this lists Richie as someone who the other players have played with, it doesn't say he is performing.

That charity concert was announced on April 5, a lot has happened since then. Richie's plans may have changed. Or he knows he'll be done with his personal problems by then.

Aloha !

Yes it does. It's 2 acts on the bill. 1 being the Rockers In Recovery band, and the other one being Richie Sambora.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I know its early in the day, but that has to be post/sentence of the day. :D

It says he is there as a special guest. To me that means he'll perform, if he'll still be there.

i honestly hope this isn't a health issue. I think we can only blame Jon for not giving us a better explanation but perhaps he's not even allowed to. Let's say Richie DOES (knock on wood) have a serious health condition and asked Jon to keep it shut so that people respect his privacy. On one hand, Jon as his friend will probably respect this but at the same time he won't be able to give fans a satisfactory reason for Richie's absence. It's a tough call.

It says he is there as a special guest. To me that means he'll perform, if he'll still be there.

Yeah, as if tweeting was not enough, let's start appearing on stage with other people! I guess you can't be a great guitar player and songwriter AND a smart with your fans. Unless he already knows he'll be back with Jovi at that time, but that makes him an even bigger asshole for keeping his mouth shut.

The RIP All Star Band - Trainwrecks Kept A-Rollin' with special guest Richie Sambora...gotta love that title ;)

What time is stink eye o'clock?

It happens at 2.23.

I could very well have missed this but Matt confirmed 2 hours ago that Phil X will be playing until Richie returns...

Good, at least I won't have to suffer Bobby as lead guitar player :)

Might as well tour with another lead singer who can sing the songs better than Jon, if that's the case.

It's more than just the playing. It's the hat. It's the double neck guitar. It's the Jon/Richie fist bump. It's Richie's vocals. It's Richie on the talk box. It's knowing that the biggest hits are songs co-written by Richie.

Is it because Richie's vocals blow Jon out of .the game?

Bang on.....

Haha just noticed something someone mentioned a few weeks back (may have been Seb). There is a really exaggerated H at the front of 'are' right after the stink eye.

"And these har our words"

I don't see the problem it's not until August that he's supposely is doing this.

Seriously, **** Richie if he's going on like this. If Richie doesn't care to explain for his fans who have bought these tickets for hard earned money why he isn't there, I seriously don't give a shit about him.

I have to say that was great vocals by Richie.

Guys, I have two sources that confirmed that Richie had an alcohol/drugs problem. One I can't tell because I sweared not doing so, and it's the one that told me the full story, the other yesterday spoke to Bobby in that gala Jon played and he said (about Richie): "I understand he is putting himself together".

That's why yesterday I was so dramatic and then said "just support Richie". Yeah, this is not Jon's fault, he's taking the blame for having his friend's back, and if he's rough at him, is because that's what friends do to keep you on the road.

Well thank god you've cleared that one up, Your anonymous and unaccountable but definitely legitimate sources have saved the day!

I smell a bit of sarcasm. LOL

I am personally devastated. In this case I ain’t going to the shows in Stockholm and Tampere if Richie is not there. I feel like I am back in 2011 only last time it all ended with a happy ending. I don’t see it that way this time unfortunately.

Fans in my country, including me, have been waiting for the first EVER BJ show in Poland for 30 years. 30 f***ing years. And when we finally got it, we will receive a show without one of the most important members, moreover the one with Polish blood in his veins. This is just like the worst nightmare ever. Those of you who feel excited to hear Phil X rather than Richie have the full right to say so. You have seen them countless number of times in your countries, and maybe for some of you it’s just like another night out with friends or you simply seek for new experience. I also never said a bad word about Phil and I think he’s doing his job well and is a great guitarist. But technique is not everything to me. It’s all about Richie’s charisma, vocals, solos, playing style etc. Phil simply doesn’t have that. You have no idea how torn all the Polish fans are right now. Their greatest dream has just exploded into pieces and so many of them are thinking about not going to the show too.

I will go to the show in my town, but only because I don’t have to travel. Those of you who read all my reviews or seen my covers of Every Road will understand how important Richie is for me in this band. At this moment of my life, Richie is more important to me than Jon. Aftermath is an amazing album to me and I love every single song on it, while I don’t think so positive about WAN. And Seven Years Gone is an epic song to me that is right there next to my TOP3 – KTF, DC, TD. I dreamed about getting this song in Europe, not any other BJ song, but his solo song. Richie’s passion and honesty for music means much more to me than Jon’s vocal abilities (not so impressive anymore by the way). This will not be my band on stage. I was never a fan of Jon’s solo shows, and this is going to be just that. No offence to Tico and Dave but their role in the band to me is far less than Richie’s. Even if Jon comes with unbelievable rarities this tour it will not be the same. To me BJ is not only about Jon’s voice. He could even nail If I Was Your Mother (which of course he won’t anyway) but without Richie this would mean nothing to me, just like any other rarity, while the classics like Wanted, Prayer or Blood on Blood without him would be just torture. A solid performance-technically but a soulless show, is all it's going to be. And I really hope that if Richie’s really not here in Europe they will not play Dry County anymore. At least I don’t want to see it in Gdansk, the show will be hard enough without it anyway.

Something died in me yesterday. I was so looking forward to my shows this tour, I needed it more than ever, for various reasons. BJ is not my hobby, it’s not just music. It’s a lifetime’s passion. And magic only works when amazing duo is on stage. Without any of them, it’s gone. To me there is no Bon jovi without Richie. A miracle would help. Miracles do happen, but I think I’ve used my limit of them already. I will keep my tix for all shows just in case he shows up in the last minute, have flights too, so you never know. I won’t hold my breath for it, but would love to be surprised.

Your source contradicts mine. So who is telling the truth?

Well, I haven't told you a source that it's the one of the full story, and I just used that to back up the one that I can tell.

About the second one, I said, a woman yesterday in the gala Jon Bon Jovi played asked Bobby about Richie and I copypasted the textual words. I don't know what more info do you want, do you want the ID of the woman or what?

Really, you can believe me, you cannot. It's not like I give a crap.

What does your source say?

Well my sauce says:

"contains tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, and natural flavors".

http://www.independent.co.uk/incomin...27-ketchup.jpg

Thats about the only legitimate source around here.

Oooooooh, interesting!!

I'm kinda glad - I don't want it to be drink/drugs.
Any more info on what your source thinks?

That it has nothing to do with his health, no relapse. But that's all that was said. My source is connected to one of Richie's cousins and claims to have gotten the info from that cousin.

What About Now?
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9871/starrock.jpg

Or maybe it is Matt who is behind the conspiracy?
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3343/jvsrr.jpg

:evilbat:

That was my cousin!

He is the sister of the cousin whose uncle told Richie to do that thing that time. But he didn't do it anyway. What a prick.

EPIC... I believe this one...

LMAO!!!!!!!!

:D So many people with "insider" knowledge lately.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

My feelings are "oh well, shit happens". If Richie doesn't care, why should I? I'm sure I'll still enjoy the show and a trip to wonderful Stockholm with my best friend is not a waste at all :)

Will probably be my last BJ concert if Richie is out of the band, though.

he'll be back.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5613/bebackm.jpg

:)

Sources sound as reliable as this:

It's not dumb. No one knows the full circumstances, but decisions have been made in how to deal with the situation, and where the fans are concerned, the decision is to keep them in the dark. Whether it's Richie, Jon, or whoever... Bon Jovi the band, Bon Jovi the company, Bon Jovi the brand have upset a lot of fans. They've sold a product they now can't deliver. Some people don't mind, some people don't care, and some will never even realise anything has gone wrong. But a large section of their fan base do care, and aren't getting any answers or information. No refunds, like it or not many of us have tickets for a lesser product, and we're stuck with them. Most of us will realistically just have to go along and do what you say- make the most of it- because realistically you'd never be able to arrange a noticeable enough protest. Not buying a ticket is the most realistic form of protest, but you can't 'not buy a ticket' if you've already bought one!
That doesn't make the idea of a protest wrong. A visual protest of the kind I suggested, with enough numbers, would be a fairly dramatic statement. It may or may not achieve anything, but if 'Bon Jovi' really do care about their fans it would certainly register with them.

Anyway, it won't happen, but I don't think it's a terrible idea.

Thank you. My husband and I were talking about this last night and we both said the same thing. It was a "what were we waiting for" sort of decision and I'm so glad that we made it. We got some awesome shows and some rarities (or at least rarities for the USA) and we met some people we had talked to for years and we had a blast doing it. :D

Yes, that sticks with me too. However I remember an interview with Jon (when Richie was out of the last tour) saying that his life and the commitments he made still need to continue. So yes, the brotherhood thing is pretty well blown, and I suspect that they haven't been that close since Richie moved to Calif years ago.

Interestingly, David was the only one voicing dissatisfaction during the WWWB movie, not Richie.

This pretty much sums it up for me too. There has been a very poor response from the "official" Bon Jovi team.