Bon Jovi perform before 16,000 fans at Adelaide’s Botanic Park

New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi transformed Botanic Park into a thrilling rock ’n’ roll amphitheatre on Tuesday night as they ripped through the Adelaide leg of their This House Is Not For Sale tour. But it was a shout-out and song devotion to two brave South Aussies that really stole the show.

Bon Jovi thrilled the Botanic Park crowd on Tuesday night. Picture: Dean Martin

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THERE are people that will tell you it’s not cool to like Bon Jovi.

They’re the same people that will tell you pizza should never have pineapple on top or that you shouldn’t wear socks with thongs.

These people need to shoosh up, because liking good time party rock will always be cool and there were 16,000 people at Botanic Park on Tuesday night who obviously agree with me.

The night kicked off with Aussie anthem-mongers Birds of Tokyo, who were well received by the growing crowd, especially when they closed the set with the huge Lanterns.

Lighters would have definitely been held aloft had it not still been daytime. With their big sound and equally big stage presence, they were an inspired choice as an opening act.

As the sun dipped in the west the boys from New Jersey took to the stage to a big-screen montage of an Aussie flag and pictures of Adelaide. After 35 years together they now how to get a crowd onside.

The night kicked off with Lost Highway, the title track from their 2007 album, followed by Who Says You Can’t Go Home from Have A Nice Day. They’re both strong tracks, but the next one — You Give Love A Bad Name from the 1986 classic Slippery When Wet really raised the roof.

Slippery was the album that made them bona fide superstars, and fans definitely still have a soft spot for the record.

Now it has to be said that Jon Bon Jovi’s voice is perhaps not what it was once was, and there are times throughout the show where he seems breathless or just fails to nail a big note.

There’s no one more conscious of this than the 56-year-old himself, and he more than makes up for any shortcomings in the pipes department with sheer enthusiasm and old-time rock showmanship.

There are elements of Mick Jagger, and bits of the Boss, but JBJ is his own man and a consummate performer to boot, a package that goes well beyond those chiselled cheekbones and great teeth (although both of these assets are well received by the female contingent in the crowd).

The absence of long-time sidekick and guitarist Richie Sambora was also a shame, but he’s been off making tunes with the finest guitarist to ever come out of Goodwood in Orianthi so what can you do?

Bon Jovi thrilled 16,000 fans at Botanic Park on Tuesday night. Picture: Dean Martin

The title track from This House Is Not For Sale is next — “We released a record called This House Is Not For Sale and it was a big hit ... in America,” JBJ jokes, and it’s followed by Living With A Ghost from the same record.

Then the band takes it back, WAY back, to their first ever single Runaway. The 1984 track still sounds excellent.

The 2000 smash hit It’s My Life takes on some extra poignance when Jon dedicates the song to the two mask-wearing brothers who testified against their abuser Vivian Deboo in an Adelaide courthouse in recent weeks.

“I’d like to dedicate this song to two brave brothers who put on masks and confronted a childhood abuser,” he said. “They confronted him in court and today they put him in jail.

“We need to protect our children. This is for them.”

The brothers, who were in the crowd wearing their distinctive masks, were then shown on the big screen. It was a touching moment.

Now a good frontman is nothing without a great band, and Bon Jovi are a really great band.

Tico Torres, who’s played drums since 1983, is an absolute animal and a joy to watch, as is original keyboard player David Bryanand newer additions Phil X and John Shanks on guitars and Hugh McDonald on bass.

They honestly appear to be thoroughly enjoying themselves all night — flashing each other grins and feeding of each other’s energy. They are a truly tight unit

We Don’t Run, from 2015’s Burning Bridges, is a second-half highlight — urgent and powerful — but it’s those old classics that get the crowd rushing the stage (and being told to sit down by security, which they do ... until the next classic is played).

Keep The Faith, Bed of Roses, Lay Your Hands On Me and Bad Medicine all get an airing, and all are testament to just how well this band nailed the stadium rock blueprint.

Bad Medicine in particular takes the energy to a new level, and ends the official set.

Of course they’re not getting away that easily, and a five-track encore wraps up with I’ll Be There For You, Wanted Dead Or Alive and, of course, Livin’ On A Prayer.

“Well that was a good way to spend a Tuesday night,” one punter quipped on the way out. He was dead right.

Was it perfect? No. Was it entertaining? Heck yes.