Greetings from New Orleans,

What an amazing night! It defies words, but let me try.

We had never played a House of Blues before and didn't know what to expect, but last night the place was packed to the rafters with some of the most enthusiastic fans of the tour. From the opening, the audience sang along so loud it caused a dilemma for our monitor mixer. It was so loud he had a hard time getting balances for us and at one point I had to take my in-earpieces out during Crystal ball because of the sheer volume. The loudness in my ears made me disoriented enough that I lost my place in the song! I only had to look at the fans--they knew it better than I did!

But in general, there were so many dramatic, soulful musical moments, it was a musician's dream. We were in a loose yet edgy mood and we really stepped out of the box on lots of the songs. We blew off the string introduction to "Witness" and Todd started out vamping on the drum beat. It rocked much more that way.

I love that 62 shows into this tour and we are still finding cool new ways to adjust the set.

Last night was Jan Gowan's birthday. She came down from Toronto to see her man Lawrence and we surprised her with a birthday cake and a harmonious chorus of "Happy Birthday To You," before the show started. Ironically, it was Bobaloo's last day with us (JY's bus driver) and also his birthday after midnight, so we got to light another cake's candles and sang a smokier version of the birthday song for him AFTER the show.

Captain Mike Salley from Orange Beach, Alabama came to see us as well as Chuck's cousin Dennis Panozzo from Chicago. It was a family affair in more ways than one!

And for the highlight of the evening, Chuck Panozzo surprised the fans by showing up and performing on "Fooling Yourself" making us a 6 piece guitar army for one song. Mighty mighty! Always great to see Chuck and get a dose of his amazing personality and uplifting spirit.

Thank you New Orleans--We are still buzzing...