Bon Jovi tour preview
February 19-July 30, 2010

By Andy Argyrakis

Very few acts can boast a career spanning three decades, let alone escalating popularity with each year that passes. But Bon Jovi is one of the extremely small handful that continues to rack up chart topping hits to this very day, possessing a multi-generational reach in the process. With the recent release of studio CD number 11 The Circle (Island/Def Jam), Jon Bon Jovi and the boys are loading up their tour buses once again for an astounding 135 shows spanning 30 countries, adding to a gig list that’s already topped the 2,600 mark. Here’s more from guitarist Richie Sambora and drummer Tico Torres’ on Bon Jovi’s 120 million album-selling history and what fans can expect on this spring and summer’s extravaganza from a recent teleconference chat.

What are you thinking of in terms of the set list on this tour?

Richie Sambora:  Well the repartee is going to be vast let’s put it that way. We’re going to go back and we’re going to play some stuff that we haven’t played in 20 years like, stuff from the maybe first two albums. And we have so many records to choose from and so many songs to choose from…I’m sure that we’ll do The Circle in it’s entirety a few times on this tour because we’re really, really proud of this record and proud of the evolution that happened with this record for us as far as musically and song writing and all that stuff…And I’m sure we’ll take fans requests a lot of times fans also like, call into the fan club and say hey play “Dry County” or play some obscure stuff that like “Hardest Part is a Night” off the second album and that’s what we’re going to do.

How about the look and the production?

Richie Sambora:  Obviously there’s two different productions: a stadium production and an arena production. The arena production entails a thing where it’s almost like a half circle. It’ll be a ramp that goes off of the stage. They’ll be in that kind of pit that’ll be the VIP section, but there’ll be also some tickets available to the public in that section also. And it’ll be 360; we’re selling in the round although we’re not going to be in the middle. We have some crazy stuff. We have some robots. We have robots that actually move the video screens around the stage pretty intense stuff. It’s going to be a lot of fun so come see us. It’ll be spectacular that’s for sure.

Do you guys think you’re going to come out with a DVD for this tour?

Richie Sambora:  Don’t know yet, probably. We’re going to film a lot of shows, so yes I’m thinking that we’re going to. There’s going to be that run in 15 nights at O2 in London, which is kind of pretty cool. We’re really proud of that. I think that when we played the Prudential Center on the last tour, it was the number one grossing event of 2007 and so that was a ten night run. So we’re going to do 15 nights at the O2, that’s kind of cool. So I think we’ll probably film live, I’m sure that that’ll be kind of an event. I’m sure that the opening of Giants Stadium will be an event.

How does the band feel in terms of connecting with college age audiences and just younger fans in general?

Tico Torres:  I think it’s important. We grew a demographic of three generations, and to see younger kids get into music [is also like] young audiences enjoying Santana, Hendrix, Queen and some of your older music that was once on vinyl. And that’s standing the test of time, you know, Led Zeppelin is still a big hit amongst all ages. So I think it’s fantastic that you can have that crossover and have that young audience, especially in the college age.

How do you guys feel like you remain relevant on the radio after all these years?

Richie Sambora:  Good songs, you know, just songs that connect with people from a lyrical standpoint. I think that Jon and I as writers were lucky enough to somehow hit a nerve where, you know, you write a song that is something about what we’re feeling, that translates to audiences across the globe. Songs like “Livin’ on a Prayer” [and] “We Weren’t Born to Follow” is another one that became a big hit all over the globe because of lyrical content. And it’s about how people are feeling at that moment. And it’s important that you write about what’s happening at this point in the world today. What that feels like and plugging into that is a very, very important thing from a songwriting standpoint. And I think that that’s what translates songs to people all over the world. And actually not only to a college demographic but to all ages, you know. Even a song like “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Everybody’s Tommy and Gina. Everybody’s been in that situation before, so I think that songs like that translate to all ages.

What’s your take is on the whole social networking phenomenon and how the internet in general has affected the band both in the positive and negative sense?

Tico Torres:  The internet, it’s new to me, as it is to most people my age. And you try to keep up with it. I think it’s the future obviously. I mean, when it first had the downloads free and everything, we lost about 80% of our record sales. And I guess in an industry that marks you, promotes you for instance by number one, number two, number three records, it’s hard to show that [but it’s since] stabilized. It’s the future and who knows. I mean I think you’re going to be able to download music through air without having units any more. And I think it’s a wonderful device and every day I’m learning more and more about the positive side of that.