Bon Jovi shows eternity at sold out Wembley Stadium

Bon Jovi, a band that has been part of the global music landscape for 43 years, showed their immense presence during the Forever World Tour after a six year absence. Following a sold out run in New York, Edinburgh and Dublin, it was time for three shows at an overcrowded Wembley in London.

The evening, or rather afternoon, was kicked off by James Bay, a British singer songwriter. Compared to the band’s own songs, the music he played was very timid and the audience struggled to loosen up. The songs ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Hold Back The River’, on the other hand, were sung along to loudly.

What followed was a euphoric evening. The lights went out and a timer counted down from 30 to 0, incorporating all the fonts from albums ever released by the band.

After immense screaming when the timer hit 0, the lights went out and the audience saw a video in which Jon Bon Jovi was addressing the crowd. The idea was presented that he, and later the band as well, were in the elevator heading towards the stage and making their final preparations.

The large sliding doors in the middle of the stage, featuring a large visible star, slowly opened and the band walked onto the stage in a V formation at their own leisurely pace. JBJ opened his arms wide and fully absorbed the cheers of the audience. This was followed by a cover of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ by The Beatles.

After a crystal clear vocal run, which left many people in the audience amazed, the band moved on to their own repertoire. With fitting visuals on the screens, the audience heard the first songs ‘Beautiful Drug’, ‘We Weren’t Born To Follow’ and ‘Lost Highway’.

JBJ, the 64 year old lead singer, continued the concert with a speech about the gratitude from the “magnificent seven” (ed. the full band). “You’re giving me superpowers here, I’m so strong, I’m so powerful, I’m so pretty, if you know this one, sing along!”.

And sing along the audience certainly did during one of Bon Jovi’s biggest hits, ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’. Presumably, some songs, including this one and ‘Born To Be My Baby’, were sung slightly slower than the original, allowing the band to play and sing everything at a high level of quality.

Despite the extensive vocal cord surgery JBJ underwent several years ago, it was clear that he still knows exactly how to handle his voice. It took him a little more effort here and there, and the pain was occasionally visible, but it did not detract from the quality of the singing.

One song where the love and eternity of the band were hugely visible was ‘Legendary’, which appears on the new album ‘Forever’. This song was originally recorded together with James Bay, who also decided to pay a visit to the stage to rock out with his “hero”. The audience witnessed several generations of artists, all sharing the same love for live music, and this was conveyed throughout the entire venue.

The set continued with ‘Whole Lot Of Leavin’, after which JBJ said: “We still got it.” After a substantial list of dance and rock songs, it was time to shift back into first gear with ‘Bed Of Roses’.

This was a beautiful performance, where the entire picture came together. Hundreds of lit candles could be seen on the screens, and this lighting was continued by all 80,000 visitors using their phone flashlights. The song was quite a demanding one for the singer, but the audience picked up the slack beautifully.

“Let’s go to second gear again!” the singer said after a moment of appreciation on stage. Second gear was kicked off with ‘Have A Nice Day’.

For the band, Wembley Stadium is an important place in their history. The first time they were allowed to play here was in 1995. For them, as they themselves say, it feels like coming home.

The next song was ‘These Days’, the title track of the album released in 1995 that reached the charts. Where the other band members really had a chance to shine was during ‘This House Is Not For Sale’.

Especially the guitar parts by guitarist Phil X, a member of the band since 2016, were phenomenal, and the sheer enjoyment radiating from the entire band was highly infectious.

During ‘Raise Your Hands’, it became clear what kind of performer Jon Bon Jovi was and still is. Although his body was no longer as flexible as it once was, that did not dampen the fun, and whenever he was ready, he could still manage a little jump.

After ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’, part of the band was introduced. When it was time to introduce keyboardist David Bryan, JBJ did so using a sign from a fan: “there’s no denyin’ David Bryan”.

The set continued with ‘Hey God’ and ‘Keep The Faith’. The latter was played differently from the studio version, which made singing along somewhat inconsistent at times.

The encore was introduced with the beautiful ‘I’ll Be There For You’. What was somewhat unfortunate was that the song was actually too difficult for him to perform anymore. Fortunately, the audience was there to carry the weight.

There was still some rocking to be done with ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ and ‘Bad Medicine’, and the set was closed with one of the most beautiful love songs in music history: ‘Always’. This was a perfect closing song, which also brought JBJ to an emotional point.

With this show, Bon Jovi demonstrated that they are a band that can no longer be imagined out of our musical landscape. The band has now been active for 43 years and, if it is up to them, they intend to continue for quite some time. The fans and the love will not be an issue, as the appreciation clearly works both ways.