The James Gang!

Yesterday, a dream came true. I saw Dale Peters, Jimmy Fox, and my hero, Joe Walsh, take the stage as the one & only James Gang.

I realize that many of you have not been waiting with breathless anticipation for a James Gang reunion. I'm aware of the fact that many of you have no idea who the hell they are. It is not lost on me that Joe Walsh and the James Gang are just about the closest thing you can get to the quintessential MALE artists (I know of women who like Walsh & the Gang, but not many). Knowing all of this doesn't make me want to sing the praises of this monumental event any less.

I've seen Joe Walsh six times previously (4 solo shows and two with Eagles, which is not quite the same). As I've mentioned before I'd always hoped for a James Gang show to pop up as this was Joe's first BIG successful project. Sadly, with few exceptions, the shows just weren't happening.

I credit my wife, April for calling this one though. We'd seen them get together for a few Drew Carey Shows and tried to see them at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2001. When Joe got back together with Eagles for a round of tours and supposedly a new album, he was "on duty", seemingly forever and no solo shows nor any James Gang shows popped up. April, noticing the scattered appearances together on various TV shows and so on, boldly and confidently stated that the James Gang would ride again. Her theory: If you spend that much time with Don Henley, eventually you'll want to be with better friends. She was absolutely correct.

The show was amazing. For me it was an even bigger thrill because this was not a solo Joe Walsh show. We only got one classic Joe Walsh signature song in the mix. Instead this was a James Gang show and while I knew many of the songs they played, virtually the entire concert was filled with songs I'd never heard performed live before.

One thing that comes out when watching this act is how much fun they have working together and playing those classic songs. Plus, many people forget that Joe Walsh is one of the greatest guitar players on the planet. A lot of his solo work, while filled with memorable licks, is not what people immediately think of when thinking about guitar gods. Listening to some of the James Gang tracks definitively reminds the world of something that Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and many others have known all along - Joe Walsh should be on the Mt. Rushmore of guitar legends.

I am as happy as a guy can get today and I'm planning on riding this little wave for a few days. This show was the ONLY chance I'd have had to see them play. Thankfully I'm working so much right now I wouldn't have been able to make any other the other shows. The stars came into alignment for me and I got to live a dream yesterday evening. Not a bad way to go.