David sings In These Arms (Mohegan Sun, 3/4/11)

This made me CRY. I'm not a "David girl", but he has an amazing voice and giving him the chance to have the spotlight for once was spine-tingling. It's beautiful!



UPDATED: Better, close-up version!

Happy Birthday, David!

Special wishes for a VERY happy birthday to the King of Keys today - Mr. David Bryan!

Hope your day is wonderful, Dave! xx

Happy Sunday!

Just a little end-of-weekend treat - when I was creating the new header for this site, I found that my copy of that promo photo was nearly 5000x5000 pixels! (AKA, deliciously huge.) Zooming in to real size on the guys' faces was soooo appealing, I just had to create close-ups of each of them (except Tico, because he's kind of behind Jon in the photo - poor Tico).

So, for your close-up viewing pleasure - enjoy! (The images are too large for the post table, so click on the thumbnails to bring up full size.)

New pics + David Bergman (tour photographer) insight

Oh man, what a day for Jovi goodies. Thanks to everyone who left these delicious little gems in my inbox, they were a lovely surprise to wake up to on a Monday! And I positively swooned over this one:



Gawd, is it just me, or does this photo MELT YOU too? I literally stared at it with my mouth open, heart picking up, my eyes probably hungrier than they should be when looking at a married man. But damn, the little peekaboo and smile? THUD. I find those little quirks immensely sexy.

And then these:

(with Argentinian composer Bebe Contepomi in NYC)





(last four courtesy of David Bergman, tour photographer)



And thanks to Hath for posting this on her blog - an inside scoop, behind-the-scenes look at Bon Jovi on tour, by David Bergman. Echoing Hath here, make sure you watch all the way to the end. It's worth it. :)




Enjoy your week, Jovi-ites! xx

'Memphis' wins 4 Drama Desk Awards!

CONGRATULATIONS to the entire 'Memphis' cast and crew!

The Broadway musical won 4 prizes tonight at the NY Drama Desk Awards, and our very own DAVID BRYAN won Best Musical, Orchestration, and Music!!

I am SO happy for him -- what a wonderful achievement and very special award. He is so beautifully talented; I just admire him completely. He deserves this honor 200%!

Here's the story from Yahoo! news:

NEW YORK – Rhythm 'n' blues were the winners at this year's Drama Desk Awards.

The exuberant musical "Memphis" led the list of winners at Sunday's ceremony held by the Drama Desk, an organization of theater journalists and critics.

The new musical set in 1950s Memphis dance clubs picked up four prizes including best musical, orchestration, and music, which went to Bon Jovi keyboard player David Bryan. "Memphis" actress Montego Glover tied with Catherine Zeta Jones in "A Little Night Music" for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. Glover plays a black club singer who falls in love with a white DJ.

"Memphis" is also nominated for eight Tony Awards, which will be presented next month.

About 45 minutes into the ceremony, Robert R. Blume, executive producer of the Drama Desk Awards, paid tribute to actress Lynn Redgrave and Associated Press drama critic Michael Kuchwara.

"It's been a sad moment for the New York theater world and the Drama Desk," he said, noting the deaths of Redgrave this month and Kuchwara on Saturday. "She was a close personal friend and a strong supporter of theater and the Drama Desk, one of the great ladies of the theater."

He called Kuchwara's death "a great loss not only to New York theater but to theater lovers all over the world because his critiques reached millions of people worldwide."

"Red," a drama about the tortured Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko, garnered best play by the Drama Desk. "Red" also won top honors for director, Michael Grandage, and lighting design.

Liev Schreiber, who portrays Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge," was named best actor-play, while Jan Maxwell, in the Broadway comedy "The Royal Family," was picked as best actress.

"A View from the Bridge" and August Wilson's "Fences" tied for best revival of a play while "La Cage Aux Folles" won for best revival of a musical, best actor in a musical, Douglas Hodge, and best costume design.

Other acting prizes went to Santino Fontana in "Brighton Beach Memoirs," Viola Davis in "Fences," Christopher Fitzgerald in "Finian's Rainbow," and Katie Finneran in the musical "Promises, Promises."

Twyla Tharp received top choreography honors for "Come Fly Away," John Kander and Fred Ebb garnered best lyricist prize for "The Scottsboro Boys," and saxophonist Branford Marsalis won for best music in a play.

"Sondheim on Sondheim" won best musical review.

The Drama Desk, which was founded in 1949, honors both Broadway and off-Broadway productions.

The awards show, hosted by Patti LuPone, took place at the F.H. LaGuardia Concert Hall at Lincoln Center.

Read the entire article here.

Weekend Jovi Bits

Before I give you all a slew of news and odds and ends, I feel compelled to remind you all that the final New Meadowlands show (for the May sequence) is exactly one week from right now. I realized that earlier today and literally felt my heart stop, because that snuck up on me WAY too quickly. Usually I feel like I have to wait years for my shows to arrive, and now I'm scrambling to pack and get ready for them! But it's a happy, wonderful scramble. :) (P.S. If you're still looking for tickets, Ticketmaster currently has pit for ALL THREE shows up. I kind of wish I hadn't ordered through Backstage [it's abbreviated "BS" for a reason...] because I could have saved about $50. Oh well.)

Anyway, I've been nannying again the last few days (in-house), so I haven't been around much. But I've been getting Google alerts, blog notifications, and general news through the grapevine, and I thought I should update y'all on the Jovi front in case real life has been distracting you too.

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Back in the Studio...AGAIN?!

First things first, simply because I'm shocked...Jon and Richie have been tweeting from the STUDIO again this past week! They're back "recording a couple new songs for you" (from JBJ on Facebook May 20th).

They never rest, I swear. Even on their days off, they work! But does this mean the Meadowlands attendees will get a sneak peek at some new stuff? :)







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Hershey, PA show

The band returned from a three-week hiatus on the Circle Tour to Hershey, PA on Wednesday (May 19). The set list was extremely vanilla (although LTOR wasn't the end of the main set this time), which I have to say is slightly disappointing. After such a long break, guys, really?

Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
We Got It Goin' On
Superman Tonight
Bad Medicine
It's My Life
Love's The Only Rule
Lay Your Hands on Me (Richie Vox)
Make a Memory
I'll Be There For You
Something For The Pain
Runaway
Work for the Working Man
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Keep The Faith
Wanted Dead or Alive
Living on a Prayer

Anyway, reports were that the show was great -- and I read somewhere that some publication picked up on the fact that Jon used the maracas (I think he was compared to Ricky Martin!) and couldn't believe it! Bit slow on the uptake, methinks.

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Tico Torres -- Cigar Aficionado

An article ran about our very own Cuban drummer on cigaraficionado.com, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. (Thanks to Queenie and Hath for the story!) Here's a snippet:

Golf is Torres's outlet for relaxation as well as his exercise when Bon Jovi is on the road. While the other members of the band head for the gym on tour, 56-year-old Torres uses his days off to hit the local links.

"I've met a lot more interesting people through golf than through my career," says Torres. "Willie Nelson got me into golf. I love the integrity of the game. You meet people and spend the day doing things together. You might be from two totally different walks of life but you have that time together."

He's befriended several professional golfers and played rounds with many of the greats, including Tiger Woods. Asked if it was humbling to go tee-to-green with Woods, Torres doesn't miss a beat: "But he can't play drums."

You can read the entire article here.

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David Bryan on Q104.3

David appeared on Q104.3 (Jim Kerr show) last week to talk about his Tony nods (you all heard about that, right?), Memphis, and Bon Jovi. He also performed "Memphis Lives In Me" (LOVE that song) live in the studio. Check it out!

P.S. Jeff Kazee has officially confirmed that he will be filling in for Dave on June 13 at the O2 Dome in London, while he attends the Tony Awards. Best of luck to him and Joe!!

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American Idol ~ Superman Tonight

The band performed on AI on May 12, along with other guest Chris Daughtry (have you heard the news about him, by the way? He and wife and expecting twins this winter!) So Richie's mic was WAY too loud, but really, who's complaining with a voice like that?! ;)



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"When We Were Beautiful" premiere

And finally, the new WWWB video will premiere on bonjovi.com at 12:00 am PST Monday, May 24th...but Backstage members got to see it first yesterday. (Hallelujah, finally a perk! It's not worth $50/year, but still.)

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Hope you are all doing well, and for those of you journeying to Jersey for the Meadowlands shows this upcoming week, travel safely!! (Let's especially pray for no volcanic activity so our European friends can get here sans crisis!) I'll be flying into Newark on Tuesday night. CANNOT WAIT!

Jovi in Miami

Here are some pics of the boys doin' their thing in Miami -- thanks Rike!

Mmm I want to be with them...

Only 19 days...

Hello friends,

Sorry for the absence (again). It's nearly impossible for me to keep this thing going consistently, and I thank you for your patience when it goes without update for a time.

I've been dealing with some obstacles lately, including a sinus infection, and, a week later, a nasty bacterial infection thing called an abscess. If you've never had one of these things, thank your lucky stars. If you have, you have my SINCERE sympathies. I quickly learned that abscesses are probably the most disgusting thing I've ever heard of - or at least, ever had to deal with. The pain is unbearable, I was physically ill for about 12 hours straight (I literally slept next to the toilet), and I just managed to avoid a surgical removal of the infection site because it burst/drained on its own. But no more details, because it's positively disgusting and makes me sick to my stomach. I feel considerably better today, and the doctor's appointment tomorrow should just be for post-care and treatment for a healthy healing/recovery.

ANYWAY, on the Jovi front (because that's what this site is for, after all!), the band is Hawaii-bound and gearing up to start The Circle tour, and several of my friends are already there, enjoying the sunshine and palm trees, waiting for the shows. I must say I'm a bit jealous, for I have those pre-tour jitters already in my gut. Only 19 days until the first of my 3 SoCal shows, and the possibility still of Giants and European shows later on in the tour...I need me a good Jovi fix, I tell you! The last 8 months have been SO taxing, I just need a good loud rock and roll show with my boys. Who's with me?!

First off, today is February 7th, which means we need to wish a certain keyboardist a very Happy Birthday! David Bryan has graced the world with his presence for 48 years today, and may there be many more to come!

Last weekend, I was home for my sinus infection, and I spent a wonderful leisurely Sunday on The Goddess Hathor's site and The Bon Jovi Circle Tour site, downloading a shit ton of MP3s and videos from those wonderfully devoted blog managers. I now have performances from the JBJ & Friends show at the Lincoln Center (Nov. 2009), the NBC Today Show in Rockefeller Center (11/11/09), and the BBC Radio 2 gig (11/14/09), as well as the set Jovi played for the Moscow Peace Festival in 1989. If you want the MP3s, feel free to email me, or check out the BJCT blog (especially if you haven't already seen it!)

Also, I can't remember if I ever posted this, but I have the whole segment from Richie's DJ appearance on Sirius XM Satellite radio back in December, compliments of Rike's fab audio ripping. The entire Circle track listing with his commentary, plus a bonus track of some of his other commentary and song intros. I'm happy to share that too - I burned a copy of the whole segment for Bjorn for his birthday/our anniversary and I believe even he really enjoyed it. Yes, the increasingly critical Jovi fan!

By the way, did anyone else here know that the band played a set at the Venetian in Vegas last week?! I had NO idea it was even planned, but then I read that it was a business/corporate gig. Weird, usually we still hear about those. But in any case, there are some really GREAT pics out there from the event, and they are nice and BIG! Here are a few for you:



Anyway, I hope you're all doing well, and I promise this blog will be back in business now. The Jovi train is comin', folks, I can hear the rumble...can't wait!!

David in NYC for Memphis on Broadway

Our favorite keyboardist was in NYC on Aug. 24th for the BBQ celebration of 'Memphis' on Broadway. There are a ton of pics floating around from Getty Images with the annoying watermark, but I snagged some clear ones from Backstage. :)

(Karen! These are for you!! LOL MUAH!)