I've never listened to the TLFR cd though I own it (turned it off after the first minute, tooooo sloooooow), but this Always is one of my faves ever:
So yeah, it could work if Jon is into the song AND moves around. He could do the TLFR version and walk at the same time (I hope) so it would be 100% better than seeing him on the verge of collapsing and getting 1/3 of the song right.
Of course you are going to enjoy it better if you are at the show. I don't even know why are debating it, any decent band/artist will make the most difficult songs work and you won't notice major flaws until you go home and watch the videos. I've heard Always live and thought it was perfect and watched the show later on YT and it was nowhere near perfect.
This is why Jon isn't giving up on Always (kudos to him btw). Fans at the show will think it's a good version for a 55 year old, and will also assume his desperate clinging to the mic and shutting his eyes is passionate singing/concentration and that's to be expected with a difficult song, but we know better. The question is, will this be harmful in the long term? A couple of Always per tour won't kill Jon's voice, I guess, but he's so hellbent on proving he can sing it and it seems to take a huge toll on him. That's where I'd draw the line honestly. Singing it once with all you have is fine. Being willing to destroy your voice for proving a point, not so much
