Forget Taylor’s Wedding—The Best Thing to Hit MSG Was Bon Jovi
entertainment
Forget Taylor Swift’s Wedding—The Best Thing to Hit MSG This Week Was Bon Freakin’ Jovi
It was the polar opposite of last weekend‘s T&T wedding
By Philip Mutz
•Published Jul 10, 2026
IPA/Shutterstock
MSG—or Madison Square Garden—has been in the news a lot as of late. Of course, there were the celeb-packed Knicks games. Then, earlier this week, someone named Taylor married someone named Travis there. And now, music icon Bon Jovi is performing a whopping nine sold-out shows at the Garden
Last night, I had the pleasure of taking in the Bon Jovi concert (my first time seeing him live—I know, as a Jersey-born millennial, that sounds sacrilege), and let me tell you, it was incredible. And while I’m sure Taylor’s giant mirror ball was cool and all (even if I would never), the Bon Jovi concert was clearly the best thing to happen to MSG all week
Original Photo by Philip Mutz
First off, there was the simplicity of it all. I’ve seen a lot of concerts lately, from Beyoncé to Kylie to Gaga to No Doubt, and for better or worse, they were all doing the most. Not so for JBJ. For Bon Jovi’s concert, the stage was simple, featuring a video screen background and an “elevator” entrance in the middle of it. The staging itself was simple as well. Bon Jovi spent 90 percent of the show center stage, only occasionally walking to high-five fans along the sides and only once leaving the stage to greet the front row mega fans.
This added immensely to the show as it kept the focus exactly where it belongs—on the music. Which brings me to my next point
Bon Jovi has so many good songs. And they aren’t just good; they are epic, sweeping and generationally transcendent. “You Give Love a Bad Name.” “It’s My Life.” “Wanted Dead or Alive.” “I’ll Be There for You.” Song after song, these tunes are not only familiar, but part of our cultural DNA. This was evidenced not only by fans knowing the lyrics, but by their impassioned screaming of the lyrics. In fact, at the end of most songs, Bon Jovi would turn things over to the crowd to let them sing a few choruses without him (something we embraced happily).
Original Photo by Philip Mutz
This reached a true fever-pitch when “Livin’ on a Prayer” arrived. MSG went nuts. As I said, I’m a frequent concert-goer, but this was up there with the most enthusiastic reactions I’ve ever seen to a live song. And it makes sense. The tune is beyond iconic. Everyone knows the words. And everyone at MSG was thrilled to scream them at the top of their lungs
Another element that made the concert so special? The age range of the crowd. I spotted Gen-Zers. I spotted fellow millennials. And I spotted a ton of Gen-Xers living their very best lives. And everyone was having a blast. In fact, the audience was on its feet for nearly every song of the two-plus hour concert
So, no shade to Taylor (okay, a little shade), but I think we should be focused on the real reason MSG is such an iconic location: the music (and fiiiiine the sports too). At the age of 67, Bon Jovi and his band brought the house down—and they didn’t need to invite 1,000 famous friends in order to do it
