No Richie on current leg of the tour

And obviously Rolo is still living in that fairytaleland.

Someone met him in Melbourne this week that I know well, someone that has nothing to gain by telling me the truth or lies, and he was off his face drunk.

For what it's worth, Becky is entirely correct here. Jon has been bashed far more than Richie ever was.

That's rubbish. Nobody on here has ever compared Richie to a god... Wait.

that's so true

Indeed, its probably because of this that people feel most let down. For a man that played through injury and bereavement in the past its disappointing that the man who so often sung "Ill Be There For You" actually isn't.

This whole situation has brought out the worst in everyone, the fans included. Splitting into camps, team Jon v Team Richie is nonsense on both sides. Many of us are fans of the band and it's baffling to see the deluded arguments on both sides. But then I'm not motivated by fancying either party like most are. It's been ugly all round. I've seen fans on social media fall out over the scenario, which is really stupid and childish.

The truth will never come out, and to be honest it's a shame it won't as the main losers in all of this is the fans who have paid for them to be the rich superstars they are, who can afford to just stop working and jam with fabric or hang out with their family. I'll still love the band and the members, but a lot of respect has been lost for Richie for me personally since this time last year.

Aloha !

There hasn't been any Sambora magic for a good 10 years now. The last time that man showed what a guitarist he could be was on the Bounce tour. Sure, there's the odd good guitar solo here and there, but he hasn't showed any magic for an entire concert in a decade. Jon's been way more consistent than Richie has been, and that says a lot considering the poor state of his voice nowadays.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I do not agree. You Just have to pay attention at Madison Square Garden 2008, for example, all Richie solos are amazing, but I can not say the same of Jon voice.

Various legs in the The Circle tour, was fantastic, his performance was very good.

The two have had enough trouble from the Hand Tour hitherto, but they complement each other well, this is undeniable.

I would like that Richie and Jon keep the same qualities intact as in 1993, but unfortunately, they can't go back to that.

Many guitarrists become careless with time, and many vocalists lose their power, but when both are together, will continue to exist that magic. It is not of singing and playing guitar to perfection, it's about offering a passionate show.

Very good comment, its easy to forget because we love this band so much but Richie seriousley used to really kick some ass on both the stage and on the albums, but he seems to have been "along for the ride" for the past few albums and tours, with none of his passion and energy for what we love(d) him for. Perhaps the CEO could be to blame for his constant work ethic or his controlling attitude, which clamped Sambora down. Perhaps Richie's demons were dampening his creativity....we could go on guessing till the Band is done and all the Autobiographies (if allowed to) roll out. as Jon has said he goes out every night and gives his all, as does Tico and Dave, but Richie as said above hasnt, and I personally am hoping that if indeed this is a break and not an "ending" that Richie will re-kindle that fire and creativity for his part in the the biggest band on the planet and be allowed to use it in the album process, and of course WANT to show it out there on tour!!!!

Aloha !

All of Richie's solo's are note for note the same like they've been for the past 10 years. Madison Square Garden 2008 is nothing special compared to what he used to be doing, which is improvise with little fills here and there.

Richie wasn't very good on The Circle tour. Jon was. Jon lifted several performances out of the usual boring standard. But as soon as anything remotely rare was being played Richie looked completely out of his comfort zone. I still remembering seeing something simple as Thorn In My Side and Richie struggling hard to remember the guitar solo of it. This is a man that used to live Bon Jovi. He'd use to get on that stage and own it, whereas nowadays he gets on that stage, fistbumps the air and will then launch into the same repetive licks for the next 2 hours.

There's not been one single show in 10 years now where Richie was on fire from start to finish, and if anything, while Jon's been on auto pilot often, there's still shows where he wasn't. This doesn't go for Richie. He's been on auto pilot since 2005 and hasn't gotten off of it ever since. It's only gotten worse, up to the point that a replacement seems to offer more excitement to the stage than the original. So all your talk about magic this and magic that and Phil not being good enough is nonsense. You're holding on to something that hasn't been there for many years now and are pretending there used to be some great bond on stage when both Jon and Richie were there. But Richie's been drunk off his ass for many years now, or "a little too intoxicated" and Jon's had to save his ass many times.

If Richie won't show up for another tour and Phil will join the band again on the next one everyone will have forgotten about him, as Phil adds that welcome bit of rock n roll vibe to the stage that has been missing for many years now. The encore in Milan proved that as long as Jon's on fire the rest of the band will follow, Phil included.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan