Thank you Joe and everyone in both bands for a fantastic Fall Tour

Tonight in San Diego is Joe's last show of the Fall tour and I just wanted to say thank you to Joe, Tal, Carmine, Derek, Lenny, Gerry and Mats for the fantastic time we had at the shows this Fall. The concept of having an acoustic set followed by the electric set with two different bands was just brilliant. You are all first class musicians of the highest degree and it is a joy and privilege to listen and watch you play.
    I thought that beginning the show with "Woke Up Dreaming" was great . It was like starting the show off with an exclamation point. It really made people sit up and take notice. It was like, wow, this guy really knows what he's doing, if this is his warmup song, we are in for something pretty spectacular. The addition of Gerry's fiddle on "Seagull" and "Around the Bend" is so perfect. It felt like these songs were always meant to be played this way. It added such lovely texture and feeling.. "Jelly Roll" is such a fun little song and it was great watching Lenny and Matts. Matts really seemed to be enjoying himself when he was playing that mouthharp.  "Jockey Full of Bourbon" is also a fun song with all those crazy lyrics , Derek's keys in the beginning and Joe's little solo. Loved the slide work on "Black Lung Heartache" and "Stones in My Passway". You could tell Joe was really getting into it on "Passway" when he broke a string on it at two different shows we saw. "Ball Peen Hammer" features such great solos by everyone as does "Athens to Athens" which is a song that always makes me feel like everyone should get up and start dancing a jig. The electric songs were the same ones that we had heard on the Spring Tour and it was nice to hear Derek pick up and fill the spot that Arlan had left. Those keys solos are a wonderful addition to "Dislocated Boy", "Yonders Wall" and "John Henry". It was also a blast watching Tal and Lenny do their solos on "Yonders Wall" and I really enjoy Lenny's contribution to the entire electric set. Having a percussionists adds some really cool layers and sounds to the whole thing.
    I know there are many who think that because I film a lot of the show, that I am not enjoying myself. But believe me, I am. Filming makes me really pay attention to what is happening and because of this I am aware of the nuances and subtleties of each song, especially with respect to the solos that are played. It is a thrill to attend a number of shows and detect the differences in the songs at each place they are played. Joe may play the same setlist at each venue, but the songs and specifically the solos within them, are quite different.
    We were very fortunate to see Joe 4 times this Fall and each show was also special for other reasons as well. Cleveland, being the first show of the tour brought with it the thrill of a brand new set list and show. It was also the longest show of the tour with 22 songs. We were able to talk to Joe at the M&G, spent time with Ron and his lovely daughter and got a chance to meet other forum and Bonanation members. We had so much fun in Roanoke and Richmond seeing these shows with Jane and Cathy. In Roanoke our seats ended up being better than expected, Joe seemed incredibly energized and Tal shook our hands after their bow. We had a wonderful view of the whole band in Richmond being in the first row of the balcony and had a blast watching Jane and Cathy down in the front Rockin' out and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Great time spent after the show hanging out with Jane, Cathy, Jim and Tate and laughing our heads off. In New Orleans we had a wonderful tour of their newly renovated theater and got a chance to watch some of the soundcheck. It was another brilliant show and capped off by a big hug and kiss from Tal at the bus. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic run of shows. So, thank you once again for bringing such joy and excitement into our lives. Hope Joe and all the band have a great holiday, enjoy their time off and get some much needed rest. Now we start the countdown to the Spring tour, unless something else pops up along the way