I really don't understand what's going on here. If I'm pessimistic and negative towards Jon's current live output (which I am most of the time), I get shat on because of overreacting and exaggerating things, and when I'm actually positive about something for once, I get shat on because I'm usually negative about this era and shouldn't have attitudes differing with themselves regarding anything about it.

Bottom line: overall, Jon can't really sing anymore and it's very unlikely for him to improve any further from his current level (which is undeniably better than 2017, but still worse than late 2013-15 in general). However, every now and then he manages to pull off the odd song with less vocal flaws - or more energy than usual to compensate for them - compared to the norm, and on those occasions I can appreciate his effort and enjoy the performances more than usual. The three videos on the previous post are such examples, and IMO pretty much the only performances of individual songs from the whole European THINFS tour that I can honestly enjoy all the way through, time after time. There may have been a couple of others as well, but I don't have the motivation to specifically look for them at this point.

The Bed Of Roses performance from Dublin night #2 is actually very good for Jon's current standards. He still has somewhat of a hard time with his phrasing and timing at times, but there are no obvious pitch problems and his tone is surprisingly good. As the song goes on, his voice clears up a bit and he sounds much more like the Jon Bon Jovi I used to know - especially on the verses -, as opposed to the weak and breathless old guy of 2017-early 2018. Granted, the choruses are still a bit shouty, but he gets there and does a solid job overall.

Saturday Night from the same gig is a very energetic and passionate performance with Jon really being up for it and ”in the moment”. For the first time in more than 6 years (bar the speech in Sao Paulo ’17) there’s the extended breakdown with Jon’s ad-libs in the middle of the song. His vocals are quite patchy overall, but during the improvised section he really gives his pipes a workout, going for some high notes and even adding a bit of rasp to his voice at one point. It’s not perfect or anything, but Jon’s obvious passion and will to really PERFORM the song as opposed to him just singing his way through it gives me goosebumps. Add to that the strong personal meaning of the song for me, and the result is a great performance for the modern day JBJ + Bon Jovi.

Always from Wembley is another occasion where Jon’s obvious effort and passion make up for his vocal shortcomings. There his voice is obviously really shot, his tone is quite forced and there are quite a few bum notes even in the lower/middle register, especially on the ”there ain’t no luck…” part. However, he goes for the last two choruses with so much bravado and effort, it really seems like he’s bleeding out his absolute all and pushing out every single bit there’s left of his vocal power and range (which is obviously very limited even in this kind of a 150% situation). Him struggling and sounding like he’s in pain while still coming pretty close to hitting all the important notes emphasizes the inner meaning of the song itself, and you can really imagine a completely worn-out man, running on his final cylinders, desperately pouring out all he’s got left of his former power to prove how much he still loves the woman. The final chorus has Jon completely flipping off his limitations for the best of his remaining vocal skills, belting out the ”I’ll be there ’til the stars don’t shine…” part better than in many, many years. The amazing Wembley crowd singing every word with him, helping him get through the obvious struggle, makes it an astonishingly beautiful moment.

So, does giving Jon the kudos he absolutely deserves for these three diamonds in the endless sea of turds really make me seem bipolar?