I totally get where you are coming from. I don’t care about Phil in the band even though I think he’s good (maybe I’m biased because I knew him from his crazy videos before BJ), I’d rather have scripted banter with Richie than Phil’s natural energy and contagious smile. I still can’t believe Richie is gone and I’ll probably never accept it, BJ was always Jon&Richie to me and this is not BJ. No matter how many times I watch and enjoy the new songs, no matter how much I love the new album, I can’t help but feel sad and disappointed with how things went.

But what would you have done, realistically? Don’t you think that Jon feels more comfortable having friends and known faces around? He still looks awkward up there and I highly doubt he’ll ever be the same, his chemistry with Richie (faked or not) was a huge part of the show and now Jon is torn between creating a new dynamic knowing that fans will criticize if he treats Phil and Shanks like equals, or having the spotlight on him knowing that he’s lost the magic touch and worrying about his voice because there’s nothing else for him to do. I guess this is a compromise, if there’s a chance to get a part of Jon the great frontman back, it’s easier for him to be surrounded by people he knows and don’t worry about connecting with the rest of the band