Good question. I don't think they'd go the extra mile just because of poor ticket sales, because the average concert go-er isn't going to care about the sets or even JBJ's vocals the same way we do. One thing Jon does seem to genuinely do is snoop around the internet. Maybe he's been shrewd enough to look past the ass-kissing he gets at that god damned official site and found motivation to prove himself. It almost seemed that way when they first did Always back in Iowa. I think that, along with possibly ticket sales and popular opinion (is Bon Jovi still a rock band? Or just a fading act?) has been the fuel here.

As for why they sucked so bad in the Japan disaster, the excuse at the time was that Jon was sick. Who knows if that was the case. Even if he was, there's no denying the concert just was flat in general. Hard to imagine that, just six months later, they put out what they did in Rio last night.