This was the real Bon Jovi:

https://youtu.be/h30cC5rRwFM

Not entirely for me.

Setting up so many musicians on stage takes away the wild side that they used to get with just 5 musicians. the guitars sounded more crisp and strong, and it even felt more pure. That is why Metallica or U2 are still only 4 musicians. For me the correct setting for Bon Jovi was 5 musicians on stage.

Agreed. I liked those times (even though that MSG show is way overrated because Jon was on autopilot for most of it), but the only time I witnessed them live and it felt like a true brotherhood and a pure band was in 2003.

'08-'11 is my favourite live era of the band. That was a perfect period where the band had matured, Jon was still able to deliver all of their material, and the setlists were long, varied, and full of surprises.

2010/2011 the setlists were great, Jons voice was in good shape but there was one of the Toronto shows where the band was on absolute fire. He meant every word and there was a lot of passion there. It's so easy to tell when he's phoning it in by that point.

Jon was a pain in the ass trying to establish a safe sound in the shows with the most musicians since HAND, so that it would sound the closest to the album, and finally you get something boring. The irony of the matter is that Jon always pushed the band to sound clear and without errors, however now he himself is the traffic accident in each show.

Something that never mattered to me in the old shows was the sound of perfection, I hate when a band sounds like the album, Bon Jovi always had that imperfection, and distorted guitars, I know it was another era, but even in early 2000 with a pop album like Crush, its sound felt more powerful than in recent years.

His vision of both albums and shows has been boring and routine.

Yeah but there's a difference between sounding like shit because your voice is gone and playing the wrong notes. I don't want perfection but I certainly don't want sloppyness. There's good-Stones sloppy and there's mistakes. I don't think the band deserved half the stink eyes they got but some were pretty warranted.

What I blame Jon for were his major mood swings from 2003 onwards. You had to hope for Jon wanting to deliver when you went to a concert. As Matt said, you could so much see when he was phoning it in right away. And when he was in a bad mood, both band and concert goers were screwed. Actually, that attitude was the most unprofessional about Bon Jovi post-2000.
When the 2010/11 shows were good, they were really good. But you could never count on consistent shows. Some major stinkers in there as well.

Gesendet von meinem Nexus 5X mit Tapatalk

That's an interesting thought. The 18 or so shows I saw leading up to the 2011 tour, there was four or five where I thought they were top of their game. But when I saw them ACTUALLY top of their game you have to wonder how many of those shows I thought were great were phoned in, ya know?

And some of those shows had moments where I'd probably stink eye too. Starting a song too early, ending it too late, bum notes, the wrong key. It happens but it shouldn't happen as often as it started to. Jon's voice is at the point where it's not him making mistake other than the biggest mistake of trying to act like it's not a problem. But he's not messing up the song itself, just the quality of it.

I'm just saying that a great frontman who is fair to the band knows how to deal better with that situation. I don't see Bono throwing stinking eyes at his band, neither does Metallica, and the latter have made many mistakes over time, but even so, there is no awkward tension as that Jon creates in many shows.

Bon Jovi was swallowed up by his leader's ego.