Jon Bon Jovi has spent the past 30 years honing and perfecting the ideal arena rock experience. He and his band play with energy, passion, audience engagement and stage spectacle, all the while delivering a fresh set list every night.
The touring juggernaut is one of the surest acts in the business, all but guaranteeing a near three-hour intermission-less set featuring 20-25 hits all performed with an infectious enthusiasm, particularly on the part of the ageless lead signer.
The downside of producing such a consistently entertaining product – if you could even call it a 'downside' – is that it creates an awfully high standard for every future show. And when you've played the Air Canada Centre more than any other band, minute flaws inevitably start to reveal themselves.
The band's Saturday night show at the ACC was supposed to have an added special layer, stemming from a controversial decision by MLSE to honour Bon Jovi with a banner to hang in the rafters a la Maple Leaf legends and age-old Stanley Cup triumphs. Whether it was the pathetic flimsiness of the banner, itself, or the stuffy, corporate feel to the pre-show 'ceremony', it certainly started things off on an odd foot.
From there, it was the typically reliable parade of crowd favourites, albeit with some ever-so-slight differences.
Even as Toronto native Phil X performed admirably as Bon Jovi's temporary guitarist (he'll travel with the band for all of their Canadian dates), the absence of Richie Sambora was evident, with the band lacking a musical counterpoint to Jon's vocals (particularly on "Wanted Dead or Alive"). Their ever-so-slightly-off sound wasn't helped by technical issues that plagued a handful of songs, most notably "(You Want to) Make a Memory" (Jon took the problems in stride at first, but seemed to grow frustrated as they persisted).
Did any of these minor flaws take away from what was still an awfully fun night of great music? Not if you ask any of the people in attendance at the sold-out, 20,000-seat venue, who infused the show with plenty of life.