After the Puerto Rico show the guys made their way back to Boston and went in their studio with The Refugee AllStars. They recorded “Give Peace a Chance” on the day before the Mohegan Sun show and Joe recorded the U2 song “Seconds” the day after with them. I thought the guys did a great job opening the CT show. I asked Joe if this would be the largest crowd they played to and he told me they play to 75,000 people in Africa and just played to 15,000 people in Japan. So there was no stage fright there. There was a language barrier though. The promoter held them about 10 minutes so the crowd could file in and they thought they had to cut their set by 10 minutes. That prompted them to introduce Joe a little early. That caught the usually alert Jim Survis by surprise, but he has cat like reflexes and had Joe’s guitar in his hands and on stage in time for his collaboration with the All Stars. Look for the 2 songs to be released separately for 2 tribute albums early next year.
Rich Feinberg of ESPN gave Joe a racing helmet signed by all 43 Nascar racers from a race the week before. Since they were filming part 2 of the “Back in the Saddle “ video Joe joked that he may wear the helmet that night. Speaking of the Nascar shoot, that brought a very healthy Tom Hamilton out. It was great seeing the master of the big bottom out there prowling his familiar ground. He played the last 4 songs of the set to thunderous applause.
He also played the entire Beacon theatre set. He didn’t miss a beat. Tom will be back next year better than ever. The show was awesome. It is always a treat to see the guys in such an intimate setting. Some of the greatest shows that I have been a part of have been the ones in close confines. House of Blues in LA in 94’, Mama Kin in 94’, Middle East and Mama Kin in 95’, Mama Kin in 98’ and my favorite the Hard Rock in Boston in 93’. They brought up a guy named Andy Snitzer for Big 10 Inch. Andy has played with the Stones in the past. It was a great show and was taped by the band.
Joe at Schwartz's Photo: John Bionelli
Montreal was cool. I always love going there. It is such a world-class city. Joe did some Christmas shopping before the show and ended up at Schwartz’s for some smoked meat sandwiches. He brought Steven a few back for an after show snack.
Joe with Roger Daltrey Photo: John Bionelli
After a day off a home to do some laundry we flew out to Minneapolis to play at the Target Center. The guys like Minneapolis so much they decided to spend the day after the show there. This gave some of the guys a chance to do some major Christmas shopping at Cabela’s. The whole band went and bought up the store. Brad and Joey hit a near by car museum and Steven made a visit to a local school.
Joe took in the Pretender’s and Who show in St. Paul and hung out with the guys before the show. I gotta tell ya my knees were weak being around Chrissy Hynde. I absolutely love the first 2 Pretenders albums and she made us feel right at home. A really nice lady. She still has the pipes and hit every note. She reminded me of the female version of Steven. Both get better with age. Roger Daltrey was battling bronchitis and warned Joe to wash his hands after hanging out with him. They had to cut the show short by a few songs because of his condition. Pete reminded Joe that they had their picture taken in Japan last year. I then thought old Ross Halfin must have stuck one under Pete’s nose to get it signed. Ross may joke at how much of a KISS fan I am but he will admit his trousers get a little tighter around Mr. Townshend.
Well folks there are only 5 shows left, 2 in the US and 3 in Canada. I always look forward touring the motherland and this year I was lucky to get to 5 cities in the great white north.
Amanda Ayre Photo: John Bionelli
My employee of the week honors go out to Amanda Ayre. She runs the fan club’s Velvet Rope with her sidekick Brian. I asked Amanda if she ever gets our Tour Manager Jimmy Eyers mail and she said no, but the last time the crew and band were in the same hotel last year in Laredo she got Jimmy’s hotel suite by accident.
Next week I will wrap up the last week of the tour.
See you on the Road!
John B.
