Reviews of the band

Yet the same critics suck off Bruce and Bono (and I LOVE Springsteen and U2) who also say the SAME lines at the same time every night.

Excellent. Why do you come to this conclusion?

Elvistico, I agree with you. Was just wondering how everybody else felt.

I don't know - around here Bon Jovi as a band still gets a lot of recognition and respect. This is the local review from the first night at Giants.

REVIEW: Bon Jovi offers a night to remember
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Last updated: Thursday May 27, 2010, 6:49 AM
BY MIKE KERWICK
The Record
STAFF WRITER

Twelve songs into this christening — his hair soaked, his face bathed in a glistening coat of sweat — Jon Bon Jovi offered his review of the show.

“It’s a good thing there isn’t a roof on this place,” he told the crowd. “I’d be about blowing it off.”

Thirty years from now, he suggested Tuesday afternoon, nobody will remember who opened this $1.6 billion stadium at Exit 16W. He confessed he had no idea who opened the old Giants Stadium.

Hmmm … think people will remember the first show at the new Meadowlands stadium?

Think people will remember Richie Sambora shrugging off 86-degree heat, electrifying the crowd with his guitar during “You Give Love a Bad Name”?

Think people will remember when Jon walked to the edge of the runway, leaned into the crowd, and softly covered “Hallelujah”?

Think people will remember when the speakers briefly went dead and the crowd lifted the band on its shoulders during “Runaway”?

OK, so the new stadium still has some wrinkles that require ironing. But on the first night, the marriage between the 48-year-old rocker and the newborn stadium seemed like a perfect fit.

“New Meadowlands stadium,” Jon screamed at the crowd two songs into his set. “Night No. 1. This isn’t television, baby. Get up out of your seats. Get out of your seats. This here’s reality. And the only American Idol you need to see is standing right here. Are you with me? Are you with me? Are you with me?”

He followed that by launching into “You Give Love a Bad Name.”

The band has a touring résumé that would make other artists blush — Central Park, Night 1 at the Prudential Center — but opening a stadium this size in the group’s home state belongs near the top.

Jon walked out at 8:46 p.m. in a black vest, sensing the import and seizing the stage. His first song, “Blood on Blood,” would not have been our first choice. But the early half of his set also included plenty of wonderful echoes from his past — “Born to Be My Baby,” “Raise Your Hands,” and “Runaway.”

Later in the set, he invited Sambora out on the runway, where they performed a duet of “I’ll Be There For You.”

“It’s 21 years ago we played the stadium across the parking lot,” Bon Jovi told the crowd before the song. “To think that we’re still standing after three decades of this is pretty darn good.”

He paired an unlikely song with two tour staples for the encore, closing the show with “Dry County,” “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

At one point earlier in the set, he pretended to peer deep into the night — at the fans, but also at the stadium.

“The new Meadowlands stadium,” he said. “I like it, I like it, I like it. Out with the old, in with the new, right? We’ve been looking forward to this date almost as much as you have, maybe even more.”

It showed.

Kathleen,

You are so right that Bon Jovi seem to get a lot of respect in the NJ/NY area. I have only had the opportunity ONE time to see them in NJ, and that was 2006. I remember looking around in amazement when "Prayer" was playing -- just because EVERYONE was still so excited about the song, all these years later. Don't get me wrong, usually, EVERYONE is singing it and such, but you could literally see the "swaying" of the crowd way high in the stadium.

Furthermore, when people would find out why we were in town, they were all VERY Positive and showed genuine excitement about the idea of us coming into town to see Bon Jovi.

In contrast, my online friends outside the Bon Jovi diehard fans group, mostly just tolerate my affection for this band. Additionally, a fair number of people in my day-to-day living seem a bit puzzled by it. One person (just this past weekend) told me I did not seem "redneck" enough.... which floors me -- Bon Jovi is not a "redneck" band -- are they????

Thing is that he said almost all those exact same things at their first night of the 02 last week...Not very spontananous(not that jon has ever really been anyway i guess)

The O2 shows have received very positive reviews from the majority of the English press yet no one seems to make new posts about those

Why give this dip shit from The NOTW any exposure? it's a trashy paper with absolutely no class.

It's nice to know some of the credible papers are giving the show what it deserves.

The Telegraph - 3/5

The Evening Standard - 4/5

The Guardian - 3/5

The Times - 4/5

The thing that sets apart the stage shows of the two bands is that Oasis never had one. They stood almost completely stood still, never said any crowd pleasing phrases and always avoided a set of any kind. in that way the two bands differ greatly. Your point is pretty much true, though, and i'd go into it more if texting wasn't such a pain in the arse.

Of course he did. And he said them at most of the arena shows I went to, too. Why do you think we have threads about Jon's schtick? He made up a few new ones during the course of this tour . . . but then fell in love with them and used them to death! LOL

And I can't speak on the subject of U2, but Brian's exactly right - Bruce does the same thing. I saw 11 Bruce shows on the last tour, and I knew his lines word-for-word after the first few. If you see multiple shows by other acts, you'll find that many (if not most) of them also use the same lines.

Oh believe me i know that after seeing bon jovi close to 30 times ,something that used to bug the shit out of me now has become funny to me.But honestly how hard would it be to include one random sentence into significant concerts(medowlands opening being one and first night at o2 being another)

All the points in the OP are spot on for tonight's show. All of them. And I am as objective as possible.