Lite metal's Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls hit the Key

Bon Jovi has joined that rare class of rock acts that don't have hit records anymore but still sell plenty of concert tickets.

It's not a bad class to be in. Among its members: Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, Elton John, the Eagles and Neil Diamond. You can even include last year's top ticket-seller, Paul McCartney.

Bon Jovi qualifies because its latest album, "Bounce," stiffed but the "Bounce Tour," which comes to KeyArena on Tuesday, is doing well.

Of course, anticipation had been building for years for a Bon Jovi tour. The popular 1980s lite-metal group was largely inactive in the '90s, while heartthrob lead singer Jon Bon Jovi concentrated on his movie career.

He had some success with his first film, "Moonlight & Valentino" in 1995, in which he was typecast as a working-class hunk that all the ladies in the picture lusted after. (He later played a similar, recurring character on TV's "Ally McBeal.")

Suddenly hot in Hollywood, he made a slew of movies after that, none of which was even moderately successful. At least "The Leading Man" and "Homegrown" were shown in theaters. Most of his other movies went straight to video, including "Row Your Boat," "Little City" and "No Looking Back."

With his movie career a dud, Jon Bon Jovi got interested in being a rock star again. In 2000, the band regrouped and recorded "Crush," its first album since 1995's "These Days." The new album didn't get much notice, although it did sell enough copies to be certified gold (for selling 500,000 copies). The band got an inkling of its new status when the "Crush World Tour" did good business.

Of course, audiences don't want to hear the new songs from the albums few people heard or bought. They want to hear the hits. And Bon Jovi has been delivering them in its two-hour show, which features "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Wanted Dead or Alive," "Bad Medicine" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

Besides the songs, the attraction for many Bon Jovi fans is Jon Bon Jovi. The band has always traded on his good looks, which are always featured in the videos, album covers and promo shots. At 41, he still maintains his youthful face and figure. It's likely most of the crowd at the Key will be women who were teenagers in Bon Jovi's heyday, 20 years ago.

Opening is another noteworthy lite-metal band, the Goo Goo Dolls. Johnny Rzeznik (another heartthrob, but of a rougher variety) and company play mostly scorching, punk-edged rock. But its hits have all been ballads, most notably "Iris," from the "City of Angels" soundtrack. Those who only know the band from its hits may be surprised to find that its live show has only one or two ballads. The rest is hard-driving rock.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com