Topic: 1000!
Well I’m far from the first and definitely won’t be the last in this club! And this post isn’t just about me; it’s about Joe and all of you. I’m sure that I have already posted over 1000, but some went missing with the server upgrade recently.
It’s unbelieveable how many great friends I’ve met over the past three years through this forum! And as we all know, there is just no better place to meet up than at a Joe Bonamassa concert! What is it about Joe’s music that appeals to me? The emotion that flows though into his soloing? That unique, ethereal voice?
I discovered Joe while surfing through Amazon’s music catalogue early in 2006. I was in the process of beefing up my sorely deficient CD collection and Amazon’s robot application kept suggesting albums by this guy named Joe Bonamassa. Well when I clicked on “A New Day Yesterday Live” to listen to the 30 second samples I almost fell out of my chair! Needless to say that within a month I had Joe’s entire back catalogue in my collection.
A couple of months later Joe was playing a free concert at the Rochester public market (a farmer’s market) opening up for Chris Duarte. I saw Joe walking around before the show so I went over to shake his hand and say hello. My first Joe show but he only had a 45 minute slot (playing with Bogie and Mark Epstein) but I was hooked! I made my way up to the side of the stage next to where this old hippie dude was spinning like a whirling dervish. Joe looked over and we caught each other’s glance. Joe gave me a big smile. From that point on I knew that I was on board forever with this man!
I was lucky to catch him at a small club the next year (The Rhythm Room in Phoenix), the first time I saw him after he added Carmine and Rick to the band. What a thrill it was to see him up close from about 10 or 15 feet away rocking the house! With the larger crowds he’s drawing now it’s gotten a bit less intimate (although all of the passion and intensity is still there!) but that goes with his success. I’m just glad that I was able to share in his performances at Royal Albert Hall and the Crossroads Festival. Crossroads was my 14th Joe Show in the span of just over four years. 2009 was my banner year with 6 shows I can’t wait until November rolls around! I’ll have three Bonavirgins along for the Rochester show. As we all know there is nothing more satisfying for the soul than looking over at someone who is seeing Joe perform for the first time and checking out the jaw dropping action after he has just strung together several face melting riffs. 
The gift of JOE!
I am grateful for all of those postings in the “Other Artists” section. How many fantastic bands would I be oblivious to if not for those heads-up?
Joe, thanks for all of the great performances and great times! Thanks for bringing together the best blues fans on the planet! You’re #1 in my book and always will be! I’m so glad that you’re getting the recognition now that you deserve!
I also want to thank you for awakening something in me that was slumbering for decades. After feeling all of the emotion that flows through his music I felt that I’d like to be able to express myself as well. No other artist had done that to me before. Although I hadn’t picked up a guitar in over 30 years, I took the plunge. From a couple of crappy off brand guitars I had way back when (the actions were so high the strings felt like cheese slicers on my fingers) I now own a JB gold top among some other pretty nice axes. Sorry to admit that my playing is still pretty sad… (I’m working on that! LOL!)
Rock on! \m/ 
