Jon Bon Jovi says that he and his band expend the same energy whether they’re playing for 500 people or 5000 people, but there really was something special going on the room when they recorded the intimate show that heralds the return of the famed Unplugged franchise. A couple weeks ago in Brooklyn, the Jersey boys smoked their way through a handful of classic tunes and the cream of their new Lost Highway disc. The Jovi zealots who were whooping it up in the cozy soundstage made it clear that they preferred the 500 person situation rather than its counterpart. It’s nice to sit the lap of superstars.

Unplugged is making the rounds. The show debuts on June 22 on MTV, and then moves to VH1 on June 23, and CMT on the 24th. Each iteration of the program will be populated with slightly different songs, so those zealots mentioned above will need to bop by all three channels to get the wide view. Some cool collabos went down in Brooklyn, that’s for sure. An elaborate string section, a duet with LeAnn Rimes, and a visit from members of the All-American Rejects all made the evening unique. Then there was that version of a famous hit (let’s not say which one) that conjured some Stray Cats swing before doing a drive-by on “Hit the Road, Jack.” Along the way, the Rejects’ Tyson Ritter gave Jon a “we are not worthy” bow after finishing a harmony duet. Something tells us that longtime BJ fans might be doing the same thing when they get a hit of the final cut(s).

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