Map out your idea of a custom-made, surefire rock star from the ground up and you are likely to come up with someone bearing an awful close resemblance to Jon Bon Jovi. From his megawatt smile to his stage presence to his arena rock voice to his boundless charisma, the seemingly forever-touring JBJ is the embodiment of a true rock star.
That is not to downplay the contributions of his bandmates — guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, and drummer Tico Torres — but, hey, it’s his surname in the band title for a reason.
Jon and the boys were back at the ACC on Sunday night for the first of two shows. JBJ the rock star was unmistakably on display, as was his undying dedication to putting forth a genuinely energetic, unique, passionate performance every night. I have now seen him in concert seven times and not once (even on consecutive nights) has he employed the same set list.
Sunday night’s carefully crafted set list opened with “You Give Love a Band Name,” which boldly announced the band’s arrival in front of an adoring crowd, many of whom had been waiting 90 minutes after the gates opened early.
Having gained early momentum, the show shifted quickly into audience participation mode with “Lost Highway,” which saw the crowd gamely playing along with some timely “hey heys.” Fans also came alive to sing the chorus of “Livin’ on a Prayer” later in the set (although it was one of the rare songs that demonstrated trace amounts of fatigue from JBJ).
Any steam that the crowd lost along the way could be attributed to the introduction of several tracks off the as-of-yet unreleased album, What About Now, although they did respond well to first single, “Because We Can.”
Of course, the two-and-a-half hour set left plenty of time for the classics, including lively versions of “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Bad Medicine” and “I Love This Town” — a show closer that allowed the band to return some love to the faithful Toronto fans. That song in particular was one of the best examples of Bon Jovi’s spectacular stage setup, which included innovative mobile screens that featured an artist’s rendering of the T.O. skyline during the show’s finale.
Of course, that’s assuming that any of the 18,000 in attendance were actually looking at anything beyond the band’s captivating presence.