Supersonic's all mattering Richie Sambora at de Melkweg review

Aloha !

I know, you've all been waiting for my verdict. I'm sorry, I've been busy, an all mattering review on the record hasn't even been posted, but I'll make it up to you by giving you my all mattering opinion on this show.

Right, so, Richie eh? First show of the tour and all of that. Was it any good? Not really. Oh, you'll say, but it's your opinion Seb, you never like anything, but that's where you're wrong. I really liked the appetizers at Wagamama. I liked the main course which came a staggering 30 minutes too late because they'd forgotten about it and then gave me something I hadn't ordered at all. I liked the crowd, I like the banter with Thierry, Simon and a few others outside of the venue, I just didn't like Richie's show, because frankly, the man did not deliver at all.

Opener Burn That Candle Down was quite messy. It's a mess on the record, but while he played it live he missed out on several words or just forgot to play the lick, unable to remember what part goes where. Sure, we got plenty of duck faces (Jon and Richie should get those trademarked) and Richie looking tough because, you know, this is a hard rock song, but it really isn't. It's just a bunch of loud drums with a bunch of noises on top of it, but apart from Richie the entire band was just kind of like "yeah whatever, do your thing". The only one who seemed to have fun as well was Matt Rollins who was slamming the keys on his keyboard getting in the groove, but apart from that it was quite a shitty opener.

After this dreadful experience I kind of expected a Bon Jovi song to follow up, but instead we got his latest hit. Well...hit...the song kind of went over like a lead balloon, the song just doesn't work as a live track, on the record all sorts of effects are used to make the instruments blend into each other but live everything is quite muddy, something that showed itself during the few TV performances. What saved the song was the crowd. The Melkweg is quite a good concert venue itself, nice and small and for whatever reason the atmosphere is often brilliant there, as was the case with last night. But face it, Richie plays in front of Bon Jovi fans who come to see him play and have his records, so will enjoy it. Would he play this on a festival like other indie acts do (Because you know, he's gone indie now) no one would really care for songs like these. He struggled himself through this one like he's always done, and it was apparent that he was hoarse already. I read that he's got a cold, and maybe he does, but he's sounded like this for a good 10 years now so I reckon it's just some excuse they use for the sound of his voice.

Taking A Chance On The Wind didn't work that well either. Not many sang along, but finally, near the end of the song when he actually did start to jam the energy went up a bit. He also seemed to be a bit more confident when being out on the loose as opposed to being stuck to verses and choruses. After about 10 minutes I finally thought I'd get to see a side of Richie I liked at Bon Jovi shows, but he was very sloppy (not that I've never seen that at Bon Jovi show), but that's not the side I prefer. His licks were all over the place and he seemed to miss notes on a regular basis now.

After a "how you doing so far ok" moment (not in those words, they're copyrighted and Richie can't use them unless he sucks Jons dick a bit more) we got to hear Stranger. Richie changed his tone, and although Thierry was on the balcony and I was on the floor, from the moment he played his first lick I looked up and saw him looking back at me (that magic is still there <3) and we both thought the same; his tone was dire. What was fun though was how the crowd sang along to the chorus, Richie noticing this and then letting the crowd sing. The issue with the tone of his guitar showed itself even more during the solo, when the effects on his guitar pedal made it impossible for him to play the solo like he remembered. After his voice slipped during the higher notes in the outro and we got the outro jam it was as if he struggled to get through it, barely remembering how it went and needing to focus on his outro solo as opposed to it coming just naturally. His tone really ruined it and by now the sound of the band started to annoy me a bit as well. Very rough, but not in a rock kind of way, but in a sloppy kind of way. The bass drum was way too loud and the second guitarist barely audible.

Nowadays followed, which was the first real surprise of the night. It's a nice song, but a friend of mine rightly said so that it's a teeny bopper. It's like the Jonas Brothers on steroids, and the song got old quite fast. What also became obvious was how Richie was relying on effects when singing live as well. He put some sing-along section in it which only half of the venue really picked up on, but considering how Richie's as blind as a bat I doubt he could even see how no one in the back gave a shit about this one. Well, my brother did was singing his longs out (right in my ear thank you very much) but apart from that the pace of the show slowly started to go down. After the song another "how you doing so far" moment came up, and, I've noticed this before, Richie seems to be in a desperate need of approval. "You like this one? You like that one?" He went into some story on how he needs feedback, but he kind of gives himself feedback by saying "You like Every Road...You like Burn That Candle Down...", kind of feeding us the lines he really wants to hear us say. This would happen every few songs. Instead of asking "you doing ok" we'd get a "YOU ARE DOING OK HA YOU LIKE THAT HA" kind of thing. Not that humble, but when looking behind it what really showed itself was how insecure he really was while playing in a venue packed with 1.500 fans that came out to see him.

Up next was Weathering The Storm, another shit song. Not many seemed to care for this one, and neither did I. It really comes across as a "oh poor me I've had such a shitty life..." kind song. Please pity me please. I won't get into THAT line, but needless the say it's a poor song. Richie had to brag about writing with Bernie Taupin though I doubt anyone, few exceptions there, knows who Bernie Taupin is. And face it, Taupin has written a lot of shit with Elton John as well, it's not as everything that duo has written has been gold, and neither is Weathering The Storm The double neck came out for Wanted, and while playing the song it also became apparent how Richie had prepared all his improvisations, and when a crowd actually went ahead and did them before he'd started them he'd just start over. So we ended up singing the first verse to Wanted twice. First when the crowd started it, and then with Richie starting it. When Richie stood there listening to us sing he looked a bit confused as to where to go next, so with all his creativity he'd just start over. Wanted was quite a rushed performance, and during the switch of acoustic to electric they once again managed to **** it up so we wound up hearing only half of the guitar solo. Nothing new there.

What followed now was one of the oddest performances at a Bon Jovi show I've ever seen. Richie singing Sugar Daddy, and doing improvs, grabbing his crotch several times, encouraging us into singing "I could be your sugar daddy" which not many picked up on. He just doesn't seem to get how a 50+ year old singing about being a sugar daddy is quite pathetic and it made the crowd rather uncomfortable as well. When his daughter is old and mature enough to realize what daddy sang about I’m sure she’ll be proud. Richie seemed to have a blast, but it really was quite awkward, him going into how he'd shagged ladies and had been a sugar daddy. Really, that's not something you're supposed to make fun of, it's pathetic really but it all seems to go over his head.

And although I thought it couldn't get any worse, it went even more downhill from there. Richie doing an Oasis cover. I'm sure many of you know I'm a big Oasis fan, but when he started singing this I just couldn't stop laughing. He tried mimicking Liam's voice by singing it in the same way Liam would, though the song is sung by Noel, the other brother, for those unfamiliar with the band. He stood there looking at his i-Pad (modern day teleprompter) but couldn't keep with the words at all. He'd clearly looked at YouTube vids of the song played by Oasis as well, encouraging us to sing along. But, you know, that works at Oasis gigs, or at shows by bands from the same genre, but not at shows from a washed up guitarist playing in a pop rock band. He stood there stuttering the words, playing dodgy guitar licks trying to sound like Liam and needless to say, his cover was a joke. He seemed to realize it too, because once it was done (missing out on the final words of the song, probably not listed on his i-pad) we got another WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT THAT WAS AWESOME HA? I KNOW YOU'RE TWEETING OUT THERE SAYING I LOVED THAT OASIS COVER I THOUGHT IT WAS ****ING COOL though I doubt anyone would have put those words on Twitter.

By now energy was at an all-time low and when Hard Times Come Easy was started it was way too late to save the show. It got a full on electric treatment which made it another muddy experience, although Ebbin was strumming away and looking confused at his guitar, if you'd have told him he was playing a banjo he might've believed it too. I think there was another sing along moment to this one which didn't really work, and what followed were the band intro's. Which no one really seemed to listen to. Richie was making "funny" jokes about a bass drum in his ass and all of that, but no one really listened to the intro's. When Richie announced Ebbin as the one responsible for Crush and Bounce there was room for a cheer, which never came, everyone just stood there talking. After the band intro's we got another chorus and that was that.

Now it was time for Richie's words of wisdom. Substance abuse, got over it (WHOOO TIME TO CHEER FOR RICHIE) and what followed was another one no one cared for. You Can Only Get So High is just not that much of a song. It just goes on and on and never picks up. While he'd gotten a bit of the energy back during Hard Times Come Easy, all was lost during this one. Richie stood there singing his heart out (while reading the lyrics from his iPad) and I think it was during this one that he couldn't get the page turned, so stood there pointing to the technicians "II, II", so someone came on stage, took away the teleprompter, flipped the page, and put it back. I think Richie, being the highly technical guy that he is, thought they could flip the page just by clicking the button on the soundboard, but we're not there yet, Richie.

Once the song was finished we got an acoustic set so I hoped for something like The Answer or Harlem Rain, but instead we got treated to the ultra rare acoustic version of Prayer. Which also went over like a lead balloon. Sure, people sang along to it, but it became obvious how people lost focus during the show. The guitar solo was a joke as well, remember that first acoustic performance a few months ago? Picture that, just slightly better. Richie was sloppy, missed out on a lot of notes and never really finished anything he started. Halfway through the song he started singing the chorus in the original key which confused people even more, and once this was done I think he knew as well how it didn't really work out, almost apologizing to the crowd for "sorry we're trying something new here", thinking this crowd had never heard that acoustic version before. Richie, if you can YouTube things, we can as well. Probably 5 years before you could as well.

But do not fear. We'd get another classic. WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T GO HOME. Yes. Everyone around me was like "dude what the ****" (but in Dutch, obviously), and although at the first few rows everyone started waving their arms again because it seems to a mandatory thing to do for when you're a clueless dipshit, nobody picked up on it halfway through. Everyone kind of stood there watching him play this one. He also added a cover song to it which he encouraged us to sing along to, but no one had any idea what he was singing. Instead of giving up on it, we got the cover song anyway, and although sadly there were no extra alrights near the end I was glad it was over.

During the encore break I started talking to others around me. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, but no one was really impressed by anything they'd heard by now. It kind of was like "yeah that's nice dear". I, with all my brilliance that I took with me, came up with the most brilliant metaphor for Richie so far. His show was like having a Ferrari and only driving 30mph all the time. There was never any real spark during the show, it was all very bland and safe. No real extended jams, there was no edge.

And then the encore opened with the Abbey Road medley. I know he's played it before, but this was actually the first time during the entire show that that specific spark emerged. This was the moment when the full band showed what it could do. Richie also seemed to be comfortable singing this one, the musicianship was excellent, the only downside is that with Bon Jovi's dumbed down crowds nowadays not many people seem to know classic songs like these. A 40 year old guy stood next to me, surprised that me and my brother knew all the words. The Abbey Road medley was done excellent, and got very close to McCartney’s own live versions of it. The jam near the end should've been longer, but if he keeps on doing this one you're in for a treat.

I'll Be There For You followed, and he seemed to be in a rush. This one was finished out of the blue, and I noticed that originally another song was planned, so obviously there were time constraints. I'll Be There For You was done well, but it was only during the encore that Richie actually came across as the Richie Sambora were all familiar with. I've read reviews from others now and people have mentioned how his guitar work was great, but it wasn't. He played like me on a bad day at most times. I'm not a brilliant guitar player, but where I seem to be getting better ever year Richie seems to get worse. That jamming during Homebound Train on The Circle tour, the looseness, it was never there. It’ll be interesting to see how this who will go over in America as none of that singing along that happens over here is going to happen over there, Richie’s a lot more famous over than he is in America, and considering how his ego must’ve been hurt a few times tonight I’m not sure if how he’s going to handle the crowds over there. And just for the record, this doesn’t count for all you Jovitalkers from Amurreca. I’m sure you know all the words and all of that, but the atmosphere in the Melkweg is something you won’t get in America, different culture over there and all of that.

I was with good company, the crowd was fantastic, I've had a lot of fun, but a lot of was due to Richie being so disappointing and coming across as a joke during, for example, Sugar Daddy and Weathering The Storm. It's not that my expectations were sky high either, I was mostly expected it to be this dreadful. He's not comfortable in his own skin, then throws half of his new album at us, but seems to think that he needs to play big Bon Jovi hits at a crowd that can sing pretty much any solo song of his catalogue. If this would've been a Bon Jovi show I'd most likely have walked out of it. I am well aware on how Richie Sambora is no Slash who plays his ass of on guitar, but this was the exact opposite. And that’d be ok if the songs were of good enough quality like in 1998, but this was not the case. Half of the set didn’t hold up so when you then throw predictable Bon Jovi covers at a bunch of die hards you’ll most likely lose their attention. I’m sure most had a good time because it’s safe to say that about 90% of that crowd just came to see Richie play and didn’t expect anything of it, but for a guitarist who’s talking about wanting to break free from the Bon Jovi mold it was an awful lot like a bad Bon Jovi show. I'm going again tonight, and people have asked me why. And honestly, if it was possible I'd sell my ticket for tonight. So, anyone interested?

And there you have it. The most in depth review on any Bon Jovi show of the past 2 years on Jovitalk. Thank you very much, and let the bitchfight begin.

My verdict?
*****

Rating on the Supersonic’s all mattering Bon Jovi review index:
***** The ****ing bollocks!!!
**** Top show.
*** Yeah, well that was alright...
** Piss poor performance. Zzzzz…
* Back to the drawing board.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Thanks for your review Seb. There are still a fair amount of tickets left for the Best Buy, NYC show...so we shall see how that goes.

Well, thanks for the review. I can't judge the show but the setlist was shit. Back to the drawing board indeed.

I mean, 1 song off Stranger and 1 off Undiscovered? Really? on your solo tour and when you have 3 records only?

Exactly.

I mean, I can see how there is some lack of confidence, and how the band can get a lot tighter. That all comes with touring properly and this was the first show. I can't judge his guitar playing by the clips, but his voice wasn't very good. It had been better on the Sirius show for example so I am sure there's room for improvement.
Lots of it I guess is technical difficulties, which again, seems to happen to a lot of acts, especially when they play small venues. I saw Europe a couple of years ago in Shepherd Bush Empire and they had all kind of shit going on with their sound and instruments and even ended up making a DVD out of it which is brilliant, so am not much concerned with that. Also, the jamming will improve, I'm sure there will even be a noticeable difference tonight.

What bothers me is the setlist though. One song from the previous 2 records?!? ****in' kiddin me? When you wrote a masterpiece such as Stranger, you only play one song from it?

And of all the proper bands he could cover, like the Allman Brothers or Hendrix or Deep Purple, he does Oasis? ****in' Oasis? I won't even go into details...who knows, maybe he thought it's a shitty Beatles song or something like that, but no matter what Supersonic wrote there, even that 1 min clip I have heard of Richie doing it, still sounds better than that poser Noel. God damn it Richie, wake the hell up man!

Obviously...Who Says You Can't Go home? Not even worth mentioning it. Richie needs a kick in the butt for those two alone.

If he improves the setlist, I'm sure the gig as a whole will be much better when he plays London. That's a big IF though. And since I'm only doing the London gig, that's all I care about

I thought the same about Dont Look Back In Anger when I heard it this morning. He was singing it pretending to be Liam, strange in itself when he doesn't sing it, but it just didnt work, which was a shame as he probably could do a decent version singing it as Richie Sambora.

Nice to read a review that doesn't fawn over a member of Bon Jovi and, presumably, tells it like it was.
Am intrigued to see/hear how bad Don't Look Back in Anger was.....

I wasn't there, but after watching the cilps, I'd say it wasn't THAT bad. You can clearly see that the band isn't comfortable around each other yeat, esp. in the soundcheck clip. I mean they **** up Wanted FFS.

Don't Look Back In Anger was pretty horrible, and Richie's voice has either deteriorated or he had a bad cold like he said, but the edge isn't there any more.

But I would go see the show anyway. The set list was bad, but I'm betting it will change as time goes by.

Ice

Hm... they say Richie was sick and that's why his voice sounded so dire yesterday and the setlist was only 16-songs-long... if so, I hope he'll get well till Saturday, Berlin is waiting for the great show! :P

Still, sickness is one thing, choice of the songs - second... it's really disappointing he sung only 2 old songs of his. Who Says? Gosh... if he's doing BJ songs, he'd better choose These Days or Homebound Train, which sounded pretty good sung by him not so long ago...

Jesus, what the hell is that cover of Don't Look Back in Anger about?!?
Awful isn't the word........ He's trying to sing like Liam or the Beatles and Liam didn't even sing it! Needs to do it as himself