Richie live in Dublin - Olympia 30.06.14

He sang a little bit of U2 (One) before Seven Years Gone.

THE GOOD

Its easy to knock the guy from behind a keyboard like I've done but seeing him live is another story. He wants to be there and his enthusiasm shines. His voice sounded great overall but he sometimes falls behind with the lyrics. The last 4 songs being IBTFY, Wanted, Prayer and These Days is genius. Stranger and Seven Years went down a storm. Orianthi rocks and her voice is superb.

THE BAD

Not much really. Most people there didn't know his solo stuff and only really reacted when Jovi songs were sung. I think his setlist needs 1 or 2 more Jovi songs.



THE FUNNY

He really says some stupid shit.

"Do you guys know Orianthi ??" He asked and then followed it with "Not like I know her haha"

Or the time he talked really seriously about his daughter being 3 and then being 16 all of a sudden. He then made remark about not having to worry about you guys in relation to his daughter. All a bit mad.

Overall Ioved it. Well done Richie.

He really does talk some rubbish at times...or at least the times you can make out what it is he is saying...but it was a great show I thought and I enjoyed it all! Decent length and the crowd were great too! Looking forward to tomorrow night now! I was pleasantly surprised after all the negative reviews on here...just proves you really shouldn't believe all you read!

I don't know if it's shouldn't believe as opinions will be all over the place no matter, .... but just like others all I have now are videos - it seems he has gotten better with each show. What I watched from London for example was awful and the biggest problem I'd have with that, is if I paid for him to be ready on day 1 I'd feel let down. Glad you enjoyed your night.

The show was great. Richie seemed on top of his shit. A more detailed review will follow but for now I need sleep in preperation for Belfast tomorrow.

I echo what everybody else said. I was very pleasantly surprised. Richie was in great form, his singing and playing was excellent. I went with my girlfriend who barely even knows who bon jovi are and she loved it, thought Richie and especially orianthi were incredible.

The only real flaw was an over reliance on aftermath songs. The mid part of the set could have been improved with some stranger, US, or bon jovi songs.

Great gig though.

Good to see a lot of positive reviews here. Solo gigs (i.e the band members separate) are not my thing but its really encouraging to see that Richie has not lost it just yet.

I can only agree with others, this was a properly good gig.

I took my girlfriend, who knew the BJ hits only, but she thoroughly enjoyed the gig and even asked when Richie would tour again next time.

From my more critical point of view:

This was not a great gig, but a very good one nevertheless. Richie's voice sounded surprisingly good and his guitar playing was excellent as well. The sound could have been improved though since, from where I was standing, it sounded very much like a John Shanks produced album in terms of a wall of sound. The setlist was good, but could have been drastically improved by not playing as many crap songs from Aftermath and playing more from Stranger and Undiscovered Soul. That being said, Every Road and Seven Years Gone went over really well. Moreover, Stranger went over like a storm. As expected though, the BJ hits worked best with an amazing Dublin crowd.

Looking back, if Richie's solo tours have one massive benefit, it's that I get to hear the old Bon Jovi hits in such an intimate atmosphere. It keeps amazing me how well these songs still work with small audiences of die hard fans.

I'm really pleased Richie is getting better with every gig and this one was particularly good. As much as I have scathed him I wouldn't wish anyone a bad gig.

I wonder if the temptation of Temple Bar made him drink after the gig....

What time did he come on/go off at?

Came on about 9 and went off about 11.

Thought he looked a bit Axl Rose-esque coming on. Middle-aged, bloated and in a garish coat, I feared the worst.

However, he was excellent. Brought my missus who had zero interest in him but when he sang she was stunned. "I'd say he must have been fed up in Bon Jovi stuck behind a guitar. He can really sing."

He did waste a few songs. Nowadays, Weathering the Storm and Sugar Daddy should all be dropped. Stick in another Jovi, Stranger and Undiscovered Soul song in their place. Stranger and Seven Years Gone went over best from his solo songs while the Jovi songs took the roof off the place. Prayer was wasted a bit. He brought on 6 local singers and one of them just stood with his hands in his pockets and refused to sing. He deserved a kick in the hole from Richie. However, LYHOM, WDOA and These Days were excellent while IBTFY was phenomenal.

He was behind on lyrics at times and botched Stranger a bit "Everybody loves a loser, till the loser wins, and then it's front page news, nobody loves a winner....<oh shit what to I sing now?>"

Richie is no Jon Bon Jovi as a front man. He can't work a crowd as well as an on-form Jon and he never will. But he put on a great show and can hold his own. I hate how he left the band, I hate how unprofessional he's been and I hate that he is classless in a lot of his interviews and actions (He took another dig during Learning How To Fly). However, if this is what the fella wants to do then good luck to him. I was massively and pleasantly surprised and hugely entertained and it was obvious that he's enjoying himself too.