[Bon Jovi] had an ear-to-ear smile for two songs.
The members of Bobby Mahoney and the Seventh Son from East Brunswick were also smiling on Sunday. They opened the show with a torrent of rock ‘n’ roll sizzle and big stage appeal.
“The first song I ever sang in front of a fifth of anybody was a fifth grade talent show, ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’ “ Mahoney said.
The band — Andrew Saul, guitar; Jon Chang-Soon, bass; James McIntosh, drums and Zack Sandler, sax — packed a lot of punch into their 20 minute set. Mahoney and Saul had a guitar duel on the band’s “.38 Special” that took no prisoners.
When it was over, the crowd cheer like they meant it. They liked what they saw. The band plays the Asbury Park Yacht Club on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park on Friday, April 13. American Trappist are also on the bill.
Bon Jovi will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on Saturday, April 14. The Cars, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe are also going in. The ceremony will be broadcast 8 p.m. Saturday, May 5 on HBO.