In my college days, I was a young woman really into music, saw loads of live music, especially followed the Byrds, The Band, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, the Dillards (bluegrass); Emmylou Harris; saw Hendrix twice as a high school kid - music was a dominant presence in my life. Many times, the music of boyfriends became MY music, Dave Mason, Tom Waits, Talking Heads, later Paul McCartney, etc.
After marriage and 2 kids, playing music loud at home or in the minivan was the LAST thing I wanted to do. The best sound was the sound of silence. Kids are teenagers now, not to many bands in common... (Is that really me, or am I channeling my own mother, telling the kids to "Turn that down please!")
Then two summers ago it happened. My husband raved for years about Joe Bonamassa; I ignored opportunities to listen. Went to a Blues Festival, Hagerstown MD, "Come on, kids, Dad wants us to go, let's humor him." All four of us, teenage son, daughter, wife, husband, were electrified by Joe's presence. Imagine bolts of electrical shocks coursing through all of our bodies. All hooked. Stunned. Father proudly played collection of Joe cd's on the ride home. We frantically searched Youtube for more Joe. Every vehicle in our family now boasts at least one, if not two, Joe CD's. My son and I read the forum regularly.
I talked my best friend Ann into coming to the next Joe concert at the Birchmere. Electrical shocks flowed. She stumbled out, hooked. She called several days later - "I bought us tickets to go to Harrisburg in a few weeks if you want to go." We went, a four-hour round trip drive. After the show, she said, "His hands, the way he plays so fast, you can almost imagine..." Well, she didn't finish. Husband didn't want to imagine.
Another concert later, Rockville, MD, we felt that our Joe fixes were fulfilled - 3 times in June, August and October, that had to be enough, right? Nah... October to January, too long!
Today I purchased tickets to see Joe in Boulder Station, Vegas, February 2, 2008. My poor husband will be dragging me and friend Ann from Maryland to Vegas to see Our Joe. Vegas is fun, a cool place to walk around, sightsee and shop a little, forget the casinos, the peak of the trip will be seeing JB & Co again... hooked. No delusions that Joe would look at us as anything but kindly hip older women who dig his music - he can't peer into our eyes to see the cool young things we used to be when we were crazy about music in our college days, but we're still lurking in there, don't want to embarrass anyone. Joe, when you sing "I'm so damn lonely...." those two middle-aged women giving you those little curled finger "Come here, Boy!" signals are meant for our own amusement, not yours! You bring something back to us. College campus venues must be the way to go, maybe the Dave Mathews tour will let you send your shockwaves out to young women who don't even know that they love you - yet. It's not a love of blues, or wild guitar riffs, or specific songs, it's the delivery of the singing and playing - heartfelt, humble, cocky, funny, sincere - a private performance of a modest genuis, backed by solid artists who help showcase this man who is a guitar god who will then smile with wonder at his own brilliance and soak up the applause of an audience stunned into adoration.
So, Joe, girls like you - the package deal, not necessarily the genre, they like how you energize the stage and demonstrate that your music springs from the joy of performing and from your technical perfection. Fabulous, fun, in Fectious.
Whoo boy, got to stop taking that Ambien so early in the evening, I may have been sleep-raving about Joe, again! Trying to explain what girls like, not an easy thing to do.
~ Anne
I don't know what it is about the Bonaladies from Maryland...maybe we're all sisters from another mother, but I think the Maryland Bonaladies Rule!!!!...Anne, you're spot on in so many of your comments..those early days, silence was a premium...I had to give up external noise in exchange for sanity especially during the 3 in diapers and sleep deprivation stage. My husband turned me on to Joe also...kept telling me to take the CD in my car, I played SILT and ANDY repeatedly for weeks, then saw Joe live in Philly... Yep, Joe's the package deal...the ladies have spoken...My marketing wheels are always turning...how do you market all of this and keep it PG? 
And Cathy's right, you are the MAN...you cover a lot of turf...we appreciate your efforts!
