crowd-pleasing cover of “Shout,” six of the 15 people in the section got up out of their chairs to dance.

While the band was musically tight, Jon Bon Jovi seemed to have a hard time hitting his high notes. He repeatedly had the audience sing vocally-stressing parts and often opted for dramatic pauses or dropping an octave or key to spare his pipes.

In fact, the 47-year-old never once sang the words “bad medicine” during the chorus of the 1988 single; he left that up to the crowd.

It is possible, however, that Bon Jovi is more wise than lazy, and intentionally left things unsung in order to save his voice for the rest of the show. He did, after all, have to sing for nearly 120 minutes.

When it came time for "I'll Be There for You," the frontman turned the mic over to guitarist Richie Sambora, who manned both lead guitar and vocals as his bandmate took a break backstage.

Sambora had no problem stepping up to the plate. He sounded good and hit all his notes – the high ones and the low ones, too.

The 49-year-old guitarist also won bonus points for his spot-on solos: While some might complain they were predictable and lacked improvisation, Sambora made the most of his time in the spotlight while never taking things too far for too long.

Unfortunately, the seasoned axeman also showcased an unfortunate wardrobe evolution, starting with a wine-colored crushed velvet blazer and finishing with a snakeskin vest.

The guitarist wore two of his signature, awful hats, one reminiscent of “Six” from the ‘90s teen television show Blossom and another wide-brimmed number that looked like it came straight from Zorro's garage sale.

All the while, the guitarist sparkled with a beaded fringe wristband, a black sequined guitar strap and a T-shirt with “blessed” bedazzled across the chest and a giant cross displayed on the back.

Bon Jovi, on the other hand, remained simple, stylish and sexy in jeans and a black chest-exposing shirt.

The stage was similarly plain. No props, projection screens or visual aids whatsoever; the performance involved standard show lighting, the six-piece band and little more.

The show was Bon Jovi, served straight up – but in a world of over-hyped and overdone concerts, a straightforward show is sometimes a welcome change of pace.

That said, ticket prices should have reflected the bare bones approach.

In the absence of pyrotechnics and all the other distracting bells and whistles, however, the band appeared genuine and happy to be onstage. Bon Jovi seems to have managed to keep their passion for performing – and iconic rock star poses – alive.

And if you’re a true Bon Jovi fan, you can’t put a price on that.

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