Sheffield City Hall Gig Tues 28th April '09 (Page 1 of 2)

I would echo TC Pool's report above. The show was as tight as you could possibly get. The sound was perfect from the start and for anyone seeing Joe for the very first time - Awe inspiring!

As someone who has seen him one or two times before (16 actually) in smaller venues, I will have to adjust my expectations from now on. Not from a performance perspective as there is simply no-one better live at this moment in time. The seated hall atmosphere is different from the smaller and even larger standing venues and we felt that last night. Being seated throughout the performance definately took the edge off the evening for us. Maybe it was the crowd, maybe it was the venue, but Joe really seemed to struggle to get some interaction in the "audience particepation" slot. They even sat through all the encore! What did really hack me off though was the folks who must have had a skinfull before the gig, they had to keep getting up to go to the loo, causing whole rows of people the distraction of having to stand up to let them past, in some case two or three times for the same bloke! Meanwhile the people behind them had their view ruined.

Don't get me wrong, the hall was beautiful - 2400 people seated in the stalls and two tiers of balconies. Joe said it was really cool to be playing there after first playing at the Borderline five years previously! Same set as previous dates, but I have no doubt there were small changes in there, as there always is. that's what makes him so special! Kevin Shirley was in attendance doing his Ross Halfin thing (or trying to) with his new £190 Sony Compact camera. What a guy! This is the guy that once poked fun at Joe for his stage dress sense - how many of those white shirts have you got in your wardrobe Kev! LOL. Still I guess he was off duty!

As usual Joe was unswervingly friendly to fans after the show at the tour bus, signing photos etc, despite the heavy rain. Missed hooking up with Rick, Carmine and Bogie, but had a chance to chat briefly with Dave and Aaron before and after the gig.

In summary, a different show for me, a brillaint performance by even the highest standards, spoilt only by the constraints of being seated - no real hardship really. As I said I just need to adjust my expectations in relation to the type of venue. I'm now ready to celebrate at the RAH and Cocoon. Looking forward to meeting all you great people there.

Was also at the show last night, was excellent show, but have to agree with the sound.

We were sat in the second row, in the middle, and the vocals were not that clear, seemed like we were in 'blindspot' in the speaker layout.  The rest of the mix was great, superb guitar sound, was a little let down by the vocals.

Still lets not get away from the fact that Joe and the band were awesome, 2nd time I've seen him, and does not disappoint.

Come back to Nottingham next time please! You rocked at Rock City last time round.

how does the best get better?,every time we go to see joe he ups his game,and last night was no exception,he and the band were awesome.
it is a different experience sitting at a gig and you can lose some of the atmosphere,but there are some positves,in general you will get a good view(no seven foot giant pushing in front of you as the gig starts,while you have stood there for the last two hours!).and last night,in front of me were obviously a father and son,the son can only have been eleven years old,but he was loving it!.My two young daughters start their musical education at the royal concert hall,nottingham nov 30th.they will see the man in the flesh,rather than their old fa*t of a dad ranting and raving about some guitar player.
one last word,i cant even play a triangle,but i have been gigging for the last 40years,joe is the best guitar player i have ever seen.Roll on monday,lets have some more!

Talking of spotting people in the audience, I spotted Chantelle McGregor who played a song with Joe at a previous Sheffield visit and I THINK she was talking to Oli Brown.

I get what Geoff (and others) is saying about the atmosphere. I always thought I preferred the seated theatres for the comfort, the great view usually and the lack of having beer spilt on you by idiots, or bozos elbowing their way to the front 'cos they can't be bothered to get there early like you have, but Gateshead and Sheffield is challenging my thoughts on this purely on the atmosphere front. Comfort and view - no question.

I grew up in Sheffield and have been to many gigs starting in the early 70's at the City Hall (Led Zep, Wishbone Ash, Deep Purple, King Crimson, DEVO, Bill Nelson, Joe Cocker, Suzanne Vega, Mottt the Hoople, Gary Moore....etc.....etc....without even thinking too hard) and we didn't sit down then !!  Hmmmm. Did for Suzanne Vega actually.
The gestapo jobsworths who used to work there used to try to make you sit down but they had no chance against 5 or 6 hundred people or more rushing the stage.
Sometimes we even managed to make the stage before the main act came on.
Make your own moshpit before the term had even been used.

Happy days.
Maybe we're too polite now.

Or older

My number two after Joe in the car.
Brilliant first album.

Indeed, thank you very much Keith.

Tickets sorted

here's a review from Sheffield newspaper The Star

http://www.thestar.co.uk/music/REVIEW-J … 5221482.jp

Only found out about Joe last year, and managed to miss him at Manchester Academy by 1 day. (Sick as a dog). So a drive top Sheffield was required.

Oh! JB is the best kept secret in music. It's sickening that lesser talent fills our radio waves, TV shows and record stores, whilst talent like this is ignored. On the other hand, it's not such a bad thing. It means that real music lovers can get to see real performers.

Seeing JB at Sheffield was my first time, and to describe him as awesome is an understatement.

I've posted my own views on http://www.hfgreenberg.co.uk/Music.html about midway down the page.

Fantastic! Can't wait until December, when I'll be going to Leeds, and probably will even take the Manilow fan with me.