UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Jon Bon Jovi guessed from the stage at Mohegan Sun on Saturday night that it has been “29 to 30 years or so” that the fans have been supporting his rock’ n’ roll dream.
That fan base shows no signs of wavering.
Either does the band.
Bon Jovi played a sold out Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, the fourth and final stop at the venue along the current tour, and thanked the faithful with a two hour and fifteen minute set of high powered rock.
The production alone was a tribute to the arena rock milieu. Everything above and behind the circular stage moved, morphed, and slid, from the hi tech video screens to the hydraulic risers that, when they weren’t supporting the lead singer, where also serving as video boards.
There may only be a handful of bands that can play an arena rock show like Bon Jovi. In fact, it is this band that might define the genre.
After the bells rung and the whistles whistled, Bon Jovi emerged from all the moving parts to ring up “Last Man Standing,” and followed with “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
The two songs made sense together but represent two very different parts of the band’s career. The latter was recorded when critics were putting Bon Jovi in the same hair-band category as Skid Row, Warrant, and Cinderella.
Anyone know where any of those bands were playing this weekend?
The latter song was also the first spotlight moment for fill-in Phil X, the guitarist who is taking the place of Richie Sambora while the longtime band member is doing a stint in rehab. Phil X is a well-known session player (Daughtry, Avril Lavigne, Alice Cooper) who seemed to fit right in with the group.
After anthems “Superman Tonight,” and “Lost Highway,” Bon Jovi rolled a little country flavor into the mix with the yearning rocker “Whole Lot of Leaving.” Again the newer song was paired with a classic, serving as the prelude to “Bad Medicine.”
It was during “Bad Medicine” that Jon Bon Jovi took leave of the set list and with prompting from Jersey pal and former Cats on A Smooth Surface (and occasional Asbury Juke) Bobby Bandiera wrestled in Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman.”
With the lights down, Bon Jovi made his way out to the center of the arena via the circular catwalk and gave acoustic versions of “(You Want To) Make a Memory,” and “I’ll Be There for You.”
He returned to the stage for “Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night,” subtly dedicating the song to Sambora.
“I can hear your voices,” he said. “You’re all pulling for our friend, right?”
Sambora’s absence seemed to affect the mystique of the band more than the music. Phil X was a formidable replacement and Bandiera, a longtime friend and occasional collaborator with Bon Jovi provided stability as well.
The band closed with “Living On A Prayer,” and put together a strong four-song encore that included “Wanted; Dead or Alive,” with Bon Jovi again thanking the crowd for supporting the band “even when we’re down a man.”
Hartford band Lakshmi earned and opening slot on the show thanks to winning a radio station battle of the bands and handled their half hour set like they were used to playing arena stages.
