Liverpool , Dublin , Befast

Don't want to do a Libby Special Postzilla or Follow Eva's Epic .... The Two Review Queens , I'd be here forever and probably bore you trying to match them .
So i 'll just say a few things , The 3 Shows together were the best run of a dates i've ever done , maybe it's because the band is so tight now at this moment
but also the 3 cities i visited , the 3 venues and the 3 groups of people at the shows

Liverpool ...... Just great to meet all those crazy lovely fans with the same taste and belief in music .... Firstly like to say the biggest thanks to Geoff & Sue for putting me up and putting up with me , they are lovely people , great hosts and i'm so glad i've met them , they are real fun , then there's Lyn B & Lawrence , just always joking around , known lyn for 2 years now and she's always smiling , and lawrence always asking questions i like that , great couple , then there's Eva and Her Mum Angela , that Eva is a BonaNutter Crazy , she's into it , great fun , so much enthusiasm for joe and his music , but smart with it , she one cool cat , we had a lot of laughs together and got on really well , and Angela her mother , who was there mainly as a real Beatles fan , but after one day she was joking and had some fun joking around , eva's mum rocks! , she is very intelligent and witty it was so nice to get on well with those 2 , then there's Tripsy , full of bundles of energy , she just loves live shows and always smiling and her sisters and hubby were there too , all great people , also sat with Cheshire lass and Nightfly and chatted all these lovely people are just music loving folk , and Matt and his Dad Colin , but i'll get to them later

Dublin ..... Was special for me as it was the birthplace of my father and grandparents and my dad relocated back to Dublin for 4 years 1976-1980 from London, so i lived there and had my first job in Dublin and i knew my way around there pretty well , and had seen a few bands while i lived there in that short time , namely U2 ( Their 2nd ever gig , they were still at college  ) and saw AC/DC in Dublin too with Bon Scott both the rewest of live shows .
Well there was Matt and Colin and i hooked up with an old Buddy Patrick who i used to kick around with when i live in Dublin , made the call , said i was in town , he was hard to track down , but luckily he still lived in Dublin , found his fathers name in the dublin phone directory , and got him that way , anyway got a ticket for him , told him where Joe was Playing and he came over , we caught up on all that has happened and changed in our lives , and he was wondering why i was in dublin at this show , i said talk to me after , anyway he's into traditional irish music , Van Morrison and such like , i kept looking around at him and others and their faces , Patrick would smile at me then Quickly look back at Joe who was 2 ft in front of him " a picture to be sure " after show we talked some more about the past
Then me patrick matt and his mother and father all waited by tour bus , i bought patrick a "sloe gin cd " gave it to him and when joe came out he signed it for Patrick and shook his hand and had a brief chat , he was smiling , i think he enjoyed himself , we said our good byes and he went off into the dublin night with a signed copy of sloe gin and a nice nights memories , as for the show ... Simon McBride Opened up for Joe ... he was Totally Awesome , but thats coming in another post .... Joe Did as far as i'm concerned Produce the Best Version of Sloe Gin i have seen or heard anywhere , it was Stellar , it was 11 out of 10 it was so damned awesome thought i was gonna Die ... gutted i didnt tape it , even Matt will back me up on this opinion .... by the way me and matt treated Joe as he was in the land of The Drink . Matt got Joe a Car Bomb Kit ( no not dynamite ) alcohol making kit with 4 small bottles of Feckin' Whiskey and a Small bottle of Baileys , and i found , well looked up on Internet where i could purchase some POTEEN  ...  ? You may ask , it's Irish Moonshine and ONLY 1 , YEAH 1 SHOP IN THE WHOLE OF IRELAND STOCKED IT AND IT WAS IN DUBLIN ... So i walks to shop and they're out of stock , gutted but hey had Minutures of it , so i got one , anyway gave it joe
to cut a long story short .... i think Jay Sound/tour manager guzzled them both , I Think Rory was smiling down on Joe when he slotted "Cradle Rock" Acoustic into Woke up Dreaming , it was a nice touch

Belfast .... Caught train out of Dublin around 12:30 and Arrived in Belfast around 3 pm , taxi to Premier Inn Hotel , check in , dump bags , fresh change , out the door , meet Matt and his Dad Colin in Foyer , we short walk it round to Spring and Airbrake club , met Bogie had a chat and met Joe & Carmine at sound check , asked carmine about which Hendrix he thought was an Essential Purchase , then me and matt ventured into Belfast City Centre , went to HMV Music store and got a Hendrix Double CD and Jeff Beck's Truth Limited Edition 2 Disc CD , Guess i needed this one , bite to eat then back to club , was there at 6:30 so doors didn't open til late 8:30 so me and matt killed an hour next door in Pub , had a drink and a chat , Carmine & Rick joined us for 20 minutes , then we started queuing early , must say that Rain did follow us for nearly 3 days and the worst was that night in Belfast , it was a Monsoon , got in at front , and the club slowly filled , the support was the same as in dublin Simon McBride who was in fact a native of near Belfast , what a Storming Set he Played and the crowd loved him too , he is an exceptional talented Guitarist , more about him later ,
Joe came on at 9 , The Sound For which was just a large extended pub bar , was very crisp and warm , and The Band Unleashed a Ferocious Set upon The Poor unsuspecting Locals , they had not heard nor not seen anything like this before , The Band were on Full Steam Ahead , Really the tightest i've seen 'em on a par with Newcastle Earlier this Year , but the key they were all smiling and cuttin' loose and all having fun , when their in that mood , just hold on  ,so as i said before The best Sloe Gin in Dublin , But the Best Just Got Paid ever & Asking Around for You ever imho ( sue you would have loved this one ) it was perfection done in Belfast
A Sure Fire 10 Show , and i think the band enjoyed it up to that scale , these are becoming an occurence rather than a couple of times a year , is it because the 4 are Gelling so tight now or are they pulling from their own Adrenihlin created by themselves , anyway it's great for the paying customer pure VFM , After this fantastic show finished , we all had to wind down with a few drinks it was sweltering in there  , hung around for a while , got some nice photo's and had a chat , said our goodbyes and wished 'em all a safe journey , said good bye to matt and his dad , they were great to hang with on the 3 shows , just two really friendly guys , and i now class Matt as a True Friend ( he's absolutely crazy about joe's music and was even headbangin' to JGP ) HAPPY DAYS
Oh and on the way home thursday morning , went to wrong belfast airport , whoops , had to quick dash taxi across city to other that was tight too , phew

So there you have it ..... A Quick 3 Date Jaunt , but the most fun , and seeing all those great forum buddy's in Liverpool was Special and Memorable and was like a big family and then Seeing Joe and the guys live in Ireland was just great , and i think joe and the band enjoyed it immensely too , thanks to them on stopping by on The Emerald Isle ..... Be Jesus you made some friends there for life

........................................ Michael

PS ..... Joe Pity about the T-Shirt & Cap ... you win some you lose some my friend