If Richie truly is gone, Bon Jovi's status as premium brand is, too -- which this tour is proving well beyond a reasonable doubt. But that doesn't HAVE to be a bad thing.

If Jon wishes to keep performing without decaying either his legacy or his fan base, he should give Tico and Dave a pension because he won't be able to afford them anymore, change the name of the band to Jon Bon Jovi and Friends, hire expendable KOS-style journeymen, and hope he can close out his career in small- to medium-sized venues. Paul McCartney is having no problem filling large venues on name recognition alone -- but then again, half The Beatles are dead and people don't blame him for breaking them up.