[ Closed ] I've been silent for some time... (Page 1 of 3)

I saw Joe & Co. at The Surf just a short time ago.  He and the gang were all very hospitable, warm and fuzzy.   If you want to talk about "uncool" try Tesla who followed him and they were only 2 hrs. late for the gig...no explanation....now that's something to complain about in my book....listened to one of their songs and left...

"I'm not nice to any guitar!"     
                 Joe Bonamassa 05-03-12

JBLP CHILD #184

Kristine:  We were at the Mill Creek show as well.  Yes Joe left by the back door and went to the bus to change cloths.  He immediatly came out of the bus and as usual sign autographs, posed for pictures etc.  It was pretty hot in the club and we all felt cooler on the sidewalk by the bus.  Joe wasn't feeling well and he really gave a great show.  He was probably hotter than any of the fans in the club!
Joe was his usual fan friendly self as expected.  I don't remember if Joe had a cigar or not but if he did it would be another reason to be outside.  There is a no smoking ban in any public facility in Appleton.  Imagine.....a blues club, smoke free!  Whoda thunk that would ever happen!

Anyway, give Joe a little break here.  How did you leave the club and not see Joe and the crowd of fans?

Sun

Amazing how people expect performers to be at their beck and call because they are enamored with them.  Perhaps Joe was sick, came on, performed as he should, and then went back to the bus so he could be sick in private, instead of all over his fans.  Ever had the bug?  Maybe days on end on the road caused him to be less than cordial on an occasion or three.  I suffer from good days and less than good days myself. 

We listened to Joe play for two hours NONSTOP on Friday night.  The drummer and bass dude took a break, but Joe got the acoustic and played on solo while they did their business.  I don't know what else anyone could ask for from a performer.  We bought our CD's before the concert and did not hang around to elbow our way into the by then alcohol inflicted crowd to get an autograph.  Never figured why anyone has to have a signature from anyone else unless it makes it worth more on Ebay when they sell it.

Whenever a performer stands up before me and gives it their all for two hours NONSTOP that pretty much gives me my money's worth.  I don't expect anything else from them.  If they chose to hang and sign autographs, great.  If they need to get on down the road to the next performance, great.  If they want to just go and sit on their butt for awhile after giving it their all, great!  Not sure I would want to put up with annebriated crowds after giving my all either. 

Personally our group of eight went down to a local club and supported Show of Hands (local group) after Joe's show and continued the Friday night party which was appreciated by the locals. 

Perhaps we should reel in our feelings some and consider the feelings of the performer.  Perhaps most of this board is not old enough to remember, but back in the day when you heard "Elvis Has Left the Building", it meant just that.  Dude left with no autographs, no thank you's, and the ticket price was a hell of a lot higher than Joe's even today.  Never been to the Stones so don't know if Mick hangs out with the locals for autographs or not.  He probably should for a $300 ticket, but I doubt it.

How about we give Joe and company a break?

For the record, my autographed You & Me poster is framed with a cool Joe Harley Davidson-style logo sticker (thanks Jane) and is proudly hanging in my room. It, along with my signed setlist, is one of my prized pieces of memorbilia. But you're right, dealing with drunk people is a price you gotta pay for an autograph.

Maybe Joe is still trying to get over his KC gig he played on July 16th. LOL Heat exhaustion can get to anyone!

Rhonda

My passive aggressiveness is stopping now.

I'm getting a little sick of this.  I come back to work after a boardless weekend, and there is so much crap being thrown around. I'm tired "politely disagreeing" with people.

Kristine, you are basing your thoughts on Joe's "direction" on one show and a couple of stupid posts. You are entitled to your thoughts, but I was annoyed when you told Joe to heed warning, and humble up. You are not entitled to get a meet and greet every show you go to...his job is to play music and nobody does it better than Joe. If any musician decides to take the time to spend time with the fans, then you should consider that a bonus, not a right.

HOW DARE HE TAKE ONE SHOW AND NOT SPEND TIME WITH HIS FANS. Give me a break!!! I'm sure he wasn't tired, or sick, or maybe he just wasn't up for it that day.

99% of people love Joe, and are impressed with how humble and nice he is.

I've seen Joe play a few times when he has been extremely sick...and every time he has played thru the show and met up with fans after.  I have seen him 19 times, and every single time he stayed to meet with every fan...I do not know the circumstances for the show that you saw, so I can only speak from experience.

But Joe has bar none been the nicest musician I have ever met, the most devoted to his fans, and the most sincere guy I have ever spoken with. In no way am I worried about his "direction."

I think a lot of people don't realize how hard touring actually is, when you as a fan go home to your house and sleep, the band and crew have to travel who knows how far, set up the circus and do it again, you do that 200+ nights a year, year after year and see how "fresh" you are. Being on the road is fun about the first two weeks and the last night of the tour.

The main point I am making is it is not personal even though you may have looked forward to the show for weeks and it is easy to be let down when you feel "slighted" by an entertainer but keep in mind when you are in the public eye you can't always accomodate everyone no matter how hard you try... Cancelled performances, not mingling with the fans, being sick and still having to play, etc. -  it all happens every day on the road.

Welcome Aboard Patti.   I have to ask you about Tesla.  You said they were 2 hours late for the gig?  What time do you think they were suppose to start the show and what time do you say they actually started the show?  I'm curious.   There is suppose to be some down time between the opening band and the set-up for the Headliner.  I heard Tesla took the stage 1 hour and 15 minutes after Joe got off the stage.   The roadies had set the stage up by 10pm, and there was no activity for another 30 mins.  If  you subtract the actual band set-up time, which is at almost every concert,  they weren't actually that late as far as concerts go.  Iowa was in the heatwave, which made it hot and humid inside and that can make can make people more uncomfortable.  Alot of people were anxious and hot.

Just to let you know, Frank Hannon of Tesla was sick that day and that was one of the reasons for the late start. 
In fact, not to long after, Jeff Keith got sick and that show had to be cancelled.  And what's great about Tesla is they rescheduled that show immediately so as not to disappoint their fans.  I'm sorry for your disappointment at the Tesla Show and glad you found Joe B.  I know they try to do their best and I hope you may give them another chance.  But if not, glad you found Joe.

I can say personally that Tesla has been a very consistant band in playing on time, putting on a great show and giving all they have.  They are very nice guys and do alot for their fans.  They do have a meet and greet after different shows.

Also they do benefit concerts in the local community.  One, which was very cool was a local fundraising drive for the Leukemia Society where the local radio station auctioned off Tesla.  The highest bidder got a private Tesla concert in their house.  Their own private concert with whatever friends they wanted over.  Also Gary Hoey and Frank Hannon played a concert here and auctioned off a signed guitar to raise money another year for the Leukemia Society.  Tesla also raises money for the Animal Rescue Foundation.