Des Moines and the Iowa Trifecta (Page 3 of 4)

I told you! Safe travels to you and Phil. I too have a lot to upload, but today was for us. 80 degrees and breezy had us take a loooong walk up to the State Capitol area and some touristing. This evening, a farewell dinner with PLJ to top off a fantastic Midwest adventure. Two years from now Joe should again hit Iowa and we are so there!

Jumping on the bandwagon late here, but wanted to finally add my impressions of the Des Moines concert and publicly proclaim that I am no longer a Bonavirgin! Got to meet Natasha, Phil, Patty, Lee, and Rick, and had amazing seats just 8 rows back (row E).

The first set was so great! It was amazing just to see Joe in the flesh after years of DVD-only sightings, and his band, with their varying delightful instruments, were such a wonderful addition. Highlights for me were Jockey Full of Bourbon (I just love the whimsical keyboard and percussion), Ball Peen Hammer, and Athens to Athens.

As for the second set -- whew, boy! He blew the roof off (well, and nearly lit the stage on fire). I was just so transfixed, watching him rock out song after song, and I was impressed by how good his voice sounded, too! Love that smoky, scratchy, yet pitch-perfect croon of his. That seaglass-colored guitar he played on Oh, Beautiful was SO gorgeous, and I couldn't believe how flawlessly he kept playing with all that amp drama going on behind him. A true professional!

My second-set highlights had to be Blues Deluxe (what a great surprise, even though Midnight Blues is one of my all-time faves of his -- this was a real treat!), Slow Train (INSANE ending that seemed to go on forever), The Ballad of John Henry (I love this new arrangement with all the crazy solos), and Django/Mountain Time (magical to see these live after so many listens at home).

And my post-show highlight? Phil thoughtfully giving me the drum stick of Tal's that he'd caught! Thanks so much for the souvenir! 'Twas a night to remember!

We had an incredible time in lovely Iowa ( Patty country). I really can't put fully into words how wonderful these past 4 days have been. It was one fantastic experience after another shared with our friends new and old. It is hard to believe we just met Patty, Renee, Lee, and Rhonda because I feel like we have known you all forever. A thank you to Helen for switching seats with me in Davenport. Phil and I were 5th row with four behemoths in front of us and Rick and Helen were 2nd row. Helen, you are a dear friend. There really is something magically special about that Joe Bonamassasa because the most wonderful people are drawn to him. Thank you Joe for 3 fantastic shows, you are the greatest and so are the people who love you. Here are a few more form the electric set. The only song I didn't get was "Sloe Gin" because the battery died and I ended up putting an old battery in instead of a fresh one. Oh well, not like there aren't a ton of Sloe Gin videos out there, lol!

Have to say the lighting for these shows has just been fantastic for filming from the first few rows of the venues. The videos of the electric set have just been stunning because of it.

Dust Bowl http://youtu.be/aiNA2YXFFFY

Who's Been Talking http://youtu.be/UeDRQDB48Lo

Slow Train http://youtu.be/O6lRzClhvBA

Ballad of John Henry http://youtu.be/pDbVuBkyAQY

Hey Rick, I knew you were going to Minneapolis for a few days, but I didn't know you were going to Famous Dave's. We'll see you there! Will it be just you and Helen? After reading this I called Famous Dave's and reserved a table for 4 for 6:30 with a request to be close to the stage. Let me know if that works. You can shoot me an email through my profile link, too.

A few photos from the Iowa shows. As some of you already know, I made up little replicas of Joe's guitars out of wood to give to him as a birthday present. So nice to be able to give them to him at the Des Moines show. We were also fortunate to spend a little time with Tal and Carmine before the Davenport show plus we saw Lenny, Mats and Gerry on our walk by the Mississippi river.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anitrasda … 179149881/

Those guitars are seriously the coolest Natasha! I bet Joe really loved them!

Those are so amazing! What an awesome gift! And sorry I had to dash off and didn't get to hang with you guys a bit more... But it was nice to at least chat for a few. Tell Phil thanks again!

Natasha's guitar coasters are very cool!.  She has one steady hand....I won't say nerves of steel because she told me about all the things she did and had to redo or change, and how it made her bonkers! I still don't know how she got the string lines so straight?? They are very cool!  And you could tell that Joe thought they were the coolest ever too!  She is one very talented Joe-Head!!!! 

                                         pattyluvsjoe

"I'm not nice to any guitar!"     
                 Joe Bonamassa 05-03-12

JBLP CHILD #184