No Richie on current leg of the tour

That "some reason" is known as common sense.

Rolo, it amuses me how you think a Bon Jovi tour should actually be a "Bon Jovi featuring Richie Sambora" tour.

Or "egomania". I don't dispute that Richie's solo record is not the most commercially friendly album there is out there but neither was Stranger in This Town. Neither was Homebound Train when he was doing that song. Not to mention things like the opening bands that no one knows yet they are 'given a chance' to be on that stage or the 'guest' artists that come on stage and sing along to bloody Old Time Rock 'n' Roll.

Richie has expressed his intention to play those Aftermath songs during Bon Jovi gigs in several interviews. It never happened. Given Bon Jovi play 3h sets, there surely is time for a Sambora song. There is no way of turning this around or at looking at it differenlty. The fact that he never got a chance to perform any of the Aftermath songs is neither logic nor consistent with the image that the band has tried to build up or portray over the years. That simple.

Yeah - Giants Stadium 2001. Richie was left off the vH1 compilation but there is a very good 3 DVD recording of the second night. You can see people streaming out of their seats, presumably for beer or bathroom or both. As I was at both nights I can verify that Richie did not go over well. It was after that tour that we started hearing IBTFY from him for many tours.

He tried These Days a few times in 2007 in Newark. And he tried Homebound Train in 2010 (which I loved) but then went on to stick with LYHOM which more people knew. It's pretty much a fact that if Jon isn't singing - people are leaving or doing other things.

But that doesn't make as much sense. He did Stranger a bunch, it got a poor reception so it got switched to a band song. Homebound was dropped for Lay Your Hands on Me and it got a better reception.

I don't buy the opening band part simply because they're warming up the crowd. If no one knows them so what, the show hasn't started. The only guy that has done the cover portion was Kid Rock and he's pretty well known. The fact is they've had Richie do an original song and saw the reaction it got and switched it to a band song, then a hit band song. Aftermath, while far better then a lot of songs the band is currently doing, would get the same reaction Stranger did and then get swapped out.

Shit, I'd take Every Road over most of the new songs/Lost Highway songs, it just wouldn't work Stateside. Maybe Europe and abroad.

I went and grabbed a beer during Richie's song in Toronto 2010. The reason: b/c it was LYHOM. If he had played Homebound Train there's no way I'd miss it. Of course, that's not representative of a large portion of their crowds

I agree with you there Rolio

I do wonder why they haven't at some point over the years recording a song or two which has both Jon and Richie sharing vocals. Maybe Jon's ego would be bruised, but it would repair Richie's somewhat and give him the chance to be the lead singer he wants to be and give the chance for Jon to have a bit of a break. If that goes well, then maybe they could gradually work it in a bit more and have a whole Richie song played.

It is a shame that the US don't take to Richie's solo stuff- past, present or band covers, but it would be a lot better elsewhere and it's a shame that on each tour that songs and ideas, like Richie solo songs, Wild Is The Wind, 7800/BJ Songs get ditched before they get to Europe because they don't get a reaction on the US shows- the markets are very much different in a lot of ways- very few people care at jot for Richie in the US sadly, although he does have enough of a following in Europe for a decent theatre tour and lower top-40 charting album.

At least now there has been some form of apology- but just in some Australian interview, hardly addressing the fans the world over, but at least the truth is somewhat coming out to a degree, but he must realise how badly he personally has handled it. It's a bit insulting to totally pretend Bon Jovi didn't exist on Twitter, but then go around playing Wanted.

Despite all this, if he came around playing a solo tour from his last 3 albums and a new album if so, then of course I'd be there like a shot despite feeling pretty let down for most of 2013.

Won't go into details - but as you point out - he got to do Stranger. And not just once. Plenty of times on the These Days tour. Hell, he even played it on more recent tours. He NEVER got to play any Aftermath songs despite saying in interviews that he 'expected' to play one ore more on the tour. Never. It doesn't matter what you or I or people stateside or whoever else think/react to the songs. The point is, Richie wanted to play one of these and he never got a shot at it. In a 3h set. Where they even get to play ****in' God knows who's obscurity and plenty of songs that are clear and utmost pissbreaks, especially stateside. The only common-sensical conclusion I can draw is that Jon/ the band never wanted to play any. That's all this is about and it has nothing to do with 'common-sense' or whatever.

I hear what you're saying. Then it's a matter of throwing Richie a bone vs throwing the crowd a bone. Richie can WANT to play Aftermath songs all he wants, it's not up to Jon to say yes just because Richie wants to and it's unfair to throw Jon under a bus for making that call. If that's truly what it came down to then I understand his frustration and it wouldn't have killed them to try it a few times.