Des Moines, 5/3/12 (Page 2 of 4)

Great stuff so far thanks. Always ready for a new fix....

A funny instance on the way back from the post show party in the Royal Mile. Helen and I had to depart about midnight since we had an early flight with a 5am wakeup so bid adieu while the party was just starting to roll. Patty had purchased glostick necklaces for all of the 3rd row clan to sport so we could easily find each other after the show. (I wonder what Joe thought when he saw the whole row aglow?! ) As we got on the hotel elevator, three young folk got on too and asked what we'd been doing. Of course it was the opening for the whole Joespiel. They remarked we looked like we'd been to a rave. "Why, yes we have!" and it was!
Just your random pair of RocknRoll Raving Geriatric Groupies!
Rick

By popular request. Look Over Yonders Wall. Man I could listen to this all day long! Bill, George, and all the rest o'ya. I agree, best version ever! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsHv4yX_T4E
Rick

Here ya go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsHv4yX_ … ure=relmfu

Sound isnt great.

That is the "loaner" '59 Burst. What a sweet sounding axe it is! If I owned one I'd be lusting for Joe to play it too.

Jane and I arrived in Des Moines about 1:30PM, Thursday afternoon. Since there were lots of Bonabuds already in town or close to arriving, we didn't waste too much time in our room. Within an hour we were down in the hotel bar catching up with Patty, Rhonda, Sandy, Lee & Renee, Dan & Susan, Jon & Penny, and getting a chance to meet Rick and Helen face to face.
Patty wanted to do something to identify our group and came up with the great idea of glow stick necklaces. She had these with her, but passed them out to everyone at the show.

Since they had all just finished lunch, most were headed to their rooms to get ready for the Meet & Greet.
Since we were not going to the meet and greet, Dan, Susan, Jane and I met Kurt, Deb, Rod and Susie at the "Zombie Burger" Restaurant & Bar for some food and drinks before the show. We killed the late afternoon sampling drinks and a very nice selection of beer.

We arrived at the Civic Center at a little after 7PM for the 8PM show. We loitered in the lobby for a bit, meeting Roy and Nic, as well as Amber & Christine (guessing on the spelling), who all traveled from Wisconsin (Nic via Detroit). There was a definite buzz in the lobby...you could tell people were excited.

We headed to our 3rd row seats at about 7:45PM. Patty handed out the necklaces and once we all had them on, I'm sure we stood out in the crowd.

As usual, Joe came on stage promptly at 8PM, starting the show off with Slow Train, as he did at the Beacon Theater show.
I won't give a song by song description, but will say (for me) the highlights were Slow Train, Midnight Blues, Dust Bowl, Mountain Time and DDTD. I can't call Look over Yonder Wall a highlight, because it was so crazy good that it was far and away my favorite song of the night. This song was so transformed from Joe's studio version (Black Rock) that it was like listening to a different song. I just noticed that the Des Moines show version of this was put up on youtube by a few people. I recommend watching it.

Joe mentioned that many fans that have been following him since early in his career were there, and that he felt like Des Moines was the "mother ship".  Then he introduced Patty to the crowd, even calling her a "legend"...which was very cool.

A few other highlights:
As most of us have come to know, Joe has a great sense of humor and a quick wit. This was in evidence during the show on a few occasions, all made me laugh:

After completing a song, the cheers quieted down and a male voice rang out in the quiet "I Love You Joe!"
Joe chuckled a bit and then responded "I Love You too....Sir". The pause and the inflection on the word "sir" (almost like a reminder) had everyone in stitches.

I'll paraphrase most of this, but Joe was telling the audience about how he walked around town earlier in the day, trying to soak up the essence of Des Moines, at which point a male voice rang out from the crowd..."Sorry"!
Without missing a beat, Joe responded: Folks, we have the mayor with us this evening. Thanks for joining us Mr. Mayor.

After a longer wait than usual before the encore, Joe apologized and indicated that his doctor had told him he needs to drink 6 bottles of water a day...but failed to tell him not to drink them all right before going on stage.

The encore was great, with Joe playing the last song (Just Got Paid) on Patty's JB Goldtop. To say she was excited is a gross understatement. Everybody in the place rocked out to that song, but I think the third row rocked a bit harder than anyone else.

A nice crowd of Bonabuds infiltrated the Royal Mile after the show, taking up most of the second floor bar. Patty, Rhonda, Sandra, Lee, Renee, Rick, Helen, Roy, Nic, Amber, Christine, Jon, Penny, Dave King and his friends, Kurt, Deb, Rod, Susie, Dan, Susan, Jane and me (hope I'm not forgetting anyone). We hung out til the wee hours, then stopped at Fongs Pizza on our way back to the hotel. Uncharacteristically, I was not the last one up...heading up to my room at about 2:30AM, while Nic retrieved his guitar and small amp and regaled a small group (Patty, Rhonda and ?) in the hotel lobby.
A great night had by all!

Here are a few photos, showing both pre and post show gatherings, as well as some photos of the show itself:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billsta14/ … 71/detail/

Great shots, Bill, thanks for sharing...No. 2439 is my new desktop wallpaper! 

It was Renee and I with Patty listening to Nic jam along with Joe tunes in the atrium. And characteristically, I was among the last ones standing, and thankfully so!
Nice review and photos Bill!