The album ‘Crush’ saw Bon Jovi back on the scene and having major success. The album sold over 5 million copies worldwide and go to #9 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The band had a huge successful tour and to capitalize on the renewed love for Bon Jovi, they recorded one of the shows and released it on DVD and sold over 100,000 copies in the U.S. The show was recorded on August 30, 2000 in Zurich, Switzerland at the Letzigrund Stadium. The show was directed by a Jon relative by the name of Anthony Bongiovi. When all was done, it was released in Japan on December 7, 2000 while Wiki says it was released on May 28th, 2001, but since the date on the back cover says 2000, I’m going with the December date.

The boys are the same as it is Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres and of course, Hugh McDonald on bass and not yet a full time official member. The DVD has the full show, plus some bonus features as well along with some music videos so it is jammed pack with goodness. My copy is a standard edition from the U.S., no extras above and beyond what is expected. I picked this up used and it was in great shape and probably cost about $5 so I was pretty happy. Enough chit chat, let’s get to the show.

The show kicks off with “Living on A Prayer”…how solid is your catalog when this classic opens the show? When Richie gets on the talk box and the drums kick in, the crowd goes nuts and starts bouncing up and down for the entire song. They don’t let up. Jon commands the crowd like a good frontman should. They go right in to “You Give Love A Bad Name” and they keep the party going at full force. The crowd doesn’t let a little rain dampen their spirit or their energy.

Jon and the boys don’t waste anytime with getting to the new songs and they do three in a row. First is “Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars” and sees Jon pull out the acoustic and talks to his crowd of 50,000 screaming fans and a ton more listening on the radio. For a new song, the crowd is in to it and I will admit it plays well live. One of the better songs from the album. Then we get another favorite of mine from the album with “Say It Isn’t So”. The studio version is fantastic, but live it falls flat and a little lifeless and they can’t seem to hit the notes that are on the album. It just sounds muddied here. A little disappointed with that.

The third song from ‘Crush’ is “One Wild Night” and it starts off with David doing the carnival tune and then kicking in to the song which does rock out here and the fans are back to bouncing up and down and clapping their hands in unison. This got the energy going again. It got a little cheesy as there is a tiki bar type thing on stage with people dancing around it and Jon gets up there and dances with a woman and lays a big stage kiss on her. After a 2,3,4, we get “Born to Be My Baby” as David’s keyboard screams the notes. Nothing special, they just rock it out as they should.

Back to the talk box goes Richie and the band’s massive new hit is up next with “It’s My Life”. The crowd sing along with all their voices as loud as they can do it. The energy level went up a notch with this one. And just as fast the mood calms down and David tickles the ivory to start “Bed of Roses”. Jon sings it with all his heart and sounds great. The song is played as it should be and no one is disappointed. There was another bar on the other side of the stage with more people (VIP paying people probably) that Jon joins and they all try to touch him or kiss him o the cheek.

The band goes back to ‘Crush’ with two more songs. First up is “Two Story Town” and Jon sings with David Bryan who is backing him up. This is an okay song on the album and honestly, doesn’t get any better live for me. It is a slower song and coming off “Bed of Roses”, maybe too slow. Things pick up with “Just Older” as it is more anthemic and a very relatable song. It really is one of the better songs on the album so I’m glad they played this one.

Now it is back to the classics and I really like what they did to “Runaway”. They slowed it down with just David on keys and Jon on vocals. It was wonderful. So glad they are still playing this one back then. Then it was time to rock as they go to church with “Lay Your Hands On Me”. The crowd starts singing before the band even gets going. And when they do, the harmonies are great. Then Bam! The party starts back up. Jon jumps off stage and goes out slapping everyone’s hands. After that is “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” which starts out with Tico giving the beat and Hugh on bass. Jon talks with the crowd about them being a Man Band and not a Boy Band…well okay. They go all honky-tonk and rock it out. Richie rips a blistering solo as the boys jam out a little with Tico beating the hell out of those drums.

The electricity keeps going as they shock the crowd to make sure they are awake with “Bad Medicine”. A classic Bon Jovi track, but also one of the cheesiest of their tracks. I think I’ve heard this one so many times, I’m a little tired of it. And when Jon says “One more time, just one more time” and I’m thinking…noooooo! But what I don’t ever tire of is “Wanted Dead or Alive” and Bon Jovi don’t disappoint. The cowboy hats come on (Jon’s is kind of goofy – not very cowboy more like cowgirl) and the acoustic guitars comes out. Richie does pull out the electric for the solo because that’s what he’s supposed to do. And Richie’s backing vocals on this…Damn!! What else can you say about this one, it’s a great song and there is no denying it. And that is it. Good night Jon says, but they don’t leave the stage they go right in to “I’ll Be There for You”. Another ballad and this time the lighters are lit up as phones weren’t smart yet. The song goes on for 8 minutes and a lot of Richie guitar thrown in for good measure.

We get another ‘Crush’ song and the final ‘Crush’ song of the night with “Next 100 Years”. This late in the show, I don’t really want to hear this and it does dampen the mood as not everyone knows this one. He does get the crowd in to it with the waving of the arms and then a scorching solo by Richie helps save things. We are now down to the final two songs and next to last “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night”. A cheesy song, but seems to be a crowd favorite. It doesn’t do much for me though.

Finally we come to a close with a true classic, “Keep the Faith”. Hugh lays down that wicked bass line and Jon grabs his maracas. No, not Hugh’s nuts, actual maracas. By the way, Jon’s still wearing that goofy cowboy hat from back when the played Wanted Dead or Alive. The really rock it out and at the end he introduces the band and it is all over. The end and credits play “Thank You For Loving Me” which I was surprised wasn’t part of the show.

The bonus material is pretty good. You get a 30-minute documentary of the backstage life from The Crush Tour as well as interviews with the members. It is flashes from live show to backstage and is a great snapshot of what went on. They talk about how they constantly change the setlist each night and Jon doesn’t decide it until about 30 minutes before the show and he even changed it while walking to the stage. And a lot of behind the scenes from the music videos they shot for the album. Cool stuff like that. I wonder if they still do that as I don’t really know as I haven’t seen them in years. There is also a photo gallery, a discography as well as 2 music videos for the new singles from ‘Crush’ for “It’s My Life” and “Say It Isn’t So”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that “Say It Isn’t So” video and man that had a lot of stars in it. There is a lot of good things.

I’ll give the boys credit as they played 7 songs from the new album which is is quite a lot. I would’ve rather them drop a couple and play some other hits, but not my show. They always put on a great show back in these days. A couple of the new songs did slow things down a bit, but otherwise it was a great performance from the band. They do go out there and give it their all. I think it is a great one to get if you are looking for a good Bon Jovi show to get it. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.

NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘THE LOVE SONGS E.P.’ (2001) – PROMO CD

THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:

1. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
2. Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
3. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
4. Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
5. Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
6. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
7. Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
8. Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
9. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
10. Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
11. Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
12. Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
13. Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
14. Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
15. Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
16. Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
17. Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
18. Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
19. Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
20. Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
21. Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
22. Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
23. Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
24. Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
25. Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
26. Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
27. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
28. Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
29. Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
30. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
31. Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
32. Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
33. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
34. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
35. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
36. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
37. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
38. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
39. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5, Part 6) – (2004)
40. Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
41. Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
42. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
43. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
44. Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
45. Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
46. Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
47. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
48. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
49. Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
50. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
51. Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
52. Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
53. Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
54. Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
55. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
56. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
57. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
58. RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
59. Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
60. Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)

We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:

1. Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
2. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
3. Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
4. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
5. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
6. Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
7. Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
8. Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
9. Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
10. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
11. Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
12. Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single