Are ya ever too old to see Bon Jovi?

Apparently not!
Last nite as Bon Jovi and his team of five hit the stage at the Xcel Center in St Paul, the lights honed in and the crowd jumped to their feet. With a full house, a truly packed 18,000 strong, the Twin Cities came to get a little Bad Medicine from one guy by the name of John Francis Bongiovi.  While the crowd was seriously row to row chucked full of screaming fans, my husband and I laughed as we looked at our immediate neighbors on floor level.  I said to him, “Now I know what others are thinking when we go to Dave Matthews concerts!”
With a collection of women screaming every time Bon Jovi swirled his hips to the right (oh and to the left), to the 50-60 year old pot bellied men accompanying their wives, the crowd catered more to the Budweiser stand than any other beverage counter on site.  With the holding of one another from behind, swaying to and from to the words of some of his slower ballads (you know the look!) – I felt like I was back in Wisconsin at a VFW dance.  Pretty funny. 
However, it was exactly what the doctor ordered.  If you were looking for someone to give Love a Bad Name or you wanted to recall the words of Bon Jovi’s ever-famed Livin’ on a Prayer – you got it.  It was nothing shocking.  And, exactly what I thought it was going to be.  From Jon’s unbuttoned leather shirts, the drummers cut off sleeveless black t-shirts to Richie Sambora’s red leather snake skinned pants (still fitting!), the band was exactly what I had pictured.  Every word, I mean every word was sang by the crowd remembering it like it was yesterday.  All the way down to Lay Your Hands On Me sang by Sambora, the words evoked memories of the lusty Bon Jovi posters I had hanging from my walls in high school! 
The Star Trib, I’m afraid, had it right this time.  While they are horrible at trashing every single band that comes to the Twin Cities, I think they got it exactly right last nite when they wrote:  Bon Jovi like Applebee’s.   Like I said, you got exactly what you were looking for.  From the big rock, all sing along choruses to the hot booty shaken of Bon Jovi and Sambora’s sexy leather jackets – they probably put on a performance like that every nite.  Not too bad for a group of rockers who have still managed to keep it in shape at 50 years old! 
And, to cinch it all up.  The wine pairing…well, it paired beautifully to the loose, over-sapped out, fruit bomb with absolutely no boundaries – just down right slutty – 2007 Turley ‘Cedarman’ Zinfandel from Howell Mountain that we had for dinner.  Since our return home from Burgundy, my husband hasn’t been able to get back into Pinot Noir just yet, so when he suggested a Turley Zinfandel we both giggled and said, ‘why not!’  And, to not much surprise the wine was exactly what I thought it was going to be.  Going in with some expectation for delivery – knowing that the ticket price was high – it was right where it was supposed to be for Turley’s wines.   Over the top, sweaty, loose, booty shakin’, certainly suave and easy enough to sing along to.  And, if you had a second glass, you wouldn’t even be able to say your name (16.3% alcohol!!)  Bon Jovi and Turley’s Zin would have been best friends.  Fun to drink, but I’m not sure I need to go back – for a long time!
If you didn’t get enough and want to wake up tomorrow morning with the same Jovi hangover, he’s there again tonite!  Some, I’m sure as back for seconds, but just as the Trib said this morning…It’s going to be interesting to see how he’ll change up the same play list of songs.   
Rock on Bon Jovi, Rock ON!