This time last week, the scene in and around Madison Square Garden was an entirely different affair thanks to a certain superstar’s wedding of the century. It’s back to regular programming tonight: New York Knicks regalia is hanging from the rafters again, and music has once again taken center stage as fans file in for Bon Jovi’s Forever tour.
The band’s nine dates at the arena this month mark their first outing in four years, after frontman Jon Bon Jovi underwent major reconstructive surgery on his vocal cords in 2022. (UK dates, including London’s Wembley Stadium, follow later this summer.) The extended break seems to be on the band’s mind as the singer begins with a taped message where he describes a recurring dream in which he holds a spotlight. “In that beam of light I saw your smiling faces. I saw the memories, I saw the songs come to life,” he says. “Our reward for all of this? We get to stand in the reflection of that light.”
That sense of poignancy is a motif that begins with the band’s opening song, a cover of the Joe Cocker version of the Beatles’ With a Little Help from My Friends. As Jon Bon Jovi’s crisp voice echoes through the arena, I wonder if he is singing about his band: some members have been with him for the long haul (with the notable exception of guitarist Richie Sambora, who departed the group in 2013). Or maybe it is a note of gratitude toward his doctor, who helped him get back on stage? Then again, it could be a note to his passionate fans, some of whom traveled from across the country to see them in their only US shows this year.
“We are in the home of champions, are we not?” he says to the crowd, referencing the Knicks. Considering it is night two of their engagement at the venue, “all of the butterflies are long gone. We got a long night ahead, so strap yourself in.” With that, he appropriately launches into the band’s 2005 hit Who Says You Can’t Go Home, which begins a relentless swerve from one high-energy track into another; by the end of the night they will sing 22 from their four-decade career.
Some rockers lose their spunk as the years go by, or at the very least the rooms get smaller. Here, Bon Jovi are energized and tight, transitioning from the hair metal tracks that made them superstars (Livin’ on a Prayer) to radio staples from the dawn of the millennium (It’s My Life). Meanwhile, fellow founding member and drummer Tico Torres (72), rocks out as if his very life depended on it. After one of many extended bouts of audience applause, the frontman steps back to take stock of the adoring crowd and thump on his heart with emotion.
It is hard to not think about the passage of time. There used to be an era when Jon Bon Jovi himself was a sex symbol; now he is 64 and the father of 24-year-old Jake Bongiovi, a model and social media star most famous for marrying Millie Bobby Brown. Aside from a few slick poses during hits like Wanted Dead or Alive and Have a Nice Day, he remains glued to his microphone stand. One move he repeats involves sticking both arms in the air to the beat of the songs, and encouraging the audience to do the same. He sings in a lowered, comfortable register, never straining his refurbished cords, as if he is taking out a classic car for a spin while being careful not to scratch it.
When Bon Jovi was releasing sexually charged albums like Slippery When Wet, it was hard to imagine that they’d still be giving life to their hits decades later – perhaps not the band nor the audiences themselves, many of them have grown up with them. But today, missing is the big hair, drunk escapades and late nights that embodied their initial era. By 10.30pm, it is time to go home.
“I just want you to know how appreciative I am to have your support for these last four years,” he says as an encore begins with the band’s 1989 power ballad I’ll Be There for You. “I hope you think I passed the audition tonight.”
