Bon Jovi, one of the world’s most famous rock bands, still draws enormous crowds of fans to their concerts. They are an icon and their hits, which span decades, are the kind of timeless music that most people, young and old, can’t fail to recognize. It’s easy to see why.
On this tour, the band has expanded its entourage to include wife Dorothea and their sons Jake and Romeo. This is the first time since the early ’80s that they have had all of their kids by their side for a concert.
The family-friendly atmosphere is clearly paying off with the audience. A large percentage of the people in the crowd were either parents or grandparents, and the kids seemed to be having a great time, dancing and singing along with the band members.
As a whole, the two-hour show was well put together and the set list was packed with the classics, although I was disappointed that they didn’t play “Runaway.” Jon talked about it several times, but they never played it. It’s a shame because it’s one of the band’s biggest hits.
Jon’s vocals were also pretty lousy throughout the show. He’s never been a technical singer but his voice seems to be losing some of its power over the years. I know it’s not fair to compare him to his hair metal era but he missed many notes and struggled during the show.
Other members of the band did a great job of covering for Jon and giving him the support he needed. Phil X is doing an excellent job filling in for Richie Sambora, and Everett Bradley’s bass work was outstanding. Keyboardist David Bryan is a delight to watch and the rest of the band are incredibly talented musicians.
I’m sure the new material will be fine once it gets a chance to mature. Bon Jovi understands that they are really here for the copper-bottomed smashes from their ’80s albums, and they gave those to us in spades.
The band’s opening song, “Beautiful Drug,” and the melodic “Do What You Can” from 2020 both sounded good, and Jon’s lower range did his voice justice, but his upper range was still lacking the kind of power he once had.
Bon Jovi fans will probably forgive these shortcomings for the fact that they got to hear all of their favorites, including a few songs not found on the chart-topping 1986 album Slippery When Wet like “Born to Be My Baby,” ‘Let It Rock” and “You Give Love A Bad Name.”
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