Bon Jovi - Time Warner Cable Arena...

No written review yet, but I did find a bunch of pictures from last night!

From the Charlotte Observer:

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Friday Funnies...

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Jon Bon Visits Oasis Center...

Jon Bon Jovi visits Nashville shelter for homeless teens
Oasis Center visit gives rocker better grasp of problems
By Jenny Upchurch • THE TENNESSEAN • April 23, 2010

Rock star Jon Bon Jovi traded thousands of cheering fans Wednesday night for a quiet circle with a few kids Thursday afternoon.

The singer visited the Oasis Center, Nashville's only shelter for homeless teens, as part of his effort to understand what he calls "the new face of homelessness in America."

"The Oasis Center is really a beacon to youth," Bon Jovi said. "Having service providers at the same place that they can get a hot meal, a nap and a shower, it's a very welcoming place."

Bon Jovi spent about an hour with some of the Oasis kids. He sat in a circle with them, did yoga just as they do to start off a session, then listened to kids talk about what made them homeless and what could help them escape their condition.

"He was so engaged. He wasn't being a rock star," said Liz Workman, the center's educational coordinator. "He was just someone who is really, really passionate about this issue."

Her kids felt very empowered by being asked for solutions, she said, and talked frankly about the abuse or family tragedies they'd fled, about how simply lacking a birth certificate made it impossible to get a job or aid.

"You could tell he was honestly shocked by some of these situations," Workman said.
Afterward, Bon Jovi said the Oasis Center's array of services is innovative.
Almost 2,000 kids in the past year have used the Oasis drop-in center, a small room with a couch, some chairs and a couple of computer terminals. Some days it has four or five kids; some days it's 15 or 16.

They can get a hot meal, talk to a counselor, make a telephone call or take a shower. "Some just need to sleep because they've been out on the streets," Oasis CEO Hal Cato said.

Others use the overnight shelters, one for emergencies and one for long-term stays. The two bedrooms for emergency overnight stays are full every night, said counselor Jenny Gray.

Nashville has about 300 homeless youths at any time, Cato said. "They fly below the radar screen," he said.

Bon Jovi said: "The face of homelessness has changed dramatically. It's a lot of kids, a lot of single moms. It's a lot of hardworking Americans coast to coast that have been displaced these past couple of years. They don't need a handout. They need a hand up."

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a Philadelphia-based charity, builds affordable housing, 250 units over the past six years. But affordable housing is the top rung on the ladder, Bon Jovi said, for those who can make it out. He wants to change the culture that causes homelessness.

"It's going to take money and effort and getting the word out," he said.
"Over the years, I've had the ear of government officials. I hope that by being on the streets, and out of the Beltway, that I can provide information and have an impact, on the HUD secretary and even the president," Bon Jovi said.

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Review - Bridgestone Arena, Nashville

I know, I know, this concert was two days ago, but better late than never, right? I'll have the review of last night's show in Charlotte up as soon as I find one, promise.

From the Tennessean:

Bon Jovi delivers on expectations, brings surprises
Published by Cindy Wattson

“(Nashville) is a very important city to me,” singer Jon Bon Jovi said from the Bridgestone Arena stage Wednesday night, as his surnamed band’s Circle Tour made its way to Music City. “We’ve been coming here for a long time and have a lot of good friends here.”

Bon Jovi recently spent a healthy share of time in Nashville, writing and recording much of 2007 album Lost Highway. The singer said he didn’t plan for his band to follow up that album so soon with 2009’s The Circle, but that the state of the world over the last 18 months made him feel like he had no other choice.

“We have to sift through it all and make it make sense,” he said. “I guess what I’m trying to say is this is more the ‘we’ decade than the ‘me’ decade.”

The Circle reflects that sentiment, and the band worked flawless versions of five of its 12 songs into their 23-song set, including current single “Superman Tonight” and “When We Were Beautiful,” which the singer introduced as “one of the songs I’m most proud of.” The crowd responded favorably, but the older hits still seemed to connect most with the near-16,000 people in the audience.

Wednesday’s show kicked off with “Blood on Blood” from 1988’s New Jersey, and one of the first of many massive sing-alongs came two songs later as Bon Jovi launched into late-’80s hit “You Give Love a Bad Name.” (An extended version of “Bad Medicine,” “It’s My Life” and “We Got It Going On” earned similar degrees of crowd participation.)

Even as the band worked through hits from decades past, their stage show brought out all the modern elements fans have come to expect: An LED video wall punctuated the songs, morphing from one enormous screen to six rotating ones to a disjointed curtain of about 100 mini-screens, and a small, circular walkway linked up to the main stage via removable bridges.

Fans expecting the Bon Jovi-standard high-energy performance weren’t let down there, either. Guitarist Richie Sambora, often strapping on a double-necked, woodgrain Taylor guitar, cranked his signature heavy guitar tone, singer Bon Jovi bounding from one side of the stage to the other flashing smiles, punching the air, swiveling his hips and waving his hands. The front man’s energy kept the bulk of the crowd on their feet with their hands in the air throughout the set.

But the evening wasn’t without its surprises. The band recently brought debut single “Runaway” back into their show after a years-long absence, and for the first time in Bon Jovi history they invited drummer Tico Torres to sit in on percussion during their acoustic songs — a show-highlight set of tunes that included Bon Jovi/Sambora duet “I’ll Be There for You” and a new, slower arrangement of “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” that showcased the band’s harmonies.

Bon Jovi kicked the power back on and closed out the show with encore performances of fan staples such as “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Livin' on a Prayer,” the latter earning the loudest applause of the night.

“Thank you guys for coming out on a work night,” Jon Bon Jovi said. “We’ve been good friends for over a quarter of a century, and I know I wouldn’t be here without you.”

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Run Jonny, Run...

Jon hung around Miami and not only did he sun himself by the hotel pool, he also got in a run on the beach.

Don't forget to click on the pictures, they G R O W!

And, for all you squirrel watchers out there, this one's for you! Do you suppose the photographer was a woman?

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Catching some Rays...

Even by the pool the man doesn't relax. Come on Jon, put the phone down, take your shoes off and chill.... :)

Don't forget to click on the pics... they G R O W...

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