It'll probably take me a year to recount everything about that festival, let alone the whole weekend, so I guess I better get started.....
First off.....I LOVE AUSTIN!!! Everything about that town felt right.....everything.....
The festival is a gas.....I had a BLAST!!! Aside from the dust, which kinda made you feel like you were a steer on a cattle drive at times, it's a beautiful setting, directly across the river from downtown.....well managed, friendly workers, and a great line up.....
It was like Woodstock with a debit card.....and more stages.....
Joe and the boys simply stunned the entire crowd. A security guard had told me that the unofficial gate count was 65,000.....and although Joe had a respectable crowd at the stage at the start of the show, I swear to God it seemed like most of the 65,000 were there at the end of the set. It was amazing to watch sooooo many people coming from all directions to see who the h*ll was burnin' down that stage!! They were on fire.....and the crowd was in awe.....as was I.....they get better every time I see them.....
I've resisted saying this for a long time, simply because I don't like to label performers "good, better, best". But I can't hold it back no mo'.....Joe Bonamassa is the best guitar player on the planet, period.
As I mentioned in another thread, the security guard that I had been talking with said that Joe raised the bar for all future ACL fests. He wasn't familiar with Joe, but he was working the gate at Joe's trailer, and I kinda hung out there for a while.....it was shady!! I saw Joe come out of the trailer, so I just shouted "JB", only expecting a wave. He waved and walked the 20 or 30 yards over to gate. So now I'm thinkin' "This is cool, I'll get to say hey, and wish him well." He stayed and talked for easily 20 minutes.....just me, Joe, and the security guard. Of all the things you would think he would have to do a half hour before he hit the stage, he spent that time talkin' to some schlep from Pittsburgh and a security guard. I just can't find the right words to describe how cool that was.....
We talked about Watermelon Slim, which I don't think I should print...I complimented him on his new cowboy boots...he told me he had just gotten them a few hours earlier...and just then a guy walks up to the gate and drops a glass of wine, annointing Joe's new boots with 4 ounces of pinot noir. I don't think I should print any more about that either! Anyway, I was lookin' to get a pair of boots, so I got directions to Allan's Boots on South Congress from Joe.....pretty cool.
I asked him what he thought about Warren Haynes doin' If Heartaches Were Nickels now, and of course he said, "Well, it IS his song!" But I mentioned that I had wondered if Warren was doing it now as a nod to Joe's success with it. Very diplomatically, and humbly, Joe kinda sidestepped the question.....simply saying that they both respected each other's music, and give and take with each other. I hope to have Warren's answer to that in November.....
Joe was holding the set list, and we talked a bit about that. He said he loves the way Blues Deluxe is coming off in the gigs, so I'm guessin' that'll be a mainstay for a while! I told him that his version of Just Got Paid is so freakin' good that it should be considered a controlled substance.....
A little more small talk, and he says "I gotta go, thanks for everything..." and he was on the stage doin' Spike Driver Blues 5 minutes later. Just an incredible memory.....thanks Joe.....
Jesse, the security guard, who had been part of the converstion the whole time, says to me "So, you're friends with Joe?" I told him, well.....yes, in a sense, but only from being on the forum for a year, and seeing him occasionally at gigs. And he sez....."But he just stood here for 20 minutes, talkin' to you like you were his long lost buddy!!" And I just said, "I know, but that's Joe..."
btw, I left the gate to get a little closer to the stage, and simply told Jesse "Yer in for a treat..." After the set, I went back to the gate and said "Well??" I can't print most of what he said.....he was stutterin' expletives. But that's when he told me that Joe raised the bar for all future ACL fests. He couldn't believe what he had just seen and heard.....
More later.....I need another nap.....
They're at home still runnin' for bells
Better San Juan
Than that blue collar hell
