Good opening post buddy.
I don't necessarily agree with everything you said, but understand what you mean.
What I've found with bands in the past is that they can easily loose their personal appeal once they hit the big time. By personal appeal, I mean that quality a band has that makes you think "wow, I could totally be friends with all of them!" I actually think only the lesser known bands hold this appeal. It's not their fault.
Success, inevitably kills that personal appeal and causes fans to become detached from the band and it's members.
I wonder if success has hit Josh the way it's hit some of the fans? He doesn't strike me as the kind of person who craves the spotlight. Some of his performances have definitely lacked some much needed energy; maybe that's why?
I'm still insanely jealous of the guy though
However, I am hoping for a bit more from the upcoming album. I loved Riot, but think I may have overplayed it. The more I listen to it, the more I think, "It's missing something..." Something Hayley and the guys could easily inject if they have enough time to fine tune their next release.
Fingers crossed then...