OT-- Bon Jovi Review Mohegan Sun 5/5

[JustinesGuy]

I see a few threads about songs in the off season so I thought id post a review about my experience at Bon Jovi last night. First before I go further let me put my cards on the table and let you all know that I'm a Bon Jovi fan, I grew up listening to his music and have a ton of respect for his dedication to his craft.

On to the review.

Ticket Cost- First of all ticket prices to go see Bon Jovi are absurdly high, for a group that is well past there prime( more on that in a second). Face value prices for the mohegan sun venue range from nosebleed seats around 200 per ticket with fees to well over 300 per seat for mid level and 300-600 floor seats. Keep in mind its very hard to get solid seats thru ticketmaster. Mohegan saves a bunch of tickets for high rollers, then once the Bon Jovi VIP fan club gets there tickets, and promoters get there tickets theres really not a lot of nice seats left. Fans are left to head to the secondary market and pay well over 300 per ticket... Awful

Once inside the gouging doesn't end. If you want a beer it costs 11 for the beer then 3.00 for the Bon Jovi special collectors edition cup. Thats 14.00 for the warm beer! To be fair there is the option to return the cup and get your three dollars back.. Yup.. This is the craziest thing in the world. I would say half the people said F it I'm not waiting in that long line, half buzzed to get there 3.00 back.. When I questioned the beer lady she said its not the venue that instituted this policy but Bon Jovi's people...

Just as the tickets are over priced, so is the merchandize. A typical tee shirt costs 50-60 dollars and a long sleeve light sweatshirt costs 100.... Pass. Thanks JBJ but you can not fleece your fans for a tee shirt I can buy on amazon for 19.95.....

On to the concert. I have to say, JBJ packed the house and had the crowd interested most of the night. You can honestly see that he cares for his fans and wants to give them a solid performance. His band is amazing, the guitarist that took over for Richie Sambura was the star of the show. When there was instrumental is was really amazing, you can see how talented they are. As for JBJ, He really cannot sing anymore and its sad. The songs he used to belt out with ease in 1985- 2000 he just cannot hit the notes anymore. You can see him rely on his band mates(who can all sing) to pick up the slack. JBJ Also pointed the mic to the crowd for the super high notes that he absolutely cannot hit anymore. Now let me tell you, I completely understand that at 56 yrs old this can happen, but it charge top dollars prices kinda doesn't sit right with me..
All in all, it was a fun time, he played all the songs you wanted to hear, engaged with the crowd a bit, gave you his million dollar smile and his corny funny dance moves. Just be aware if you want him to pristinely sing living on a prayer or bad medicine or some of his older hits from 1980's its not going to happen and you going to make a big contribution to find that out...

This was my 4th JBJ concert and probably my last, although I will still enjoy listening to his music....

 

[nwhoopfan]

That's a bummer about JBJ's voice. I'm sure it's highly variable, but I think there are performers still going strong in their 60's and 70's that haven't lost a thing vocally. I saw Del McCoury a few years ago, mid 70s, still sounded great and still had the quintessential high lonesome bluegrass sound.

Most of the shows I go to aren't very well known artists, so tickets are cheap. Even the few bigger names I've seen I'm pretty sure I've never gone over the $100 threshold, more like $50-$60 in the upper range. There's just no way I would pay $300+ for a concert ticket.

Sounds like you had a good time anyway.

 

[Mlb0814]

It too bad it was so expensive but at least he played their hits. We saw the last tour and they only played two hits and all the rest were covers of other bands. Richie had just split from the group and I believe they were fighting over song rights. It was an awful concert.

 

[JustinesGuy]

It too bad it was so expensive but at least he played their hits. We saw the last tour and they only played two hits and all the rest were covers of other bands. Richie had just split from the group and I believe they were fighting over song rights. It was an awful concert.

That does sound awful. I think because last night was also his Rock and Roll HOF induction on HBO(Obviously taped) he was giving it an extra effort.. I think the ticket prices are somewhat due to it being at Mohegan, but here in CT most acts go to Mohegan and not XL/Oakdale ya know? To just compare for a second, one of the best concerts I've been to was Journey. Journey belted out every single hit and it sounded just like it was on radio or better. Now keep in mind the current Journey lead singer is Arnel Pineda a young guy and not an aging Steve perry... I think Journey is touring with Def leopard this summer. Guaranteed to be a good show...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Yep, they are now Hall of Famers. That should add to the ticket prices.

The part of the cost that annoys me is the exorbitant Ticket Master fees. In my view, they are in violation of the anti-trust laws. Related to that is StubHub et al. scooping up many of the tickets and selling them for many multiples of the face value. There should be a legal limit of about 120% of face.

In terms of aging rockers, I went to Desert Trip (“Oldchella in Coachella”) about 18 months ago. It was 13 hours over 3 nights for $999 in bleachers—seats and elevation for better viewing. The performers were past their prime—ages 69-75, I believe—but well worth seeing. As Mick Jagger said, “Welcome to the Catch them before they Croak Festival.” The lineup: Dylan, The Stones, Neil Young, McCartney, The Who, and Roger Waters. It wasn’t perfect, but it was still outstanding!

 

[MilfordHusky]

I need to ask: Did Justine enjoy the concert? And did she know who JBJ is?

 

[Dove]

If you listen to his voice on the original recordings its not high range. I think Sambora carried that harmony. Jon needs great harmony.