Richie Sambora's Tour 2016!

Yes, this! Very well stated

It's acceptable for them to mess up when the song still sounds like the song with a missed cue or a screwed up word. The mistakes Richie is making is a completely different plane and I don't know why people make excuses for him by saying it's okay because Jon messes up too.

Maybe because they don't mess all the time and sh!t happens? You can't cross somebody out if they're still out there making music. There are better and worse shows, not all of them suck which gives some space for future improvement (or downright fall).

And you know what, guys? It's actually funny to set Richie and Jon against because they are like day and night! They shine when they're alone but they're complete when together! Being best friends for so many years, fall outs happen! The psychologists claim that relationships need fights and mind it, the guys compared it to a "sexless marriage" haha Too bad everything went awfully public because it always adds more to the picture itself. It was Steven or Joe from Aerosmith (a good example of dirty split ups, too) who claimed they had long settled down their issues but the press exaggerated everything they said so it was like two parallel stories going on at the same time.

And one more thing: a girl/guy duo works in a totally different way than a guy/guy one and no matter how a good guitarist Ori is, the gender and physical closeness will always come in the way (you said they kissed/were holding each other the whole time, etc). I remember reading some article about girls in guy bands and it was kind of distracting (so the music also lost value), even if they weren't dating. Yet, we have Roxette and the whole theory goes to the waste bin

I still love the - "my girlfriends playing this bit" - during prayer just after the entire song stopped for what like seemed forever.

Tragic

Richie was stumbling over his words during his acceptance speech and his eyes had that pissed look

Richie is choosing to throw his talent away whereas Jon is desperately trying to cling onto whatever he has left.

What a sad state of affairs.

+1

This exactly.

This is horrible.

But I never said they/he mess up all the time. Mistakes do happen but it's mistakes that are avoidable by rehearsal and playing in key. Not pointing to the guitar player and saying "Solo" like a band leader making it up as he goes along.

To Thinny's point, on what world are people "letting Jon off the hook"? To bring up us going on easy on Jon and crucifying Richie, yeah, no. BOTH sides are getting slammed. But the band sounds rehearsed and Jon is rehearsing with them, Richie's band just sounds loose and thrown together but not the kind where its a rock band winging it, it just sounds sloppy and people don't know their cues. The band members keep changing. Jon's voice is shot but he's it's a world of difference between being bad and being bad because you're not ready.

Everyone knows you're tapping that Richie, no need to rub it in the rest of the mortals faces. Maybe a little less boinky boinky and a little more rehearsy time??

Fair points well made.

I saw Richie 3 times last year and I enjoyed 2 out of 3 of those shows. In Nottingham he was almost as good as I'd ever seen him. 2 days before in Leeds was the worst I'd ever seen him bar FAR! I can't imagine enjoying a Bon Jovi show as it stands. The going through the motions thing, and lack of energy from Jon just isn't doing it for me for what I've seen. It's all about heart and passion for me. And while it's there in places on the album, I don't see any of that live...