It was early 2020 when I purchased tickets to see Bon Jovi in April that same year. They had an album ready to be released in May. The opening act was none other than Bryan Adams. I was beaming. Then it happened. Everything was cancelled due to the pandemic, tickets refunded, plans halted. I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. So when Bon Jovi announced their 2022 tour in America I took my chance to rectify that unfortunate episode and got tickets for the Texas shows. Dallas was the highlight for me.
Bon Jovi has a solid fan base so the atmosphere was one of excitement and high expectations. Walking through the crowd of a Bon Jovi show is always interesting. You have the usual 80’s crowd dressed the part, the middle aged Bon Jovi fan base accompanied by their children most likely attending their first Bon Jovi concert. You have bikers. You have the elderly. You have excited teenagers surprisingly singing the new songs proving Bon Jovi’s potential to garner new admirers is doing well. It’s a dynamic crowd indeed.
I’m on the second row, centre stage. I paid a hefty price for the privilege of being close and able to make eye contact with Jon Bon Jovi so my expectations should be high, but I painfully admit I’m a bit nervous. Having been a Bon Jovi fan for 36 years and being part of a tight knitted Bon Jovi community gives me prompt access to opinions and criticism and there was a lot of talk about the decline of Jon Bon Jovi’s voice. I tried to avoid all the talk and live videos but the little that I had seen caused me some anxiety about the quality of what I was about to experience. I don’t think I’ve ever attended a Bon Jovi concert without being prepared to be amazed, so this feeling was quite new to me.
When the band walked onstage and started playing the tunes for their latest album opening song ‘Limitless’ I realized I needn’t be worried. When Tico Torres drums roared I felt the old connection straight away. And then Jon Bon Jovi walks onstage and BAM! It’s the show man himself and he is full of fire and ready to rock the house. I accept the invitation.
Jon Bon Jovi has been doing this for so long I like to believe he became immune to the talk. People even made YouTube videos with pointless comparisons about his voice to a few years ago. Once upon a time the man caused a commotion just for cutting his hair. He is as big as they get so it’s unavoidable to cop some harsh criticism. I would like to think he’s developed an almost impenetrable skin after all this time on the spotlight. But even all the talk has a good side, after all, the fact he’s still causing a commotion is an undeniable sign he is the quintessential Rockstar.
He is also resourceful and respectful of his crowd. Even though his voice doesn’t ring as powerful as it used to, he ‘dresses’ some songs in more amenable tones which he sings wholeheartedly. For the high notes he’s got great vocal support from David Bryan, Phil X, Everett Bradley and John Shanks. The energy onstage is contagious. Jon Bon Jovi, as usual, gives his all.
I think that the mindset of the concert goer is what makes or breaks a show like this. What are you there for? Are you an 80’s music fan who’s coming to see a legend onstage? You got it! Are you there expecting to see the Bon Jovi you saw in earlier years? Save your money. There is this thing called Time. It makes our skin sag and abused vocal chords lose their power. And Jon Bon Jovi abused it freely in the name of entertainment and bless him for that. Are you going to the show looking to be entertained? You’ll be in the right place!
Jon Bon Jovi’s voice may no longer be the thunder it once was but his legend, his fire, his commitment to perform at the best of his ability remains untouched.
All I feel at the end is elated I can still see Bon Jovi, feel that synergy between band and audience, sing songs like ‘Born To Be My Baby’ in the same breath as him, find myself dripping with sweat after jamming to ‘Bad Medicine’, scream that ‘ Life Is Limitless’ and to ‘Keep The Faith’ and believe it in my bones. And to find myself at the end of the night totally spent and almost voiceless. That’s a success in my books. And being able to stand there 36 years later and feel that magic is priceless.
The rest is talk. Want talk? Go check YouTube or read comments on social media. Want action? Go see a Bon Jovi show.
Set List
Limitless | The Radio Saved My Life Tonight | You Give Love A Bad Name | We Weren’t Born To Follow | It’s My Life | Beautiful Drug | Born To Be My Baby | This House Is Not For Sale | Older | Let It Rain | Keep The Faith | American Reckoning | Whole Lot Of Leavin’ | Do What You Can | I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead | Lost Highway | Roller Coaster | Who Says You Can’t Go Home | Livin’ On A Prayer | Wanted Dead Or Alive | Bad Medicine
