So this whole adventure (and to lend a sort of 'Boys' Own' feel to this I will call it such) started 10 hours before it finished with us setitng off for the Mecca of Greasy Chips, dodgy carparks and Ticket Touts that is the Manchester Apollo. As I had coughed up and undisclosed amount for the Hallowed Meet and Greet Upgrade Package we had to be there for 4pm (sharp it said in the email, PLEASE BE ON TIME) So naturally we got into Manchester at about 3pm...Anyway 15 mins chilly waiting around later and we were ushered in (well, not really 'ushered' but it sounds good) and given The Goody Bag. This simple bit of future Plastic Pollution contained not only a rather nice VIP laminate inscribed 'NO Backstage Access. NO Admission without a ticket'....yeah that was a bit of a disappointment as I missed the 'no' the first time. Yes, so not only did it contain that, but also contained a Very Very nice Limited Edition Poster (Mine's #38 of 300 btw :)), a JS Strap (which I nearly bought a while ago-potential D'oh Moment avoided) and a few JS Picks. Swish.
So we could hear a muffled version of Pyrrhic Victoria from the Stage, which sure enough meant Soundcheck was in full swing. But for some reason we weren't allowed in to see/hear it. Boo. Instead we were taken to a rather posh bar area and told he wouldn't be too long and to sit (or rather stand) tight. 45 mins or so later The Man Himself arrived. I'd promised myself I wouldn't do a Wayne's World 'We Are Not Worthy' at his feet, but I couldn't help myself. Actually, that's a lie. I didn't, I just couldn't believe it was him! I couldn't believe The Man Himself was stood there right in front of me! I couldn't believe he was so short! No, that's unfair. I'm just rather tall. Compared to my 6 feet and 4 odd inches, most people seem small. So we had about an hour's Q and A with him. The usual 'So Joe, what's your take on using the E Minor Diminished 7th TrixyLodian Scale with a Harmoniser set to 4ths?' question were asked. And don't get me wrong, they were a fascinating insight into how his Brain works, but I do get bored of hearing the same things all the time so I started to consider my question. Do you have any pets? Where do you go on holiday? Etc. I decided to ask the old Desert Island question.
Me: 'So Joe, you're stuck on a desert island. You're allowed one Luxury Item, one book and 3 albums. What would they be?'
Joe: Well, the luxury item would be a Jet. And the book would be How To Fly a Jet. (that's cheating I thought, but I let him off). Albums, Electric Ladyland by Hendrix, Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones and I'll have to think about the 3rd one. I'll get back to you.'
Only, he didn't!!!! So if you want to spam him with tweets (@chickenfootjoe) or Facebook messages asking him 'John from Manchester Meet and Greet wants to know what you're 3rd album would be.' please, feel free :) I'll send you a cookie.
So after the Ubiquitous JoePhoto (which I was quite nervous before...mustn't have Zombie expression...is my hair ok? Does she know how to use the camera? How do I know he's not an imposter?) I think it turned out ok :)
What next? Well, that was it with Joe. So about an hour after he walked in, he walked out again and off into the sunset. (well, not quite). We then tramped back down to the actual theatre to have a tour of Joe's Guitar World. (slightly smaller than expected if I'm honest. I was expecting at least a few GuardTigers or at least something more than a few guitars and a Dude changing some strings!
Oh, and I got a sneaky peak at his SuperSecret Pedalboard:
Then, the plan was for me to meet Dad and got to get some food before the gig. Only problem was we finished the Meet and Greet about half an hour before the start time...so we settled for just meeting up. One thing I was NOT prepared for was the size of the queue outside! It was at least 300 yards long about half an hour before the doors opened!
Onto the show...well, what can I say. Apart from AWESOME. and EPIC...(get used to those words, they're going to be used a fair few times.) Words can't sum up just how good a performance it was. All I can say is, thank God for earplugs!
I think these were all the songs he did...in no partiuclar order though-my memory's not that good! Really good to hear some of the old ones in there...two points: hearing Big Bad Moon was awesome (see) and taking part in Crowd Chant was something special!
✓ Premonition
✓ Dream Song
✓ Pyrrhic Victoria
✓ Light Years Away
✓ Littleworth Lane
✓ Wormhole Wizards
✓ Wind In The Trees
✓ God Is Crying
✓ Crystal Planet
✓ War
✓ Summer Song
✓ Why
✓ Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing
✓ Big Bad Moon
✓ War
✓ Memories
✓ Hordes Of Locusts
✓ Revelation
✓ Andalusia
✓ Ice 9
✓ Always With Me, Always With You
✓ Satch Boogie
✓ Crowd Chant
Oh, and before I forget. If you EVER go to the same gig as me and get up frequently to empty your bladder because you've drunk too much beer (which you also had to get up multiple times for) I will break your legs and strap you into your seat. Just a heads up :)
Off to see Jeff Beck tomorrow. Don't expect another blog post, this took frickin ages....
Fin
