4/4/09 Westhampton Pac, NY

I was there and I gatta say Holy Smokes was the band on.  The sound was great and everyone's playing was awesome.  They are def. gearing up for some RAH.  The coolest part for me though was meeting Joe and some of the gang before the show and chatting it up.  The coolest part is he remembered me from my 4 amp demo youtube video, and I mean the whole thing, he named all the amps I have, which means a lot that he took the time to look at it.  Also he let me plug into the "real deal" set up and let me riff around and showed me the whole thing.  I had a lot of fun talking gear and stuff with Joe and even though it was the first time we met he treated me and the group I was with like friends and I appreciate it.  Thanks Joe.  The show was awesome, but hanging out for the short while totally made the experience even better and its something I won't forget.  Catch you on the flip man.

Ben

Wow Maria, that's called a "Joe Doubleheader"!

Sounds like you and your Bonavirgin friends had a blast! Isn't Joe's show just off the wall now? And his stage presence has morphed into something larger than life! Glad you had a Joe-Fabulous time!!

Roy

What an awesome show!  The theatre was very nice, but they'd already taken Joe's name of the marquis because the tickets had sold out.  Joe, Carmine, Rick and Bogie were "in the zone" and just sounded fantastic with an assist from master soundman, Warren.  Bridge to Better Days was back in the show and Joe played for 2 hours and 10-15 minutes.  He mentioned trying to build up his stamina for the 2.5 hours he's going to play at RAH.  You folks on "the continent" are in for something magical.

Speaking of magical, the funniest thing to me is to watch grown men (mostly) and women crawling on the floor after a show trying to find one of the guitar picks Joe threw into the crowd during the show.  Yeah, so what if I'm one of them!

As usual, as indicated by other posters, Joe, et al were gracious with their time as they go out of the way to make the fans feel appreciated and recognized on a personal level.  When people feel a personal connection to someone whom they admire as an artist, it makes that admiration grow tenfold.  It's obvious that everyone associated with Joe understands this and practices it. 

Thanks to Joe and everybody else for making a "Joe show" so much more than a concert.  I'm a bit bummed not as I won't be seeing Joe for another 5 months...  I guess we have to share him with the rest of the world.

I can't wait to read about how you blow the roof off RAH!!

-Rob

Great review Rob! Man, 2.5 hours for the RAH show? Gee, I hope we have a bathroom break, because I don't want to miss one second of that show. Otherwise, I guess I'm not drinking anything that whole day until after the show.

Roy