Bon Jovi was my first concert experience back in 1987 during Slippery When Wet. I saw them again at a sold-out performance at Giants Stadium in 1989 during the New Jersey tour. Flash forward 21 years later and I’m at a sold out Bon Jovi concert at the sweltering Sommet Center in Nashville, TN.
As Daughtry finished his set (I will review him in a separate post) I started to feel the fluttering anticipatory sensations in my belly. The arena was packed. Women and men of all ages were clapping their hands with excitement, I fiddled with my camera to make sure the settings were right, old friends two rows down found each other after a few years and were hugging and sharing baby pics on their iPhones. There was a row of men behind me that looked like they could use a good ass-kicking show. And, what song was on the overhead while Bon Jovi’s minimalist stage was being set up? “I Write Sins not Tragedies” by Panic! At the Disco. Hmmm. That’s unexpected. Secretly, I had hoped that they wouldn’t be sick of playing the classics. I was a Slippery When Wet/New Jersey fan after all, but I haven’t been so keen on the country mood they’ve been in lately. I was a little worried that it would be all new material with a sprinkling of classics. Regardless, Bon Jovi always get good reviews for their shows. It was going to be a good time and let’s face it, these guys were my first love. I owed it to them.
Suddenly, the houselights went down, the flashing of cameras began and the Bon Jovi ripped into what was to become a three hour set opening with a rocking version of “Lost Highway”and immediately slid into “Born to be My Baby” then “You Give Love a Bad Name”. Hell yes.
During the entire set that covered classics like Born to Be My Baby and Raise Your Hands to recent country hits like ‘Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore, JBJ bounced onstage with an energy that comes from doing what you were born to do. Despite the heat inside the arena, the energy coming off the stage never waned. JBJ ate up our admiration and love and literally demanded we give him more. We responded with fervor by singing harmony (or just Richie’s part at times) to his melody and even took over when he gave us the cue. Some of the songs I hadn’t heard in years and yet I still remembered every lyric, every riff, every pulsing blip-bloop of David Bryan’s keyboards!
It was good to see Richie onstage. He had recently been arrested for DUI in Laguna Beach and I was a little concerned that he would not be at the show Thursday night. But thankfully, he was there, and sang a fantastic solo version of “I’ll Be There For You” with David Bryan on keyboards as backup. He brought out a couple Fender Strats, a vintage Gibson Les Paul, and his trademark twin neck acoustic/electric. The chemistry between he and JBJ is still there and it was so good to see.
Twice the band was joined by fellow country musicians: Big & Rich came out to sing the song they wrote together, ‘We Got it Goin’ On”. Later, LeAnn Rimes, appearing in a tight black tube mini dress, joined JBJ to sing their recently CMT awarded “Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore”. This was a bonus, but Bon Jovi was the star of the show.
Setlist
Lost Highway
Born to Be My Baby
You Give Love a Bad Name
Raise Your Hands
Older
Sleep
Summertime
In These Arms (I had forgotten what a great song this is)
Blood Money
Blaze of Glory
Whole Lot of Leavin'
Saturday Night
We Got it Goin' On (with Big & Rich)
It’s My Life (reminds me of M. God, we loved this song!)
Bad Medicine
I'll Be There For You
(You Want To) Make A Memory (this he sang from inside the audience)
‘Til We Ain’t Strangers Anymore ( with LeAnn Rimes)
Who Says You Can’t Go Home
Have a Nice Day Faith
Livin’ On a Prayer
ENCORE:
I Love This Town
Wanted Dead or Alive
If I was to compare the audience reaction to another Jersey band, who JBJ recently called the”next generation of Jersey band”, I’d have to say that Livin’ On a Prayer does to Bon Jovi fans what Helena does to My Chemical Romance fans: makes them go apeshit.
Also, Blaze of Glory was probably the most amazing part of the evening in regards to audience participation. During its chorus, you heard the voices of 1,000s of men singing ‘I’M GOIN DOOOOOOWN IN A BLAZE OF GLOREH...” and just as many half-empty cups of beer raised up in the air. Country boys luv that shit, but I had not seen so many showing their admiration at one time. Pretty spectacular.
For the row of men behind me, who were well lit by the end of the show, Wanted Dead or Alive was the most anticipated song. I kept hoping for their sakes that the band would play it because I sure had to hear about it a lot that evening. There was one guy who assured his friends often by saying “I’m tellin’ yew, they’re gawna play it. They got to.” When JBJ introduced the last song as their national anthem, I knew which one they were talking about and felt relief. The happy boys shot out a redneck war cry and sang every word. I love the South so much.
Despite the sweltering heat of the sold out arena, the 17,000 + Music City fans drank beer like it was water, sang so loud the Lord above could hear, and made sure that Bon Jovi knew we were just where we wanted to be. The only thing that would have made it perfect was if my mom had been there with me. I’ve always been a fan, but she is the superfan in the family. Having recently decided that her concert days are over, I went alone and thought of her every minute. -K
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