Topic: Joe live in New Orleans
Hello everyone,
I am not going to relist the set list as it is the same for the last two shows. Instead, I will try to give you my thoughts through the eyes that experienced his first Joe performance live.
Venue: the Saenger theatre is one of the oldest in the city, even in the country. When it was first built years ago, it was built for sound. Katrina destroyed it, but a major overhaul was done to bring it back to the original beautiful glorious state that it once was.
Joe and the band sounded fantastic, highlights for me were Oh Beautiful, Sloe Gin, John Henry, and a duel between the guitar and the keyboard at the end of the encore.
The band: they were on fire! We did the meet and greet and I mentioned to Joe that I saw Clapton last year and he was disappointing, flat, had no energy and dialed his performance in. Joe asked where I saw him and I explained it was the Jazz fest here in New Orleans. He kinda chuckled and I told him he needs to play our jazz fest. He got excited and said he'd love to but he's never been invited. I told him that I would take the task on with phone calls and emails to people I met that are higher ups that I met working at guitar center! Joe was in great spirits, talked with everyone. I got my Bonamassa gold top and Pelham blue guitars signed along wth other stuff such as ticket stubs and 8x10's they were selling for 5 bucks for his blues charity.
Performance, stage design, and overall show review.
Let me start by saying that I've seen just about every band since the 70's from Aerosmith, Chicago, journey, foreigner, KISS, the Rolling Stones, all the way to ZZ Top. Some of those shows, I've walked away saying that was the best show I'd ever seen. Last night was different, after Joe and the boys took their final bows at 10:23pm New Orleans time and the house lights came on. I did something along with my girlfriend that I have never done: we actually sat in our seats for a good 20 minutes and finally turned to each other, mouths still wide open, and said in unison "that was the best show we have ever seen!" The sound was tremendous but what made that performance so special was Joes passion for performance and perfection. I play guitar myself, but after last night I realize and appreciate every chord change, ever string bend, and the ability to use the pentatonic scales to your advantage.
He truly is the best guitar player I've been in the same room with. Do yourself a favor , pony up, get the Tour de Force gift set with the tickets and meet and greets! You won't be disappointed. I think I mentioned it earlier but last night was my first live show seeing him and I feel honored to have been able to witness the new king of guitars in my hometown!
"The blues aint nothing but a good man feeling bad". Leon Redbone