Orlando FC Trip

Looks like Runaway Tours has added another fan club trip - and a new date - in Orlando, FL this May. Details are up on bonjovi.com/travel, and are as follows:

Fan Club Package Includes: Three-nights hotel accommodations at the Gaylord Palms Resort

Gaylordhotels.com

Three nights hotel accommodations at the Gaylord Palms Resort
Welcome fan club members gathering
Ticket to the BON JOVI concert on May 15
Photo opportunity with Jon Bon Jovi
Specially designed tour credential
Concert transfers
One-day, two park pass to Universal Studios
Gala pre-show cocktail reception
Autographed tour program
Fully escorted by our staff
All taxes
In the event of an additional show, you will be given the opportunity to purchase ticket/hotel/additional options.

$1395 per person double
$1350 per person triple
$1300 per person quad
$1625 per person single

WITHOUT CONCERT TICKETS minus $175 per package


$175 per room per night

Please Note: For events where alcohol is served, minors may not be admitted and no credit will be given. Age restrictions will depend on the laws in the state, region, country where the event is being held.

Starland Ballroom (2011) boot - full show!

**COURTESY OF HATH AND AN ANONYMOUS SAINT!**

Thank you times a million to those of you who provided this for us! The FLAC files are available on the Bon Jovi Circle Tour blog.

P.S. Although FLAC files are the best lossless file formats for audio, if your media player doesn't support them or you experience trouble uploading/playing, try www.zamzar.com. It's my favorite conversion program - simply upload the files and select a new output format (ex. MP3). It supports files up to 100 MB, and emails you the download link. Good luck!

JBJ on Delilah radio tonight (1/28/11)

Jon will co-host and be interviewed on "Delilah's Friday Night Girl's Party" tonight! The live stream begins at 7:00PM EST at Delilah.com's mediaplayer.

Have fun!

Starland Ballroom - 1/27/11

Again, I live on the wrong coast. My mantra. I wish I had been there last night! Reports were all good that I've heard -- did any of you go? Share your reviews!

SETLIST
"Help" (Beatles cover)
"So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star" (Byrds cover)
"See See Rider" (traditional blues song associated with Chuck Willis)
"Glad All Over" (Dave Clark Five cover)
"I Can't Help Myself" (Four Tops cover)
"Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison cover)
"Blue Bayou" (Linda Ronstadt cover, Jon Bon Jovi offstage)
"Lonely"
"Nothin' But a Party" (with Southside Johnny)
"Hold on I'm Coming" (with Southside Johnny)
"Start Me Up" (Rolling Stones cover)
"She's Not There" (Zombies cover, Jon Bon Jovi offstage)
"Ooh Child" (Five Stairsteps cover, Jon Bon Jovi offstage)
"Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane cover, Jon Bon Jovi offstage)
"Build Me Up Buttercup" (Foundations cover, Jon Bon Jovi offstage)
"Midnight Confessions" (Bobby Bandiera vocals)
"Wanted Dead or Alive"
"We Weren't Born to Follow"
"You Give Love a Bad Name"
"Who Says You Can't Go Home"

ENCORE
"Livin' on a Prayer"
"Treat Her Right" (with Southside Johnny)
"634-5789" (with Southside Johnny)

From NJ.com: Jon Bon Jovi sings for a favorite charity at Starland Ballroom

"You did a good deed," Jon Bon Jovi told the sold-out house at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, at the conclusion of his ninety-minute concert.

He'd led his seventeen(!) piece group through rock classics ("Start Me Up," "So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star") and pop-soul favorites ("Glad All Over" by the Dave Clark Five, Wilson Pickett's "634-5789"), made room onstage for Southside Johnny for a few numbers, and vacated the premises for a fifteen-minute stretch while his band of Friends took center stage.

He did some of his own material, too. Sixteen songs into the show, Bon Jovi gave the crowd what it wanted the most, playing "Wanted, Dead or Alive," "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Who Says You Can't Go Home," and "We Weren't Born to Follow," the lead single from "The Circle" LP. Later, he'd encore with an acoustic -- and considerably defamiliarized -- version of "Living on a Prayer," his signature song.

The show -- not quite a Bon Jovi concert, and not quite a blithe classic pop revue -- was held to benefit the Parker Family Health Center, a clinic in Red Bank. The Center provides primary care, immunization, mammograms, diabetes treatments, and other services for Monmouth County residents (the Parker Family clinic counts 85,000) who are underinsured or uninsured. Bon Jovi spoke about the importance of the Parker Family Health Center between songs, and discussed his own continuing commitment to its operation. He talked about the clinic without rock star bluster; he was conversational, and, at times, emotional.

That gravity colored his performances. He opened the show with a slow acoustic rendition of the Beatles' "Help," turned "Lonely" (a song from the "Lost Highway" sessions) into a plaintive entreaty, and, most remarkably, stripped the usual triumphalism from "Livin' On a Prayer." Instead of soaring to the high chorus, he altered the melody, kept his voice low, and allowed his six-voice choir to sing the hook. On Thursday night, Gina and Tommy weren't just defiant rock and rollers: They were broke kids lost in the system, maybe a little frightened, too -- people, Bon Jovi implied, who might need the services of the Parker Family Health Clinic. This reimagining stripped some of the exhilaration from the song, but it demonstrated its flexibility. "Livin' on a Prayer" is more than just an arena-rock shoutalong.

The concert came on the heels of a Billboard.com interview in which Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres, in an unguarded moment, admitted he could use an extensive breather. Guitarist Richie Sambora was quick to dispel the idea of a Bon Jovi hiatus, but as the veteran rock group nears the end of the touring cycle for "The Circle," the immediate future of the band is in question. If Torres really does need some time off -- and let's be fair, the guy has been pounding it out at the drumkit nonstop since "The Circle" came out -- don't be surprised if the Bon Jovi frontman throws himself even further into charitable, or even political, efforts.

From mycentraljery.com: Bon Jovi plays benefit show in hometown Sayreville

SAYREVILLE — Neither rain, nor sleet, nor a heck of a lot of snow can keep Jon Bon Jovi from his appointed rounds.

The Sayreville native began his Jon Bon Jovi and Friends benefit concert Thursday night at Starland Ballroom on Jernee Hill Road with a gospel-tinged version of the Beatles classic "Help.''

"Welcome to Sayreville,'' Bon Jovi said. "The hometown of me.''

The show raised funds for the Parker Family Health Center of Red Bank. The concert was his first open-to-the-public show in his hometown since he became a star with his band Bon Jovi in the '80s. Bon Jovi, who grew up in a home at 16 Robin Hood Lane, played a fan club members only show at Starland in February 2009.

"It's great that somebody that big looks out for those less fortunate," said fan Nicole Gonnella, 38 of Spotswood. Gonnella attended the show with her sister Angela. Despite the snow storm, canceling the show wasn't considered, said Dr. Eugene Cheslock, president of the Parker Family Health Center board of trustees.

The Sayreville area received 16 inches of snow by Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

"(Canceling) never came into the equation,'' Cheslock said.

The Parker Family Health Center offers free health care to Monmouth County residents who lack medical insurance or the means to pay for care.

"Our population is young people and they're working but they're the working poor,'' Cheslock said. "With the cost of insurance premiums skyrocketing, they'd rather go naked in favor of food, fuel, a roof over their heads and schooling, and so they have their priorities. Young people think they're invincible and they won't have health problems, but that's not the case. You can't blame them.''

The concert raised an estimated $500,000 for the health center. Tickets were $250.

Visit www.parkerfamilyhealthcenter.org for more information on services provided by the center.

Cheslock is a fan of both Jon Bon Jovi and Bon Jovi's wife Dorothea, who helped arrange Thursday's show.

"The two of them are very generous and connected to their roots,'' Cheslock said. "I find them to be absolutely wonderful benefactors in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. They do good things.''

Bon Jovi's friends on Thursday included Southside Johnny, Bobby Bandiera, Richie Rosenberg, Ray Andersen, Bob Burger and Graham Maby. In other Bon Jovi news, the rocker will star in the upcoming movie "New Year's Eve.'' The ensemble piece also features Robert DeNiro, Halle Berry, Zac Efron, Seth Meyers and Jessica Biel, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Tico says the band needs a break; Richie says he wants to be a Stone.

This is a mighty interesting read for every Jovi fan out there who's been fearing the hiatus that awaits post-Circle tour.

Take it as you will - I for one like the fact that it was Teek and Richie being quoted, not Jon. Because, as we all know, Jon lies. ;)

So we don't have any specific answers yet, but at least we know what the guys are thinking...and that is that even THEY don't know yet. We shall continue to wait and see.

Bon Jovi Needs 'A Break' When Tour Wraps, Says Drummer

As Bon Jovi prepares to start its 2011 tour schedule, the group members say what happens after they come off the road in July is anyone's guess.

"I think we need to take a break," drummer Tico Torres told Billboard.com during a conference call with reporters. "It's a long, extensive tour since last February, not just the tour but putting it together, doing the record ['The Circle']. It's a long process, and I think it's important for us to just get away from the audience for a bit. Sometimes you need to get away so people can appreciate you better, and you also have to get away to live your life and create and recharge... So the best thing I can tell you is we're gonna need a couple years off for sure."

Guitarist Richie Sambora, however, countered, "We do need a little bit of a break, but not that much of a break, 'cause what's going to happen is there's more songs to be written and... Y'know, guess what? We want to be the Rolling Stones. I know I do."

Bon Jovi's 2010 Circle tour was the top trek of the year, playing to 1.5 million fans and grossing more than $146.5 million. The group, which released a "Greatest Hits" set in November, starts up again on Feb. 9 in University Park, Pa., for North American dates into late March, then runs through Europe again from June 8-July 31, including a June 25 performance at the Hard Rock Calling festival in London.

Sambora said he had "an extensive conversation" with Jon Bon Jovi earlier this week and concluded, "I don't think we know what the hell's gonna happen" after the tour.

"We're just going out there and working our asses off and enjoying it, actually being the best band of our lives... We're not gonna quit. We're gonna keep on going and writing new, great songs, go in the studio and make great records, evolve more and get back into stadiums and give people a great, great show."

Bon Jovi's stated desire to do another solo album, he added, presents no threat to the continuation of the group. "It gives us a break," Sambora explained. "Everybody gets to be an individual... He's the leader of this band and you've got to respect that... Who knows what the hell he's gonna do, but it's okay with all of us. We're all gonna stick together. We're like a gang."

Sambora and Torres said this year's shows will continue to dig deep into Bon Jovi's repertoire, pulling out album tracks as well as covers. "We pulled out a lot of songs on this tour, maybe 70, 80 songs, (and) a lot of them haven't been anywhere near on radio," Torres notes. "We play differently every night. Unless you come see us 10 nights in a row, or three nights in a row, you won't notice it. It's something we look forward to."

About the only thing that didn't go Bon Jovi's way during the past year was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group was eligible for induction for the first time and made the final ballot but will not be getting in at the March ceremony. Torres said that "it's nice to be included in those things," but Sambora acknowledged some disappointment.

"I think it's a boys club over there," he said. "I don't know what they're doing, [if] they're looking for ratings or what they're doing. Is it legitimate? That's my question. Our legitimacy comes from our fans; you sell 125 million records and have the two biggest tours in the last three years, I'll take that. If I would complain, nobody would listen."

New Animoto video contest

Hmm. I'm still sore about the last one, which they STILL have not announced the supposedly four winners for. So...not sure I'll do this one. Maybe I'm a poor sport, but I also have a lot of other things to do with my life right now. ;) (Of course, I say this now...hahaha)

source

Winning Fan Videos to be Featured on Jumbo Screens During Band's Performance of 'Livin' On A Prayer'

NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- After earning the honor of being the #1 worldwide tour of 2010, Bon Jovi prepares to hit the road this February and will once again utilize the latest in web-based video technology to engage with their fans and bring them along for the ride. Continuing their successful partnership with Animoto, the award-winning online video creation service, the iconic band is offering audiences in each upcoming North American tour market a spot in the limelight.

Using the fun and easy suite of tools available from Animoto, fans can quickly transform their photos and/or videos to create a personal video slideshow about their hometown set to Bon Jovi's smash 1986 hit "Livin' On A Prayer." Throughout the two month tour, hundreds of user-generated Animoto videos will be featured on the tour's giant screens to accompany the band's live performance "Livin' On A Prayer."
"We have the greatest fans in the world and we're excited to make them a part of our show through the wonders of technology," said Richie Sambora. "We can't wait to see all of the videos they're creating."

Starting today, fans are encouraged to create and upload their own personalized Bon Jovi music video slideshow for this unique opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the show, and see themselves jam on the big screen alongside Bon Jovi. Additionally, the official winners in each city will receive a deluxe prize VIP package including access to the VIP pre show party, an exclusive VIP messenger bag, and several commemorative VIP items. To learn more and to submit your video, visit the official "Livin' On a Prayer" Website at http://prayer.bonjovi.com.

Jon to be in new movie!

Very cool! Thanks Katja for posting this on FB!

source

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Jon Bon Jovi and Seth Meyers are putting on their party hats for New Line's all-star ensemble "New Year's Eve," being directed by Garry Marshall.

German actor Til Schweiger has also closed a deal to board the production.

Bon Jovi and Meyers join a cast that counts Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Abigail Breslin, Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank and Sofia Vergara among its cast.

The movie tells intertwining stories of a group of New Yorkers as they navigate their way through bittersweet drama and romance over the course of New Year's Eve.

Bon Jovi is playing -- here's a stretch -- a successful rock star who once dumped Berry's character of a caterer but now finds himself face to face with again at a party.

Meyers will play a broke dad who wants his wife (Biel) to deliver the first baby of the year in order to win a $25,000 reward and finds himself in a heated competition.

Bon Jovi last movie appearance was "National Lampoon's Pucked" in 2006. Meyers, head writer of "Saturday Night Live," last appeared in "Spring Breakdown" with Amy Poehler and Parker Posey. Schweiger appeared in "Inglourious Basterds."

Bon Jovi in Israel?

Thanks for the heads up, Rike - this has not been confirmed by the band or management, but the source is Israel's Ministry of Tourism (on Facebook).

Hmmm - as always, let's wait for official confirmation, but it certainly sounds interesting!

Grammy Award-winning rock and roll band Bon Jovi has announced its first-ever performance in Israel at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, April 27. The concert follows performances by Ozzy Osbourne and Elton John in Tel Aviv last year.

White Trash Beautiful on Extra (again)

There was another Extra segment with Richie, Nikki, and White Trash Beautiful. These pics are from WTB's blog, but I had to snag this one for my desktop. They are my luffers, after all. *hearteyes*



(Wonder why they're my luffers? Read my Meeting/Interviewing Richie On Extra, AKA the Coolest Moment Of My Life story here.)

Jon at the Patriots game

Well, we all know how THAT one turned out, don't we? So here are a few pictures of Jon at the game -

I think this was taken before the game:




And this was clearly taken near the end: (tee hee!)

Jazzfest 2011 (It's becoming a tradition)

Thanks Sue!

The New Orleans Jazz Festival 2011 welcomes Arcade Fire, Bon Jovi, Kid Rock, Jimmy Buffett, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Willie Nelson, The Strokes, Robert Plant, Lauryn Hill, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Sonny Rollins, Kenny G and John Legend & The Roots to the Fair Grounds in 2011.

The wide-ranging roster of "visiting" artists - those not from Louisiana - seems designed to position Jazz Fest to compete more directly with the likes of the Austin City Limits Festival, Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, even as it builds on a foundation of local music, food and crafts.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell is April 29 through May 8.

Ticket prices are unchanged from 2010. A first-weekend discount package of three day-specific tickets is $120 plus service charges; a second-weekend package of four tickets is $160.

Advance single-day tickets, specific to each weekend, are $45 plus service charges. Tickets at the gate are $60. Tickets for children age 2 to 10 are $5, available at the gate only.

Australia's flood relief album

This was posted on bonjovi.com, so I'm sure you've seen it, but just in case:

SONY MUSIC TO RELEASE ‘FLOOD RELIEF ARTISTS FOR THE FLOOD APPEAL’ TO RAISE MONEY FOR FLOOD VICTIMS ACROSS AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY – 21st January 2011 – Sony Music Entertainment Australia is pleased to announce its support for the victims of recent floods across Australia through the release of a special benefit compilation CD “FLOOD RELIEF – Artists For The Flood Appeal”.

The response from both Australian and international artists wanting to lend their support has been so overwhelming that an additional disc was added making it a special 3 CD set. “FLOOD RELIEF – Artists For The Flood Appeal” features 59 tracks over three CD’s and features Aussie artists including Midnight Oil, Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian, Tommy Emmanuel, Lee Kernaghan and Crowded House together with international artists such as P!nk, Keith Urban, Sting, Bon Jovi, Kings Of Leon, Beyonce, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, John Mayer, Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley.

Sony Music proceeds from the sale of the CD will go to the Salvation Army Flood Appeal through the charitable arm of the Australian Sony Group of Companies, The Sony Foundation to support young people affected by the tragic floods.

I am not a fan of Who Says AT ALL, but I actually think this is a good choice for the album because of the message for all those who may be wondering if they can go home or not.

Making another fan's dream come true...

Thanks to Sue for letting me know about this, and Hath for posting the details!

What a sweet story - I hope Jon does something big for this guy. I love these stories.

Oh, and I LOVE the last line of this article, by the way:

Susan Mitton knows so much about Bon Jovi, she feels like the rock band is a member of her family. The group’s music has been the soundtrack of her son’s life.
Justin Mitton, who was born with the genetic disorder Down syndrome, took a shine to Bon Jovi when its first album debuted in the early 1980s. The 39-year-old, who never let his hair grow wildly long like his idols, has played their music every day since.
Every day? Even now?
“Yeah,” he said with little hesitation.
He listens to music on his iPod now. But sometimes he can’t help singing out loud, and he finds meaning in the lyrics — all of which he knows by heart.

It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just wanna live while I’m alive.

Mitton, whose family calls him “Bergie,” spoke seriously and with sincerity about his favorite band on a recent night at his sister’s house in Boise. Then someone turned the music on.
His face lit up, and he smiled broadly. Pure joy.
“Every time I hear that song, I just melt,” he said when the guitar strains of “Wanted Dead or Alive” whispered, then wailed, from the living room stereo.
With some encouragement, he showed off his mean air guitar.
“Right now I’m doing Richie (Sambora),” he told an audience of adoring family members as he strummed purposefully.
“I’m trying to get a band together,” he says matter-of-factly.
Mitton will turn 40 in February, and his family is hoping to make one of his greatest wishes come true: to meet Jon Bon Jovi.
They have purchased tickets to a show in Salt Lake City in March, and they’re hoping they can get a backstage pass for Justin.
This effort is hush-hush around the house — they want to surprise him — but they’ve turned to the public for help in making the dream come true.
On Dec. 26, Mitton’s sister, Sara Mitton Cox, 32, created a Facebook page called “Help Justin Meet Bon Jovi” in the hopes of finding someone associated with the band, or the show. The page has 256 fans or “likes,” and it has generated a few leads, some people who know people.
But nothing has panned out yet.

‘I COULDN’T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT HIM’
Justin Mitton grew up in the farm country near Castleford, southwest of Twin Falls. As a boy, he would sometimes grab a microphone, get his little sister and head out to the front porch to orchestrate his own tribute concert to Bon Jovi.
“I can’t imagine a day going by without it,” Susan Mitton said of her son’s favorite music.
She thinks her son’s passion for music comes from his dad, Terry Mitton, a big fan of ’80s rock music. Her son enjoys the music of other bands, including Aerosmith, Loverboy, The Cars, Breaking Benjamin and Nickelback. He’s no fan of rap music, and there are a limited number of country singers he likes, including Keith Urban, Toby Keith and Shania Twain.
Mitton said her son’s passion for Bon Jovi helped improve his reading skills when he was young. He voraciously read Metal Edge and other magazines, keeping stacks next to his bed. They were always in order, a family member noted.
He doesn’t fixate on a song, his sister said. He enjoys listening to albums all the way through.
Mitton’s mom gets emotional when she talks about the eldest of her three children — the one who doctors said would never walk or talk. They said he probably wouldn’t live past 12.
Soon after he was born, doctors said they would help her find an institution where they could send him, if that’s what they wanted.
“I was totally shocked and blown away. There was no way anybody was taking him away,” said Susan Mitton, who dropped out of high school to marry her son’s father and care for her baby. “He was such a beautiful little baby. I couldn’t imagine life without him.”
Mitton was in special education at school, and he earned his diploma when he was about 20. He was teased at times, but the small community he grew up in embraced and protected him.
Cox said people who don’t know him are sometimes wary.
“People are afraid to talk to him,” she said.
Mitton recognized as a teenager that he wasn’t able to drive and do the same things his sister and brother, Joshua, could do. That led to questions.
“One day in high school, he said, ‘Mom, can I ask you something?’” Susan Mitton recalled. “He said, ‘Mom, are you sorry that I have Down syndrome? Were you ever sad?’”
She said she told him, “I’ve never been sad that I have you.”

A STEADY JOB, DATING AND BSU FOOTBALL
Mitton’s parents were together for 27 years, but they are now divorced. He now divides his time between his mom’s house in Buhl and his dad’s house in Twin Falls. “We take my dog for walks, watch movies and play games,” Susan Mitton said.
He calls his sister, who lives in Boise, a couple of times a week. She says he can be the voice of reason when her life gets overly busy or stressed, as before her wedding in August.
“He said, ‘You should sit back and be happy that it’s happening. Be happy about your wedding,’” Cox recalled.
“Sometimes he says things that are so wise,” she said. “He can see beyond the petty and judgmental things. He’s always looking at things in a positive light and loving way.”
Mitton has had a job at the Smith’s grocery store in Twin Falls for 10 years. He works two days a week as a courtesy clerk, bagging groceries and helping customers.
“He’s professional but very personable,” said Jim Faulkner, who manages the store and hired Mitton. “Mostly he and I talk a lot about football — he loves Boise State, and so do I.”
Mitton has dated and has had a girlfriend. When asked recently what he wanted for his birthday, he said, “A single woman would be fine.”
His family has been planning his birthday celebration for a year, including a huge surprise party at Mimi’s Event Center in Buhl. They’re expecting a large crowd, including former teachers, classmates and church friends.
“My mom and I have been wanting this to happen for so long,” Cox said. She and her husband are going to take Mitton to the Bon Jovi concert in Salt Lake; his mom said she might tag along.
It will be the third time he’s seen his favorite band in concert. The first time was in Boise in the late 1980s, when he was a teenager; he saw them in Salt Lake City in 2003.
Recently, Mitton told his mother: “I just want to tell Bon Jovi I love him. But Mom, that sounds kind of weird.”

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/19/1493581/family-cooks-up-rockin-birthday.html#ixzz1BoWNLcex

Here's the most recent follow-up:

The family of Justin Mitton is over the moon.
Mitton's sister and mother had hoped to surprise the 39-year-old man with a backstage meeting with singer Jon Bon Jovi when the band comes to Salt Lake City in March. They started a Facebook campaign in December, and let the Idaho Statesman tell their story in an article that was published Wednesday.
Justin Mitton, who was born with Down syndrome, has been a lifelong fan of Bon Jovi, listening to the band's music every day. He's only dreamed of meeting his idol, and it appears that may come true.
Sara Mitton Cox, a 32-year-old Boise woman, said she received an e-mail on Facebook from Jon Bon Jovi's brother, Matt Bongiovi. She passed along her cellphone number, and he called her at about 9 a.m. Friday, she said.
Cox said Bongiovi told her that he heard about Justin through three different people, including a music promoter friend.
"He said, 'I talked to Jon about it this morning,'" she said. "He said he wants to make something happen."
She was asked to show up with Justin 90 minutes before the show. Cox said she hoped that her parents and brother would be able to see Justin meet Bon Jovi, but the number of people allowed to go backstage might be limited to just a few.
The Boise area business man who helped make this happen didn't want to be named. He said he was just glad to be able to help.
Justin's mother, Susan Mitton, was in tears Friday.
"I'm just hysterical. I can't believe it," she said. "My sister said, 'This is like winning the lottery. I said, 'This is much more exciting than winning the lottery. It's Jon Bon Jovi."
Susan Mitton said she wasn't sure how she'd keep the news from her son, who divides his time between her house in Buhl and his dad's house in Twin Falls. He works at the Smith's in Twin, but was off work this week.
Justin Mitton turns 40 in February, and his family has planned a community celebration. As part of a later birthday surprise, the family bought tickets to Bon Jovi in Salt Lake City March 22.


Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/21/1497239/birthday-surprise-may-be-granted.html#ixzz1BoXlrXLQ

Charity show in Denver

Okay. I owe y'all quite a few updates since I went abroad a few weeks ago, and I finally got a bit of time to sit down and get them all posted. It should be recap/review for you by now, but enjoy the goodies nonetheless. :)

First up - a review and pics from last night's charity show in Denver:

When Bon Jovi plays Denver, the multi-platinum arena rock band plays the big rooms — the Pepsi Center, and McNichols Arena before that. But on Friday, the band known for genre-defining hit songs “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “You Give Love a Bad Name” played a cozy club show inside the Colorado Convention Center’s Korbel Ballroom to help raise funds for the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation.

Frontman Jon Bon Jovi was front and center as he led his six-piece band through a party set that jogged from covers to favorites. The singer-guitarist, wearing tight black jeans and a fitted black T-shirt, was relaxed and playful throughout the set, often asking the dressy, chatty crowd, “How’re we doin’?”

They were doin’ just fine, according to the crowd’s hands-in-the-air reaction. The band’s set suited the party atmosphere inside the ballroom, which had purple, twinkling lights across the ceiling. The band led off with a cover of the Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over” that went directly into the sing-along “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
Yep, it was a feel-good set list for a feel-good night.

Patrons pushed against the stage wearing everything from designer suits to Ed Hardy T’s. An older woman wore a tiara. A teenage boy wore a backwards baseball cap. It was all good.

The Denver Broncos’ new executive vice president of football operations, John Elway, introduced the band to the excited, tipsy crowd as “not only great guys, but the greatest rock band in the history of music.”

The hyperbole was lost on the crowd — some of whom paid $50,000 for a table, their entry to Friday’s event. By the time the show started, tables full of wine bottles and schwag bags were left abandoned as everybody pushed forward, camera phones raised just so, to get closer to Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora and the rest of the crew.

The weight of Bon Jovi playing such an intimate room didn’t go unnoticed. Kids from the kitchen peeked out a side door to catch some of the show, and even the off-duty police officers snapped a couple of shots with their camera phones before sheathing them and taking up a more official pose.

And the band? They joked around like Friday was a public dress rehearsal — all smiles for the fans. One eager fan brought a sign to the front that read, “My husband hates you . . . He knows I dream about you.” After winking at girls in the front row through “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” Bon Jovi asked the fan for her sign. He held it up and read it out loud to the crowd. Catcalls ensued.

“Yeah, but after you’re done dreaming,” Bon Jovi quipped to the front-row fan, “your husband thanks me for all the attention he gets.”

It was a night of music, laughs and good times — and Bon Jovi never missed a beat.

I'm published!

Okay...sort of. LOL I'm a contributing writer for Yahoo's Associated Content, and my first piece (Jovi-related, of course) has been approved and published. It's the Keep the Faith review I posted right here on Jovi Bits last year, so if you didn't get a chance to read it then - or want to re-read it now - you can head on over to my article on Yahoo - Bon Jovi's Keep the Faith: An Underrated Masterpiece.

Contributing associated content IS a paid job, but it depends on how popular the pieces are. So if you like my work, please pass it on. And I'll be writing more in the future, so I'll let you all know when it's published again.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. I've been super behind on the Jovi front lately, but I promise to try to catch up with news and goodies this weekend. Thanks for your patience!

More U.S. dates?

From Matt's keyboard to God's ears. I hope this means more tour dates, and not some one-off double-expensive fan club-only shows or something.

BackstageAdmin

A few weeks of shows are being added. Looking at May. Announce will be Feb 1

Better start saving! ;)

One Night Only (NMS nights - May 2010) on DVD!

According to this website, the movie/footage will be released on DVD March 11, 2011. I SO hope this is true!! Remember to wait until bonjovi.com officially announces it, but then again they could lag until just before the release date...so we'll just wait and see. ;)

And in case you haven't heard, the movie will also premiere on EPIX January 8th at 8pm EST. Not everyone gets EPIX, so check your cable listings to see if you can access it. I expect my dearest friends who DO have access to it to DVR for me! ;) (hehehe)

Happy New Year!

Greetings from cold, snowy Holland!

I am gallivanting around Europe again, but Bon Jovi is on break as well and luckily there's not much going on on that front. But I wanted to wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe new year - may 2011 be everything you want it to be!

I will check back on you all when I return home on the 13th. Hope you're all enjoying your holidays and staying warm and dry if you're in the northern hemisphere. ;)