One thing we know is that Richie was not fired. Richie called last minute and said he wasn't coming in for work. Jon didn't call him and tell him to stay home.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - until we know WHY this has all happened and the exact context, saying Richie said **** you to anyone is just ****ing ignorant and jumping to conclusions you have no right to reach as a supposed fan.

Calm down, love.

Phil X has done a great job. Great guy, thanks for standing in. Can't fault your professionalism or what you do with the songs. Well done, Sir.

Could he be a full-time replacement for Richie? Yes, yes he could. Would the tours still be as successful? Probably. Will the majority of "fans" notice or care? Probably not.
Will it bother me? ****ing right.
Will I go to another show or buy another album without RS? No ****ing way.

Stay safe out there :)

But conclusions are so much fun . . . .

That's right. For some reason, it got to a point where people refuse to believe or even acknowledge what very little we do know and would rather speculate randomly depending on what's more convenient or easy for them to believe.

!!! Broken Record Alert !!! :onfire:

The fact is that Richie MAY NOT have said **** you to ANYONE! 'Some people need to realize' that we don't yet know WHAT Richie has or hasn't done until we know WHY!

Jon must feel as if Richie's reasons are good enough or else he would have sacked his behind by now, don't you think? And surely JON knows more about this than anyone on this board, no matter how informed or psychic we seem to think we are!

Once the facts are in, if there's no good reason for Richie's absence then I will freely acknowledge that those fans who are writing him off now were justified in their thinking.

But if it turns out that there is a good reason for his actions, then he hasn't shown any disrespect to anyone.

The best reason I can think of for him not to be there is because he doesn't believe in the music they're making any more, and the fans deserve better than to see the new second-rate songs performed live, on top of what has been mostly the same Greatest Hits tour for the past decade. Yawn.

Oops! I didn't see this or the quote you were responding to (which said a lot of the same stuff I said) before I posted my fiery rampage! Didn't mean to beat a dead horse... :rolleyes:

I think that's the worst reason and I don't find it likely. If you don't like the music, you say so while writing and playing on the damn record, you don't have an epiphany during the tour.
(And like someone else said just a few posts ago, it's not like they're playing this huge amount of new material anyway. It's usually 3 new songs, sometimes 4, rarely or maybe just once 5.)

I believe he DID say so during the writing he wasn't involved in, and the playing which he wasn't really called on to do ... it says something when even Tico is reluctant.

The Music is the purest inspiration, surely. If that doesn't do it for you anymore, it's time to walk away. Just like Jon should've done several times - or at least done it as Jon Bon Jovi.

I agree though - it's probably unlikely that's the reason, or the sole reason.

Maybe Richie stole Jon's maracas.

NEW THEORY! #752!

To be fair he probably doesn't read this forum, so you actually addressing him is sort of pointless. Try his twitter account.