DAR Constitution Hall Washington, DC 11/29/14

My wife and I went. We stayed at the Hotel Lombardy on PA Avenue and walked to and from Constitution Hall. The show was great, but .....

Every song played seemed to be very loud and very fast. A couple of slower numbers were played in both the acoustic and electric sets but a number of classics were missing. We were really disappointed that "Midnight Blues" was not played as that is our favorite. A number of older songs were played with new arrangements that seemed odd ("Ballad of John Henry" without a Theramin???). The lighting effects were interesting but overdone at times (yeah, our eyes are 60 years old for each of us). The red and white lights that played out over the audience caused us both to close our eyes. Really no need for that if the performance is good. We both missed Arlen (from the Tour de Force Blu-Rays). The keyboard player from Black Country Communion should have stayed there. Though a good player, he was way to full of himself, coming to the front and raising his arms after each solo. His clothing was also more BCC and a big contrast to the rest of the group.

Joe played multiple guitars during the acoustic set but only four during the electric set; two Bursts, a Strat, and a Tele. No 335. No Bonabird, etc. Carmine and Tal were phenominal as usual, as was the rest of the group (excepting the keyboards). The tone with the Tweed Twins and Bassmans was very different from the Marshall/Dumble/Van Wheelden tone. It seemed brighter with a natural overdrive typical of late 50's Tweed Fenders.

Overall we both enjoyed the show greatly. It was marred a bit for us by the group of four directly behind us who insisted on talking in loud voices to each other which could be heard over the music. Also the idiot two rows in front of us who was constantly waving his smart phone in the air to take photos, then started running up to the stage to get closer. I was very surprised that none of the ushers went after him. A few times I thought Joe deliberately turned his back on the guy. Wouldn't blame Joe a bit if he did.

Bill Haegele

We had a really great time at the DC show. We were in the slightly elevated box seats on the right side real close to the stage. The boxes are funny because they are general admission and fit 5 people. The chairs are like padded diningroom chairs that you can move around. We got there early so we were able to take the two front chairs. It was so nice to be elevated from the floor and not have to deal with late comers blocking our view. It was a perfect angle for the acoustic set because Joe always turns to that side when he is doing his solos on those songs. I captured my best version ever of Happier Times and Athens to Athens with some really nice closeups on his hands during the solos. For the electric set Joe sometimes faced our direction but also would turn and face the other way as well, so we kind of saw him from the side. We had a great view of Carmine since he was standing nearest us and so he was featured in quite a bit of the video when I zoomed out on the whole band. The crowd was pretty good, but not nearly as enthusiastic as the Baltimore crowd had been. There were a few loudmouths every now and then, but we have certainly heard worse and they did stay really quiet at times. Could tell people were upset with the person who kept coming to the front to take photos and could hear some choice words being yelled at them for a moment with nearly an altercation taking place, but thankfully it stopped pretty quickly. All in all it was pretty darn good night

Here are the songs I filmed from the acoustic set:

Dust Bowl http://youtu.be/yYU10HNkf4I

Jelly Roll http://youtu.be/BFCC3NpN98E

Different Shades of Blue http://youtu.be/_sLKYgt8OO8

Black Lung Heartache http://youtu.be/GT4Bu4HHNvQ Fantastic slide solo in the beginning!

Happier Times http://youtu.be/hj6YEopyK2E Wonderful rendition and nice close up on fingering

Athens to Athens http://youtu.be/02FkfTps0Dc Best capture ever of Joe's solo with a nice close up at one point.

It was another great show!  Many people arrived late and the ushers had a hard time helping them find their seats.  Then people arrived late after intermission.

On top of that, people kept getting up and coming back during the show.  This almost resulted in a fight in the row in front of me.

Others behind me were often talking during the quieter parts of the show.  What is wrong with peopled?

Get there on time.  Stay in your seat (unless everyone stands up).  Shut your mouth during the music, particularly during quiet parts.

Sure, cheer when appropriate.  Sometimes singing along is appropriate at concerts, but know when to and when not to.

Joe has turned me on to acoustic music that I normally would ignore.  The band he assembles is so talented and really made the acoustic set enjoyable.  I'll still always prefer the plugged in part.

The electric set was just that, electric. Great guitar solos and Derek's solos were fantastic, too.

I've been very lucky to see so many of my favorite groups lately, Joe, Within Temptation, Beth Hart and Trans Siberian Orchestra (3 times this winter in the second row, 2 times seeing the East band and I'll see the West band later this month).

I distributed flyers as a Street Team member for this one.

Thank you, Joe!

Natasha, your videos are always great, but you're right these are the best.  Thank you very much!

A sweet view indeed Natasha!

Thank u so much for sharing .. and for ALL that u do!

Cheers! 

Off topic but Tommy Castro is worth the price of admission alone. Have a blast.
Rick