First Up: Our JSSB Roadtrip
Brandy (R.C.I.T., 'Jon Chance' here) and I left Thursday morning to drive up to Buffalo, NY (about 7 hours) from my house in Staten Island to see The JSS Band play. We weren't in the club 5 min. before I turned around and found myself facing Jeff’s bassist, Gary Schutt.
The band that was on at the time was incredibly loud, so we walked into the other room with him to chat (I hurt Gary’s poor ear trying to yell over the band -- so sorry, Gary! 
[Kieran, you must ask Brooke for me how he does that thing with his finger on someone’s ear to prevent that -- it really works! Oh, and tell him & Michael that Debbie from The Redspot says “hi!” 
]). I had commented to Gary that I hope I could get through the night with the migraine that I had for the last 2 days (since the place was so loud -- God, I must be getting old... 
). Gary was so sweet, he took us in the back to get me some ibuprophen (sp?). Thankfully, my headache was better by the time they went on. We were able to get right in the front row, right in front of Jeff... Hey, for all the driving we had to do to get to this show, I wasn't missin' a freakin' thing, damn it! 
HOLY CRAP!!! The guys put on *one of the most fantastic shows that I had ever seen in my life*, regardless of the tiny stage they were forced to play on! My God, those guys are one of the tightest bands around and never seem to have a shortage of energy. They are all such incredible musicians. [Side Note: Warning to those in the front row -- Be prepared to be sweat on.
] We danced and jammed so much during the show that I was physically tired afterward… and it felt oh... so... good. 
So, that is what a Jeff show is like! Y-E-S ! Gimme s’more o’ dat!
Besides all of the friends of Dave's and Howie's (they're both from the Buffalo area) who joined them on stage for a few songs, the pleasant surprise of the evening for me was Sam Grow (tell him we love him, Pam!).
We had missed his solo acoustic set at the beginning of the evening, but were able to catch him when he came back to join the band for “Hey” and “Broken Man”. His playing and voice were so soulful to me that I had to buy his CD and wish him much luck with his career. He was wonderful to talk to and very sweet. Little did I know I would see him at a party the next night and that he was to play with them at SB, too, on Saturday. Go, Sam!
We chatted with Rebecca (Happy Birthday, again!), Jeff, and Gary later on in the evening (uh, did I mention we fell head over heels in love with Gary that night???
). Rebecca and Jeff seemed very happy to meet me (they both recognized my ID from the Andrew's Noticeboard). We're thinkin' that it meant they may have realized I wasn't a wacko and were probably a bit relieved. Especially, after telling them that we had to drive 7 hours just to see him! Jeff said I deserved a big hug. He really is just one of the guys. It's so nice to meet someone so immensely talented, yet so grounded. He made me and Brandy much bigger fans than we originally were -- if that is even possible. I was a fan way before the Journey thing, so getting to hear his solo, Talisman, and other project work was a huge treat for me. We also got pictures with Gary and Jeff.
The only downside to finally seeing Jeff's solo show is that now I know just what I've been missing all along, with no hope in sight for the next show.
Damn it, Jeff, you need to come to NYC or NJ. 
I guess I'm going to have to make sure that I acquire every single DVD/video there is to be had. I know what I'm putting on my Christmas wish lists now, Jeff!
Next up: Friday and Saturday… Gotta get some more work done first.
Debbie
