KEY POINTS:
Bon Jovi has been wowing the crowds on stage and off during his recent Australian tour, where he tipped a local Sydney waiter AUD$600.
Tristan Tomlinson, a waiter at Woolloomooloo's Manta Restaurant, happily accepted the wad of cash last Sunday after Bon Jovi, his band and entourage, dined
at the venue.
Back on stage, Bon Jovi and co have been leaving fans equally thrilled with their long-awaited Lost Highway Tour.
Set to play Christchurch's AMI Stadium on Sunday night, we check out the show's latest reviews:
Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Reviewed by Patrick Emery, The Australian
"With an impressively lithe figure and teeth that are an orthodontist's dream, Bon Jovi is a regular hometown guy playing to an audience of everyday people. He just happens to lead one of the most enduring bands of the 1980s.
"Guitarist Richie Sambora plays Keith Richards to Bon Jovi's Mick Jagger. He's clad in a tasselled purple jacket and maroon flares: Sambora's rock moves may have been tempered by age but he has lost none of his on-stage charisma.
"The show began with Glad All Over, the first of a number of well-chosen covers that illustrate Bon Jovi's admiration for classic rock'n'roll.
"You Give Love a Bad Name gave the crowd its first opportunity to chant one of Bon Jovi's anthems. The opportunity returned with Bad Medicine and with the acappella prelude to Living on a Prayer."
Acer Arena, Sydney
Reviewed by George Palathingal, Sydney Morning Herald
"Bon Jovi have consistently been about the best rock band to do heart-crushing power ballads, and they are all present and correct.
"If ever proof was needed that there's room in this world for big, dumb, pseudo-epic sing-alongs, you need look no further than You Give Love A Bad Name and Livin' On A Prayer. This is, after all, the band that called their 2004 box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong. On a night like this you would have to agree."
Acer Arena, Sydney
Reviewed by Kathy McCabe, The Daily Telegraph
"Bon Jovi brought their travelling rock and roll church to Acer Arena last night and there's no doubt they were preaching to the converted.
"The evangelical front man Jon Bon Jovi revved the crowd up with more come ons than a Leyton Hewitt tennis match.
His band mates, including guitarist Ritchie Sambora, proved equally entertaining as they blasted through the Bon Jovi catalogue.
"Their singer wasn't kidding with the slogan Juke Box Hero emblazoned on the back of his vest. It was anthem after anthem, including Bad Medicine, Livin' on a Prayer, Keep The Faith, Wanted Dead or Alive, It's My Life, and You Give Love a Bad Name.
- NZ HERALD STAFF