Jon Bon Jovi rocks ‘Absinthe’ tent on Las Vegas Strip

Jon Bon Jovi stepped in that direction on Friday afternoon during an acoustic performance in the band’s “Runaway Tours” fan/VIP travel package.

These recurring opportunities are open to fans who want to pay top dollar (typically between $1,800 and $2,200) to stay in luxurious hotels, experience top entertainment and eat at fancy restaurants. About 500 fans signed up for the weekend at Caesars. Bon Jovi’s acoustic gig, on Gazilloinaire’s home court, was the weekend highlight.

The venerable front man paused early in his rare appearance at the “Absinthe” theater, looked around and said, “I’ve gotta say, we’ve done this ‘Runaway’ thing for years and years, all around the world, but this ‘Absinthe’ room is really cool. I can imagine the band coming back here.”

The crowd cheered. Bon Jovi added, “We could do like the Rolling Stones did with that circus thing, with John Lennon.”

That was a reference to the 1968 “Rock & Roll Circus” film, hosted by the Stones and featuring such legends as Lennon, The Who, Eric Clapton and Jethro Tull.

The circus-fashioned Spiegeltent would be a fantastic forum for a Bon Jovi performance. That obvious point was not lost on Caesars Palace General Manager Sean McBurney, seated in the crowd. His eyes widened as the singer announced that possibility.

Bon Jovi also used the opportunity to promote the wine company he founded with his son, Jesse Bongiovi, Diving Into Hampton Water Rose. Several denim-and-bandana-clad Bon Jovi fans were sipping the vino. It’s an anecdotal, yet reliable, measure of success.

Late in the set, Bon Jovi, who is headlining T-Mobile Arena on June 20, also recalled the 1996 “These Days” tour of the U.K. The last three shows of that series at Wembley Stadium were filmed for the concert film “Live From London.” Van Halen opened during the tour, and the band was anxious about serving as Bon Jovi’s support act.

Drummer Alex Van Halen expressed his frustration to Bon Jovi, saying he was dismayed by the tepid crowd response.

Bon Jovi listened, then asked, “Do you know what color the seats are in Knoxville, Tenn.?”

“No,” Van Halen said. “Why would I care?”

“They’re orange,” Bon Jovi continued. “You know how I know that? Because we were down there in 1995, and there were a lot of empty seats.”

A couple years ago, out of nowhere, a truck carrying a giant crate pulled up to Bon Jovi’s High Point Estate in Middletown, N.J. They were transported from Knoxville Coliseum.

“I opened the crate and there we four orange seats,” Bon Jovi said, as the crowd laughed. “They were from the arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.”

Van Halen tagged the back of the chairs with a big patch, reading, “Orange seats suck.”

Bon Jovi grinned and said, “I still have those seats.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.