Joe performed in downtown Fort Worth on a Sunday night at the 8.0 with a very appreciative but not overwhelmingly large crowd.........too bad for the ones that missed a show like this....
I know you folks may differ with me, but the first thing that drew me to hear Joe was his voice, his vocals.......the man has one of the best throats in rock music right now......
I have seen great guitar players with so-so voices, and great singers but no chops............with Joe you get the whole enchilada!
who does he sound like? I don't know....a little Paul Rogers, a little Greg Allman.........a lot of Joe? a truly great voice...
now to the show...very well paced, nice segue from a hard rocker to a slow blues, transitions from the metalflake-finish Tele to the heritage reissue LP, along with the 335, but one neat dynamic was the black LP.....seemed to cut thru better than expected....
of course it doens't hurt when your rig uncludes the Fuchs (ala Dumble), the Two Rock (nice breakup sound) as well the the plexi and jubilee Marshalls.....
the cabs reminded me of some old Marshalls, the oddballs, that house at least 2-6 speakers.......anybody know what these creatures are?.......and I see Joe is protecting himself from the sheer volume on stage with the plexiglass in front of the cabs.......
a great show and some great tribute riffs to the influences of Cream, Zep, ZZ et al......Just Got Paid with Zep in the middle was a mind-blower!
new stuff on the album sounds fanatastic.....WOW!
interesting right now is to watch someone like Joe with his energy and flamboyancy on stage vs my other favorite right now, Derek Trucks........Derrick barely moves on stage......2 Young Guns with a different style but 2 of the absolutely best players on the planet right now.....
makes me feel like an old man since my baby daughter is the same age as both of these guys!.....makes me old enought to be their father! that's OK, I still play and still rock....and it ain't geezer rock! most days I play for myself, but along with my motorcycle I don't pay a shrink.....I have my own ways to cope with what life throws at me! cold beer helps too!
sad part about Joe is by his touring schedule he probably won't be in these parts of Texas till maybe next summer....can't wait!
" Let imagination lead reality will follow thru!"
Michael Hedges