2022: Bon Jovi@Nashville,TN

In April 2022 Bon Jovi embarked on a 15 date tour during 30 days. It was the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and the band wanted to get back on the road to promote their 2020 record. I saw them in their final show in Nashville, TN, but, even before taking the plane, I was already anticipating what I would witness. As always, I had seen every set list and watched the videos fans posted of their live performances and something was not sounding right: Jon had lost his high notes! The band was still sounding musically strong; Jon, just one month after completing his 60th anniversary, still got his Rock Star moves and was able to fire up the whole crowd whether when opening the show in the middle of the crowd to deliver their biggest hit in America: “Livin’On a Prayer” or closing the night with a passioned rendition of their 80s ballad “I’ll be There for you”; Phil X was playing killer guitar solos ("We weren't born to follow" outro solo was a great addin); and the whole band sounded better than in any other tour ever since Richie’s departed in 2013. But the lead singer’s high notes were not there anymore and all the heavy lifting on vocal parts were done by David Bryan (the band's co-founder and keyboard player who has been with Jon since his High School days), Everett Bradley (the percursion guy who joined the band in 2016) and Phill X (the lead guitar who had to replace Richie Sambora in 2013 and has been in the band ever since). Maybe it was a too tight schedule for the band these days, but I believe the singer should either stop and try to recover his high notes back (because there are examples of other Rock Singers who also lost their voices in the past for periods of time and were still able to recover it), or embrace a new type of live show, concentrating on their low key and/or acoustic versions of their songs (something they have always done during their career whether in acoustic performances or even on record, when in 2003 the band released “This Left Feels Right”). I remember Jon also had voice problems back during the band’s 1986/87 “Slippery When Wet” Tour when Jon had to take shots to have his voice during live shows, and despite that, he was able to recover it to perform brilliant shows between 1988 and 1990, supporting their “New Jersey” huge success and subsequently during the 90s and 00s.


During the Nashville show I was at row 9 on the floor, to my left there was a lovely couple in their late 70s of retired Florida residents who had attended to the Eagles show the night before and confessed they were there for the entertainment and had not much patience to hear political speeches; to my right there were four teenagers who were most likely been born after Bon Jovi released their latest global hit "It's my Life" in the year 2000. None of these people knew any lyrics, the couple sat for most of the time and the young ones, although sometimes on their phones, jumped for most part of the songs. At the end all of them were with a smile on their faces and pleased with the band's performance. What does this mean? Well I felt I was filling the gap between those two generations of Americans (and I'm not totally independent since this has always been my favourite band), but as I said above, my ears hear a very poor voice from the lead singer, and despite that fact, there's something about this band that in spite of all the dificulties and nayers (that have always been there) can actually please and entertain a crowd fom teenagers to elder people, making everybody feel their passion and ultimitely having a great time.



That being said, my opinion remains however that until Jon has his high notes back, the band should not play arena or stadium shows, and either try to heal Jon’s voice first or pursue a more intimate sort of show, since this is not the voice we have all heard for almost 40 years, so there is no need to hurt a legacy, built with so much effort and that allowed so many of us to dream and survive trying times to fight for a better and happier life! I stay true to what I’ve done and believe. I have absolutely no regrets on all the Bon Jovi shows I’ve attended in the past because I got back so much more than I gave. Unfortunately I also need to tell what my ears hear and not praise them over past glories. Like one of those 80s Nr 1 single’s says: “I can’t promise you tomorrow, but I can buy back yesterday” or in their 90s anthemic album title track mentions: “these days are fast, nothing lasts, in this graceless age, there ain’t nobody left but us These Days”, it’s time to face a tough reality, not giving up and definitely putting up a fight for a better tomorrow, because their legacy can be carried on, even if in other ways.


The magic of people coming together to sing the same songs, feeling the same emotions and fighting for their dreams is the nation Bon Jovi contributed to, one with people from all walks of life, races, nationalities, cultures and/or social status. These emotions are possible through songs and other Art forms and I’ve witnessed them first hand both with 80 000 people in a stadium or in an intimate club with a few hundreds: “These are my streets, the only life I’ve ever known”! I want to believe that April 2022 is just a lowdown month in their career that, like any other, has its ups and downs. So for a better tomorrow, let’s “Keep the Faith” and see what the band comes up for 2023 and their 40 year anniversary! Until then we are once again all “Livin’On a Prayer”!!!