Richmond, Rockville, Staten Island, Collingswood: My 4 day Bonaventure

I had an incredible 4 day Bonaventure following Joe and the band from Richmond, to Rockville, to Staten Island to Collingswood.  I just wanted to share my Sunday experience with everyone.  It was a great finale to my weekend.

I got down to the venue around 3:30.  The auditorium was really strange in that the stage was 4 stories up from the parking lot on that side of the building.  They used a lift to get all the equipment in and out.  The "window" where the equipment came out was at the back of the stage and I could hear Joe and the band perfectly from the parking lot. 

I sat there for a while listening, and then I tried to talk some locals who were listening too into coming to the show that night.  Finally, I saw Bogey and asked if it would be OK for me to hang out while they practiced.  He said yes.  Next thing I know, I'm following Joe and the band up the 4 stories of steps to the auditorium.  Joe mentions that he likes my shirt, which as you might figure was one of his.  Then I got to sit and watch Joe and the band practice for about 40 minutes with nobody else in the theatre except production personnel.  I must admit I had no idea that Joe and the band would spend the time they spend rehearsing to perform the same set list on successive nights.  Consider me educated.  What a great way to learn a lesson.

First Carmine came by and chatted about my going to Philly to get a cheesesteak sub.  Carmine had lived in Philly for quite a few years.  When Joe is done he takes time to talk with me before having his dinner.  I mentioned that I'd been following them and we talked about the power failure Saturday night in Staten Island.  We also talked about how bad he'd been feeling since returning from Moscow, both jetlag and illness, and how it had gotten worse through Saturday.  Joe mentioned that he'd gotten a full night's sleep for the first time and felt better, and that they had the day off Monday.  I knew this meant we were in for a great show, and we were.

I thought that Crosby, Todd and Joe all gave their best performances of the week in Collingswood, although I did hear Joe say quietly say "oops" after he apparently missed a note during an acoustic solo.  Needless to say, he was probably the only one in the room that caught the "mistake."  While the acoustics may be better elsewhere, I just love being front and center so you can see the hands in action and see the facial expressions.

After the show, Joe stood with me and 3 other guys by the bus talking sports.  I asked Joe about the plain black baseball cap he puts on for the encores.  He mentioned that he'd been booed in a venue for wearing the "enemy" team's cap, so now he goes with the plain black and doesn't offend anyone.  I won't rat out Joe as to who his teams are, but I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you. 

Then I went home and had to return to reality this morning at work at 9AM.  I can't imagine how Joe and the band and the crew do it 150 dates per year, all over the world.  All I did was attend 4 shows and I'm completely whipped.  I'm not so sure about that glamourous rock star lifestyle we hear so much about.  When you've seen Joe, you know he leaves it all on stage every night, no matter how he feels.

I just want to thank Joe, Bogie, Carmine and Rick along with Crosby and Todd for being so gracious this weekend.  All of them took time from their days and nights to sign and to chat and get this, to thank me for supporting them.  That's the whole point.  Others can far better describe Joe's technical talents, although of course I'm in awe.  What's equally impressive is how much Joe and the band genuinely appreciate our support.  I will gladly continue to give it.  See you in my home town of Baltimore on November 14th and then at Penns Peak on the 17th. 

I'm working on getting my pictures together so I can post them. 

Thanks for the great time-

-Rob