My first guitar

Doug, Wring it out really good when it shows up. For what you paid, it's probably got plastic tuners and about the cheapest pickups Epi can source. If you get fret buzzing or it doesn't stay in tune it's probably best to send it back. Put the amp through it's paces too.

My road guitar is an Epi LP special. I think I paid $150 for it. It does have the plastic tuners and I think a plastic neck and bbody too, although I've never had it apart. But it's one that I don't mind leaving in my truck or a hotel room because if it gets ripped off, the pain is much less than losing a $1000 or more axe.

If it does play well then you scored a good deal. But in my estimation you too will get bit by the bug we call GAS.

One of my first guitars was part of an Epi player pack. $500 from MF. It is an Epi Les Paul standard with the transparent amber finish. In the 3 or so years I've had it, it has never needed a set up. The fit and finish is excellent; it has real Grover tuners on it and it plays like a dream. The only thing I didn't care for was the muddy pickups. I recent spent another $250 and swapped them out with real Gibson pups, a P94R at the neck and a 490T at the bridge.
I put Ernie Ball 11-54s on it and top wrapped them. It's now a bonafide screamer!

Anyhow, welcome to the club. I've been told that if you can put in an honest hour of practice every day it will really make a difference.

BTW my inspiration was the same as yours. I've been going to gigs for years but it was the first time I saw Joe playing live that I had that same thought, that I wanted to see if I could do that too!

You know some time you can end up with a pretty good guitar for those cheap prices but most of the time you wont.  It might be good in some areas but like one person said it might have plastic tuners that need to be replaced with something that won't slip... but then you've already invested around $40 on new tuners to make it play better.  Then you decide the pickups are horrible so you replace those $75 a pickup Ouch!  I only bring this up because I've been there.  You'll buy it and your buddies help you out but then you wanna fix things up a bit and make it better.  My honest opinion is you should send it back as soon as you get it and take one of your buddies to a guitar store and have them try guitars out with you and let them tell you what they think about it before you buy it.  Because if you spend $100 and its total junk you might just bite the bullet keep the thing and never touch it again.  But if you buy something thats worth while and decent your more then likly going to try to pick it up day after day.  So do yourself a favor and either buy a used guitar or a more expensive new guitar.