Thank You, Goodnight: a Bon Jovi fan's reflections

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story dropped a little over a week ago -- it was waiting for me on Disney+ in Australia when I got home on a Friday night. 

Now, I didn't try to rush out and be the first to write about it because:

a) "breaking news" isn't my vision for the blog -- and there are plenty of other fans, podcasters, etc. covering that ground;

b) I didn't want to just binge all four episodes right away at the expense of being able to process what I was watching;

c) I do have other things in my life, including needing to be awake and alert for Saturday morning commitments, instead of being tired and distracted by thoughts of Bon Jovi.

So I watched it over a few days, chatted to some people about it, and then came back here.

What do I think?

Honestly, I love it. Is it perfect? No, but it was enough for me. Is it very Jon-centric? Sure, but the elephant of the decade (Jon's voice) was a key factor in Bon Jovi's success during their prime, and is integral to any future they may have.

At times it was quite heartbreaking to see his struggles with his voice laid bare. I mean, we've all heard it. I've blogged about it. Other fans have talked about it. News articles were written about it on that rough 2022 tour. But we also saw him being aware of it and trying to do something. We saw the other guys on stage trying to pull him through and support him.

As for Richie Sambora... well, I'm really glad he's in the documentary. I think he still has a massive chip on his shoulder, but I also completely understand him feeling pushed aside by John Shanks during the What About Now sessions. An album which, given what transpired afterwards, I don't think I've listened to since 2013.

Speaking of which, Shanks comes across kind of badly in his interview -- his little smirk and chuckle about being the guy between Jon and Richie made me uncomfortable. It could've just been nervous laughter, of course. I giggle when I'm nervous, and since I don't know Shanks at all, I can't possibly say he had any malicious intent. But yeah, it just didn't look that great.

There are plenty of fans who simp for Jon or Richie, think the other is the devil, and had already made up their minds long before this documentary aired. Nothing about it would've changed their thinking. But most of the criticisms levelled at one man could easily apply to the other. They both have rock star egos, they both twist or embellish details to make themselves look better, they're both stubborn AF. Like seriously, bros, you were both in your goddamn 50s when all this went down... be better!

But I'd love to see Richie back in the band, Phil X as the "other guitarist" and Shanks just... not? I don't hate the guy. I mean, he came on board to produce Have a Nice Day, an album that probably saved my life when I was a teenager. But it seems weird for him to have had this much influence over the band -- and particularly Jon -- for such a long period of time.

Speaking of guitarists, Bobby Bandiera should've been interviewed. He was around for almost a decade, from the Have a Nice Day tour until the end of Because We Can tour... and I think he'd have had some interesting things to say about that time, if he was willing to share.

Before anyone else brings it up, long-time manager Paul Korzilius wrongly claimed the 1995 "Live in London" shows were the last shows at Wembley Stadium, but I'm very confident he just misremembered, and there was no deliberate lie there. (Probs could've been fact-checked in post-production though.)

Super cool to hear a decent sounding recording of "Cadillac Man" from the archives. Here's a performance of this underrated song, from Osaka in 1991 -- how freaking good:

So yes... in summary, I enjoyed the documentary. Wouldn't have hurt to hear a little more from the rest of the band, past and present (though Alec John Such passed away before he could be interviewed). And it might have been a bit tighter with less previous footage woven in (e.g. from Access All Areas and When We Were Beautiful). But all in all, it was worth watching. For me, at least.

I know there are a lot of folks for whom Bon Jovi ended when Richie left, or when they "went country", or "got too commercial" or whatever.

There's an Australian band that I used to absolutely love, and a big part of that was their long-term lineup (which wasn't the original lineup, but the one I got to know on tour over about 10 years). Now that lineup is no more and I find myself just not being able to get excited about them, not going to their live shows anymore, etc. There were many times I thought that could be happening with me and Bon Jovi, but... no, not yet anyway. They're my band. They're still my band. Even as they are now, not quite where I want them to be. I guess that's the realisation I got from Thank You, Goodnight. The heart and dagger tattoo on my back is forever -- literally, but also figuratively.

Have you watched Thank You, Goodnight yet? What do you think?

PS. I have not forgotten about Richie's new music. It's cool that he (or his new marketing/PR person?) realised that there's a lot of renewed interest in him thanks to the documentary, and he should totally take advantage of it. I'll make a separate post for the new tunes.

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Unexpectedly emotional - Legendary and Thank You, Goodnight premieres

Bon Jovi dropped a new single, "Legendary" on March 14 and... it was unexpectedly emotional for me. The song isn't going to change the world, but I didn't know if we'd ever hear new Bon Jovi music again, given Jon's vocal situation and jadedness with everything. So seeing the joy on his face just made me smile. And I like the song, although a ripping guitar solo would've Phil'd the track out more. (See what I did there? Your girl's got dad jokes.)

Bon Jovi's new album, Forever, will be out on June 7. Hugh McDonald's wife Kelli posted a big tease back in January saying she'd heard the album and it was awesome so... fingers crossed. I mean, obviously she's not gonna say it's terrible, but she also didn't need to say anything at all.

The full official trailer for Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story has also been released. Interesting to hear Richie Sambora say he regrets the way he left the band, though not the actual leaving:

Thank You, Goodnight had its first screening at the SXSW in Austin on March 14. The rest of us will have to wait until April 26 when it drops on Hulu, Disney+ or Star+ (depending on where you are in the world)... but here are some of the SXSW red carpet interviews and the Q&A with the band members and filmmakers:

The video above features red carpet interviews with producer Alex Trudeau Viriato and director Gotham Chopra, as well as Jon Bon Jovi, Phil X, Everett Bradley, Hugh McDonald, Tico Torres (in order of appearance). The Q&A was moderated by Deepak Chopra and features the remaining founding members of Bon Jovi (Jon, Tico, and David Bryan) and Gotham Chopra.

I'm pretty keen for the documentary; it looks like it'll be gritty enough to be worth our while, but obviously I'll have to wait and see!

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Life begins at 40: the second coming of Bon Jovi?

Okay, that title sounds a bit dramatic -- but it is the 40th anniversary of Bon Jovi's self-titled debut album this year. And things are happening! 

First up, Jon Bon Jovi was honoured as the 2024 MusiCares Person of the Year. The benefit gala was a ticketed event that wasn't streamed, but credit to Brian Baumwoll who took some videos on his phone so we could catch a glimpse -- and a listen.

Here's Bon Jovi performing "Legendary" (the expected lead single from their upcoming album), before Bruce Springsteen joins them for "Who Says You Can't Go Home" and "The Promised Land" (the latter being from Bruce's Darkness on the Edge of Town album). Jon sounds decent in his first live performance in two years, and looks in good spirits -- and seeing him pull out the harmonica is such a vibe! 😀

Richie Sambora was rumoured to make an appearance at the MusiCares event, but he didn't show. (Orianthi did, performing with Sammy Hagar.) People Magazine reports that needing to care for his mother after a fall was the reason Richie didn't make an appearance, but given the apparent frostiness between him and Jon in the last decade, it's possible he wasn't planning to attend anyway. Then again, Richie keeps alluding to a possible reunion so who knows?

Jon also addressed his vocal issues during a Pollstar Live! Q&A with music executive Rob Light (who also happens to be the father of Jesse Bongiovi's fiancee, Jesse Light). Here's what Jon had to say about getting reconstructive surgery on his vocal cords:

More info is set to be revealed in the upcoming documentary series Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which will premiere on Hulu in the US on April 26 and Disney+ internationally.

Here's the teaser trailer for Thank You, Goodnight:

The band minus Jon also talked about the docuseries on the MusiCares red carpet, with David Bryan doing most of the talking, plus a bit from Tico Torres. Apparently all past and present members of the band took part in the doco, so hopefully it will be an interesting watch.

Until then, Backstage with Bon Jovi is a virtual exhibition of various band-related artefacts from the past 40 years, available now to explore on their website.

You can also download or stream a deluxe anniversary edition of Bon Jovi, the album that started it all.

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