Bon Jovi plays Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on February 14, 2017. Credit: Phil DeSimone

Even on a bye week for the hockey team, Amalie Arena continued to stay packed to the rafters. On Valentine’s Day, in front of more than 18,000 fans, Jon Bon Jovi put on a two hour set that leaned hard on a new album while sprinkling in just enough hits to keep it interesting.

Opening with projected images of Tampa, Jon strutted on stage in his skinny black jeans and a black shirt with at least three buttons undone. At 54, Jon Bon is still sexy, and as his fluffy mop of graying brown hair shimmied with every onstage shake, it was easy to see why he caused a flutter in so many hearts thirty years ago when “Livin’ On A Prayer” was dominating Billboard charts.

Read: Here's a playlist of the songs Bon Jovi played at Tampa's Amalie Arena on Valentine's Day

Tuesday’s set leaned hard on This House Is Not For Sale, and songs from the 2016 album occupied nearly a third of the 23 song setlist. Bon Jovi was quick to draw their gun loaded with hits, however, and they ignited a roar when they launched into “You Give Love A Bad Name” from the band’s seminal 1986 album Slippery When Wet. It was the first big arena rock moment during a set short on them, but that’s to be expected from the New Jersey rockers.

For the casual fan, Bon Jovi’s career could be marked by poofy hair and a handful of hits (“Wanted Dead or Alive,” “Livin’ On A Prayer,” “Bad Medicine,” which all saw play on Tuesday), but if the crowd of standing boomers and their baby brothers and sisters proved anything, it’s that Bon Jovi enjoy one of the most loyal and enduring fan bases in modern rock.

Bon Jovi addressed the perils of the modern music industry before launching into “Devils In The Temple” from House. He also took it back to the glory days before playing “Roller Coaster,” which he mentioned could be heard on the radio today. He talked about old Tampa rock station WYNF (now WWRM 94.9 FM) and shouted out former program director Ron Diaz.

“Man, what were the call letters?,” Bon Jovi asked at one point, “if someone can shout them at me, then I’ll come down and give you kisses.” Someone did, and Jon kept his promise by climbing off the stage and pretending to make out with a lucky fan. It was moments like that that made Bon Jovi’s relationships with fans crystal clear.

Read: S*** You'll Never See Again: Jon Bon Jovi jams with Tim Kaine at St. Pete's State Theater

For many in the room, Bon Jovi was the soundtrack to growing up. People in the audience saw themselves in Tommy and Gina. They learned how to play “Wanted Dead Or Alive” on their shitty acoustic guitars. It’s likely that that ten percent of that room lost their virginity with Bon Jovi playing in the background. It’s true that many boomers’ ideals may have changed along the way (and Jon, an avid Hillary supporter, stayed away from politics save for a few “resist” images during “We Don’t Run”), but fans were willing to come home for the music.

Jon Bon Jovi has dad jokes for days (“We call Floridians southern New Jersey-ians,” he quipped at one point), and his new stuff obviously doesn’t reach many in the millennial age bracket (although the free WiFi was a nice touch), but as the crowd sang boisterously to “Wanted” and “Livin’ On A Prayer” during the encore, it was very clear: Jon Bon Jovi is one of the coolest dads in America, and all your moms and dads aren’t going to give up on him anytime soon.

Have a look at more photos from the show below and listen to a playlist featuring all the songs from Bon Jovi’s Tampa set here.

Bon Jovi at Amalie Arena Setlist – stream/download

This House Is Not For Sale
Knockout
You Give Love A Bad Name
Born To Be My Baby
We Weren’t Born To Follow
Lost Highway
Rollercoaster
Work For The Working Man
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead
We Got It Going On
Who Says You Can’t Go Home
It’s My Life
We Don’t Run
God Bless This Mess
Scars On This Guitar
Devils In The Temple
Lay Your Hands On Me/When Eye Lay My Hands On U (Prince)
Blood On Blood
Have A Nice Day
Bad Medicine
Keep The Faith
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Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night
Wanted Dead Or Alive
Livin’ On A Prayer