Review by Paul Monkhouse for MPM
Tonight, as he looks at the sight of a sold out Wembley, Jon Bon Jovi looks emotional. It’s no wonder really, the vocal issues and subsequent surgery he had could have easily brought the end to his career and nights like this.
It’s been a long road back to health but he’s nothing but a fighter and when the roar of tens of thousands of people fill the air the moment he steps onto the stage the beaming smile he has is well deserved. This return to Wembley Stadium heightens the feeling too, Bon Jovi having last played here during the Summer of 2019, the venue the scene of some of the most notable triumphs of their career and tonight, the first of three, it feels like home.
With a direct nod to the support shown by the singer to his bandmates, family, friends and the seventy-thousand people packed into the huge space, opening the show by covering The Beatles ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ was an unexpectedly poignant choice, the first verse a particularly brave one. Thankfully, any worries about his vocal abilities are immediately dispelled and the bounce and good natured swagger is there for all to see. Whilst the hair may be greyer, it seems like no time has passed since the band first toured the UK opening for KISS, followed by their first headline shows supporting the massive breakthrough of ‘Slippery When Wet’ some four decades ago.
Onstage, David Bryan’s keys and Tico Torres on drums link everything back to those nascent days and with longstanding bass player Hugh McDonald, guitarist Phil X, second guitarist John Shanks and percussionist Everett Bradley bringing their own magic, this is Bon Jovi at their full-throttle best. The set is a cherry-picked and career spanning delight, the omission of first single ‘Runaway’ being the only tiny gripe but when the rest of the set is this good and this long, such qualms pale into insignificance. From the rainbow colours of ‘Beautiful Drug’ onwards, the stage was ablaze with light and colour that lit up the faces right to the very back of the stadium and with the raised hands of a ballsy ‘We Weren’t Born To Follow’ and the heroic scale of ‘Legendary’, there was no doubt that the band were out to thrill with every step.
It shows the strength and breadth of their material when a band can throw one of their biggest hits in early during the set and the unmistable throb and huge chorus of ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ so close to the start sends the crowds into a frenzy. This was a loud audience and one out to make the most of this being a Friday night. A sea of phone lights lit the stadium as a wash of red covered those on the pitch for ‘Bed Of Roses’, the sight and sound an almost perfect example of how events of this scale hit differently. They were only getting started though and ‘These Arms’ and the tough, Springsteen-ish punch of ‘This House Is Not For Sale’ led into a run of big hits and fast paced rockers that showed once again that Bon Jovi have got plenty of muscle to go with the melody.
It was on these latter numbers that Phil X really came into his own, the fretwork on ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, ‘Raise Your Hands’ and ‘Keep The Faith’ being particularly fiery, Bryan also got his chance to shine as the spotlight switched to Bon Jovi’s old school friend. With a display of peerless heavier numbers and big ballads, it’s still hard for anyone to touch this band of brothers for sheer spectacle and heart and by the time the closing song’s notes fade, there’s smiles all round. The band take their bows to roars from all there and the love affair between the band and the audience that burned so bright all those years ago is a passionate as ever. A night to remember for everyone and one that shows the true power of music.
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