New York, New York – Jon Bon Jovi stopped by Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on Monday evening, and let’s just say you could have robbed a bank in Central Jersey during his visit. The special evening — a gift from American Express to its Bon Jovi-loving cardholders — offered a sneak preview at When We Were Beautiful, a documentary on the group directed by Phil Griffin. The event was part music, part discussion, and part bellows of  “Jon, we love you!” from the audience. When you take a Brit like Phil Griffin and have him emcee an event filled with the extras from The Real Housewives of New Jersey, it’s bound to be spectacle. I swear I heard a woman yell, “I named my kids Jon, Bon, and Jovi.”

More to the point, the evening was a celebration of the documentary which commemorates the 25th anniversary of the band. Mr. Bon Jovi, as he’s known, was the sole member to show, as his buddies Richie Sambora and the rest of the band were at home resting. He played roughly six songs, including “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Lost Highway.” Jon told the audience he had been down south and he was working on a country album, “and I know you all hate that,” he said emphatically, but this album will be Bon Jovi-influenced, and I’m sure as long as it’s him singing, there will be no complaints. He discussed his songwriting techniques, and whereas John Lennon and Paul McCartney each took credit for the others’ songs, he and Richie Sambora most likely mirror that of Bono and The Edge, where they really do write their own stuff. He remarked “the most important ingredient in songwriting is grabbing onto a lyric — that’s what keeps a song popular, and that’s what people can identify with. ‘The Macarena’ may have been a catchy tune, but can you really identify with it?”

In between questions, there was a bit of commentary about Bon Jovi’s approach to his music and wanting to share his experiences with such a large audience. He noted that, in recent years, the band has had to deal with personal losses and sobriety issues. He added that, in his newer material, he wanted to jump on all of the recent political and economic upheavals in the world, especially since the 2008 election. He mentioned Neda, the Iranian woman who was shot in the streets during the election, as an example of someone who had a voice and needed to be heard.

The show concluded with questions from the audience, and by questions I mean women telling him that they loved him so very much. No Q & A session is complete without an audience member on the verge of puking and crying, and we had that as an added bonus. One woman asked if he wanted his daughter to grow up and marry someone like him. It was a good question. He ruminated on it and said, “Sure, as long as I don’t end up supporting him too.”

Jon Bon Jovi’s latest album, The Circle, is available now wherever DVDs are sold.