Topic: Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival - Annapolis MD - 05/22/2016
Awesome show this evening in the early rain, wet & mud at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, MD. My wife & I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the adverse conditions. Ultimately, I think this will make for a pretty memorable experience. Very cool to watch & hear Joe and the boys before and after twilight right on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay, with lights from boats and vehicles crossing the 5 mile Bay Bridge shining across the water, complementing the bright lights from the stage and the 2 Jumbotron screens, which were awesome BTW.
Natasha's warning about the multi-inch mud everywhere was helpful in terms of attire preparation, and was corroborated by other on-line posts. We went well prepared, but boy what a quaqmire it was. We were afraid to venture near the food stands for fear of being sucked into the mud forever 
. What a mess.
We got there right after Tab Benoit finished up, but before Canned Heat took the stage. They were pretty good, but paled in comparison to the closing act & festival anchor. There was not much precipitation while Canned Heat played, just some misting now and again. But when they finished and the stage shuffle began to move their equipment out & Joe's in, a light rain started. It continued through Joe's first 2-3 songs, then faded back to mostly misting or light sprinkling for the remainder of his set. So, still pretty wet but not bad at all if you came with ponchos, umbrellas, boots and such.
As for the show, it was relatively short & sweet. A bit over an hour & a half or so total, but absolutely fantastic. Joe was all business, didn't say much at all, and drove hard from the start until the close with John Henry with no pause at all. We were near the center, a bit to the back & left of the 100.7 The Bay tent & platform. The sound & mix was excellent from there BTW. Last we saw Joe live was three years ago at the Hippodrome in Baltimore, and the sound at this outdoor venue was FAR better than that IMHO, for whatever reason. Really good.
The set list was short & sweet. Mountain Climbing was a highlight early, and then Joe's solo during No Good Place For The Lonely totally blew me away. Fantastic stuff. The whole show was incredible. Joe & his awesome band were really on tonight, and all business.
This Train
Mountain Climbing
Blues Of Desperation
No Good Place For The Lonely
Hidden Charms
Never Make Your Move Too Soon
Angel of Mercy
Hey Baby (New Rising Sun)
Oh Beautiful
I Gave Up Everything For You 'Cept The Blues
Going Down
Sloe Gin
Ballad Of John Henry
As a final comment, I never really noticed how many of the lyrics in Joe's songs mention "standing in the rain." Seems to be a blues staple. Every time a lyric mention of rain came up (seems like 5 or 6 times, at least), a shout went up around me from the crowd. I guess you've not really experienced the blues properly until you've listened to it while standing in the rain . Well, I've done that now I suppose.
In short, a memorable experience and an awesome concert by Joe & the boys.
It was just so fun to see a newer fan be so excited and have such a cool little moment. Not an easy thing with how things are nowadays since Joe is not as accessible as he used to be. So happy for her 
