New Meadowlands Eve...

On eve of first stadium show, Bon Jovi talks allergies, Super Bowl

NEW YORK — He tried out the word, letting it spill off his tongue, then immediately distanced himself from it. Nerves. No, not nerves. Jon Bon Jovi has headlined too many other shows, launched too many other venues, to let the opening of a $1.6 billion stadium spook him.

So on the eve of one of the biggest shows of his career, as he lifts the musical curtain on New Meadowlands Stadium, what does scare him?

"I worry about dumb stuff like allergies," the 48-year-old singer confessed during a roundtable with writers this afternoon at the Jumeriah Essex House in Manhattan. "Like going out there and sneezing. I never worry about singing or playing or the band’s performance, the production or anything like that. I’m more into, 'Can I breathe tonight?' 'Did my mother get a good seat?' The dumb stuff."

He will walk out on stage around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, a Jersey artist unveiling what fans hope is a Jersey masterpiece. Even he is curious: As of this afternoon, Bon Jovi, guitarist Richie Sambora, drummer Tico Torres and keyboard player David Bryan had not rehearsed inside the new barn.

No worries, Bon Jovi said. He said he has been "singing like a bird," trying not to let his vocal cords get tangled in this stadium-opening hype.

"I’m not making a big deal out of that," he said. "Here’s a trivia question: Who was the first show in the old stadium?"

The Beach Boys, he was told.

"Thirty years from now I don't know if anyone’s going to remember who opened this place or not," he said. "I'm really not making that big a deal out of it. But as a football fan, I’m just as excited to go on that stage tomorrow and announce on that big microphone, 'We've got a Super Bowl.' That to me, now we're talking. That's exciting. That'll be exciting 'cause I’ll have the biggest microphone. That won’t be Woody (Jets owner Woody Johnson) or Mara (Giants co-owner John Mara). That'll be me."

Bon Jovi has played eight gigs inside the old building, which has been coming down piece by piece. The building still tugs on his heart strings. His uncle had season tickets to the Giants. Occasionally Bon Jovi and his father would get an invite.

Years later, he would step onto that field. No shoulder pads, no helmet, but still exciting.

"I do remember being in there the first time, in '89, and walking around and saying, 'I may never get back here again. I better take a lot of pictures,'" Bon Jovi said. "When you get to that place again, you have to say to yourself, 'I'm going to take a lot of pictures,' cause you never know when the ride’s going to end.

"You can’t psych yourself out either," he added. "It’s not game day here."

He said he has already penciled in songs for Wednesday’s set list, including a cover of "Hallelujah."

"I change eight or nine songs a night," Bon Jovi said. "So to be honest with you, not to BS anyone, I’ll pretty much have an A list tomorrow and then it will go from there. I pretty much know the 25 or 26 that will be set for tomorrow. And then they’ll fluctuate dramatically."

A safe bet for tomorrow’s first night in Jersey: "Who Says You Can’t Go Home."

It’s always exciting and difficult as well to play at home, because you’ve got every cousin and relative and neighborhood friend that’s there with you," Bon Jovi said. "You’re obviously wanting to be at your best when you’re in your backyard."


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