No Richie on current leg of the tour

Aaaand you have my +1 as well.

You missed my point (but that really doesn’t surprise me because, apparently, if I even utter the word “Jon” some of you here automatically assume I’m placing blame). I tried to clarify at the beginning that I wasn’t doing that; because that wasn’t my intent.

In fact, I really wasn’t referring to the situation at all per se. I was addressing your insistence that because Richie was the one who walked out it didn’t make sense he would have the opinion that Jon was trying to sell out arenas without Richie. That’s kinda like saying “because the grass is green, the sky isn’t blue.” Taken as separate statements “Richie was the one who walked out” doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with whether or not he thinks “Jon believes he can sell out arenas by himself.”

Richie’s comment wouldn’t make sense if he walked out for some reason unrelated to the band, or if in fact Jon hadn’t given him the impression that he felt that way. So actually, by attempting to make nonsense of Richie’s statement, you are instead showing that the only way it would make sense is if part of the reason Richie’s not on tour is somehow related to his statement about Jon. (But look on the bright side: If Jon has done something that led to Richie having that opinion, then not only does the comment make sense; but there is also no reason for you to be concerned with Richie’s mental state.)

I wasn’t trying to put forth an argument or a theory about why the situation exists as it does now. But since you asked (paraphrasing here) why after 30 years would someone suddenly find the situation intolerable? I don’t know that that is the case. I will repeat: I don’t know what the story is. But I do know that things change. People change. So IF the situation is intolerable, maybe that’s part of the explanation.

And just because Jon said he got the call 3 hours before the show doesn’t mean that whatever this is necessarily happened just 3 hours before the show. We know that Jon wasn’t surprised when the call came, so whatever the reasons are, whether Jon or the band is involved or not, there were indications that Richie wasn’t going to be there prior to that time.

I’ve never claimed to be impartial. I do, however, try to be logical and objective. The only thing that I’ve tried to “rein in” is the determination of some people on this board to deny, against all reason, that there is more here than meets the eye, who assume that because Richie has given no reason that suits them for why he left the tour, he must therefore be irresponsible, disrespectful, uncaring or, now, have mental problems.

But now that you mention it, the thing I find interesting is how none of the objective people on the board seem to mind “when others are having a go at Richie” or find humor at his expense without knowing his reasons; but they come screaming out of the woodwork, guns blazing, if anyone dares to suggest the possibility that there might be trouble in the land of Jovi and, IF so, like it or not, Jon would in all likelihood bear at least some of that responsibility.

If you are saying that there is zero evidence that proves Jon is at fault, you are perhaps correct. However, there is increasing evidence that strongly suggests that there is some discord in the band and that such discord may be the reason Richie’s not on tour, whether people want to acknowledge that or not.

Uhmmm... not really. Never seen YOU defend Jon so vehemently, though.

What would you guys think would happen if we Jon and Richie were to be locked in a room with 2 acoustic guitars, pen and paper?

Beat each other with the guitars and stab each other with the pens?

Not sure what the "Uhmmm.... not really" refers to, but for the most part I haven't seen too much to "defend" Jon against. The only comments I've seen that could be perceived as negative towards Jon (that have caught my attention anyway) have come in the form of people who are attempting to give possible reasons for why Richie may not be stating why he is not on tour (i.e., it may be that he and Jon have had it out and that maybe Jon did or said something that contributed to a falling out or has become too difficult to work with or something along those lines) and those were presented as 'what-if' scenarios, as possible theories, not stated facts and certainly not as character assassinations like some that have thrown at Richie - and not for something he said, but for something he isn't saying.

I have my own theories, which I stated in my first post; and I stand behind them. I wasn't saying then, nor am I saying now, that Jon is a bad person or uncaring or anything like the derogatory statements that have been tossed around about Richie, both seriously and masked as humor. I do believe that Jon is primarily driven to protect the brand and the success of the band and I believe that, as a businessman, he will say what will put the band in the best light and will achieve the ends that the thinks are best for the band. If that came across as cracking on him, then again, that was not my intent.

But some people have just been downright malicious in their comments about Richie. Some of the humor has been unkind, to say the least, and people seem to have no problem with that. Even as objective as you are, I've seen you jump on that bandwagon a time or two. (And that would be why I felt comfortable with "none of the objective people" in my comment, if you highlighted that because you felt that are always objective and equally ready to defend both Richie and Jon. I do see the effort you make to stay neutral, but your defense of Jon is much stronger than your defense of Richie, too.)

I guess when all is said and done, yes I am defending Richie. But more importantly to me, what has been offended is not Richie so much as my own sense of fairness that makes me believe that you don't judge a book by its cover or jump to conclusions about what is happening with someone until you know the whole story. Some of the people here have been doing that since day one, going out of their way to criticize or find fault, and it's just not fair.

(And God, the last part of that statement sounded like a whiny 5-year old. I have been on the planet long enough to know that life isn't always fair; but I don't have to like it. I think it's past my bedtime. )

Ha, ha. Too funny.

Magic. (Go ahead. Call me naive. I can handle it. )

No, I believe that it was 3 hours before the show. Yes, he can say that he wasn't surprised by the phone call but it definitely caught him off guard. When Jon was on that stage during that first show without Richie, to me that was Jon with his guide down, showing his true side, his vulnerable side, in a way. When he spoke that night, he spoke as Jon who just heard that his best friend, his guitar player wasn't coming on stage that night. I'm paraphasing here because I can't remember the exact quote but he spoke along the lines about getting the phone call, either cancelling the show or going ahead and how if there was a time that he needed the audience, that was the time. He was shit scared that night wondering WTF happens now and when your main guitarist on stage is Bobby, no wonder the man was freaked.

Then Phil X came on board and Jon became the CEO again, the business man and the show must go on. That night he looked worried and concern. Then he turned pissed and angry. The quotes of Richie is always welcomed back, we love him etc etc. Even through I believe him, it's still a selling point for the band, still thinking ahead of the game. When he is giving interviews and saying nothing changes, the shows are still the same, that's not the Jon who misses his friend, that is the Jon the CEO and trying to sell the tour. He can not for the life of him say that the shows are different because right then, could be a reason for someone not to go. Even if he knows that the shows are different and he knows, WE know the shows are different, he will never let on.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Phil didn't come back. Understandable, the answer would have been get another guitar player but who at short notice and who knows the songs? Last time this happened, it seemed they were prepared and Phil knew about it before the public knew. This time, Phil knew when we knew. So if Phil couldn't have joined again, it might have been a different situation all together. They probably would have had to postphone some shows or Jon would have fought harder to get Richie back.