Aloha !

I think the reason Richie's better than usual here is because he has the risk of looking like a has-been among Oranthi. He needs to get out of his comfort zone for this, which makes him a better guitarist. The same happened when he was jamming a few years ago with 2 very good acoustic guitar players. He suddenly showed he does remember how to play, he just doesn't do it often enough which makes him rusty.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan