Quote:
Originally Posted by Javier
He's not, Phil is. And you're allowed to have a different opinion but I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree, I found that to be a good performance. If they changed the backing vocals and put Everett backing Jon up rather than Phil I think that performance would have been great!!
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Don’t get me wrong, they are damn lucky to have Phil. The guy is rocking the hell out of boring songs, he’s constantly promoting the band, he’s a joy to watch. His guitar playing doesn’t have to sound like Richie’s and it’s working for a lot of people. He’s doing what he’s paid to do and doing it with a big smile and an awesome attitude. I have no problem with Phil other than he’s just a guy who plays guitar in BJ, not the other half of what truly made the band. (Phil's vocals are very meh though. They should use Everett more, that's true)
I also don’t post because I take pleasure in complaining and bitching about details. I rarely watch any of their shows anymore because I know I’m not going to like them. But I don’t want to believe that
this is it. When somebody praises a performance, I can’t help but give it a try even though I know I’m not going to care about the vocals (I’ll admit I’m very hard to please on that front) because I’m still hoping for a glimpse of something that still existed 5 years ago. Not 10, or 20.
I was watching a No Apologies performance from 2010 and it made me think of WWWU, both songs are far from masterpieces, but with the right attitude they can kick ass live and bring energy to the setlist. If Jon still had the attitude, WWWU (or any decent song from THINFS) would sound vocally as bad as it does now, but performance-wise it’d make such a huge difference and it would make the repetitive and short setlists easier to enjoy.
But for lots of people the whole "getting down to touch the audience and treat some female fans” shtick is working like a charm and they’ll probably choose it over a singer who delivers with passion and attitude but won't interact like this. And I guess they are right to feel this way too, the band has changed and what worked for me then maybe didn't for them and the way things are now is creating new fans or bringing older fans back to the band, who knows.
But I can't help feeling that there still
has to be something left for all of us who are missing the spark. That this isn't how it ends.