CANCELLED - BCC Live In Wolverhampton 2013

^ Yeah, I lurked on Joe's forum yesterday and saw the messages (and their disappearances). While I do understand where he's coming from, as a fan of Black Country Communion, I'm personally pretty disappointed.

These guys are probably my favorite rock band out there nowadays, and I hate seeing this group go up in flames because one member isn't as willing to commit to making it the main effort, in comparison to the rest of the group.

Yesterday Joe posted this message on his fan forum (I've re-printed it in my blog):

http://rockguitardaily.blogspot.com/2012/09/joe-bo…as-his-say.html

After that he had a go at me for some things I have written. I don't believe he read them, I think he heard second hand that I was stirring the pot somehow - this wasn't the case. Anyone who knows me should realize that's not my act. I was actually trying to put a positive spin on things. Before I could read what he had said, his fan forum removed the thread and other references to BCC.

I sent Joe a conciliatory note, he messaged me back, and we made our peace. He just wants to move on, and forget about it.

I will say that I have been told, "I do know that Joe did not enjoy the tour last summer. He was miserable in fact" This came from a source very close to J&R. Naming names might lose someone their job, and that is not my intention. However, there is a whole back side to this story which we may never know.

Joe asked me to leave this story alone. I'm going to take that under advisement.

Peace,

Tony C.

Left behind is a truly remarkable record.

Shirley may be right that he created BCC with big name Bonamassa in a surprising match with Hughes, that gave Hughes exposure beyond his traditional cult fan base. But I can understand GH's frustration as BCC was "positioned" by Shirley and his protege Bonamassa as a Band and not a Project. now it turns out it was a Project after all, as bands do play live and tour. I also think, mr. Shirley and Bonamassa, that all BCC members, especially Glenn have paid their dues in this project, and while there may have been thrown any lifelines, things can change and evolve. Would there be room for another producer?

Quote from tony conley

Before I could read what he had said, his fan forum removed the thread and other references to BCC.

I sent Joe a conciliatory note, he messaged me back, and we made our peace. He just wants to move on, and forget about it.

I will say that I have been told, "I do know that Joe did not enjoy the tour last summer. He was miserable in fact" This came from a source very close to J&R. Naming names might lose someone their job, and that is not my intention. However, there is a whole back side to this story which we may never know.

Thanks a lot for this informative posting! In fact I noticed Joe coming on stage in Berlin with a real face on. But during the show he seemed to start enjoying it while the audience started to go with the band and at the end he was smiling. I thought he might have been put off first by the few fans that turned up compared to other concerts but BCC was still on its way to become famous, especially in Germany, there would surely be more fans on a Berlin concert today than last year. And when they performed on "High Voltage" in London a huge mass of people was applauding and screaming straight away and the band looked more "as one" to me than in Berlin. I thought it was great and they just needed a few gigs to grow together as well until I got that negative reaction of Joe after his solo concert in Bremen in October. There it was clear that something was already wrong. A third album? It was planned but it wasn't certain any more. And when the good news about the third album came out I was really hoping for a future of this great band again. Until...well, until the speculations about the end of this band came up again. It's really, really sad because they were my fav rock band straight away.

And you know what's still irritating me? A statement like the last comment of Derek Sherinian in this interview which I discovered today:

http://news.am/eng/news/121356.html

If he says there have been talks about a live performance of BCC in Armenia it's surely not just Glenn Hughes who wanted to go on with this band performing live. And if Joe was the only one who didn't enjoy last year's tour, well, maybe the band should really go on with another guitar player and under a new name then. I would very much appreciate it!

Hmm, yeah, I heard from someone who was backstage at one of the BCC summer shows last year that the vibe was very much "whatever it takes to keep Joe happy"...

Sherinian shines on Afterglow - he's featured much more heavily than on the first two records, and deservedly so. I would dearly love to see Glenn, Jason, and Derek continue playing together, but it would have to be with the right guitar player, and that's a tough call. BCC is finished. You'd have a very hard time convincing me that there ever would have been another tour. I think everyone fulfilled their legal obligations, and that's that.

Glenn, of course, always hoped that this band would grow beyond just a project - it just simply didn't work out, and regardless of the cause, that's a great shame. As a fan, and a serious student of rock, I would have loved to seen Joe dedicate half his year to his solo career, and half to a great band. However, I am not blind to fiscal reality - I think in five years, it would have paid off enormously, but I also realize that I don't know the full story, and I am not likely to hear what caused J&R to cut bait and retreat. I do know that it wasn't just someone not having the time to tour.

I had the opportunity to have lunch with Glenn and Joe last June 15 in Indianapolis. I spent about three hours in their company, and everything seemed hunky dory. Those were the days....

I do know that it's always better when things are out in the open, and not and ignored, and/or dealt with forthrightly. I respect Joe's right to just erase this, but I don't necessarily agree with it. Maybe that's me wearing a newspaper man's hat, or maybe it's me as a fan and friend thinking we all deserved a better answer than 'unforeseeable circumstances."

I wrote about this band before they had ever hit the studio - I was the first guy Glenn did an interview with about BCC, just days after the first tracks had been laid. For me, this one was kind of personal.

Many thanks to Glenn for being honest and open.

Afterglow - an amazing album that is going to blow your socks right off.

Damn, tony conley, with your last sentimental post you nearly pushed the water into my eyes...

Quote from geosoulberlin

Thanks a lot for linking that comment of Joe! Unfortunately it proves the worries right that everyone had...
Glenn's actual twitter answer to that:

RT @JBONAMASSA: I am very sorry about the Black Country Communion canceled gig. But principle still stands for something in 2012. I ready to move on... me too... GH

I have to correct myself there. The tweet was of Joe - and Glenn only answered "me too... GH" in a retweet which makes sense now.

Also see:

http://somethingelsereviews.com/2012/09/22/rea…ntry-communion/

I am still a bit more than surprised now that everything on Joe's homepage about BCC is deleted, even the announcement of Afterglow. I thought he just "cleaned" his forum but the whole web presence? That's very bad style!

Who needs others for ruining his reputation with actions like that?

I don't think its easy for us to make any comment as we don't know the details of the issues.

Generally, Glenn's fans will support Glenn, Joe's fans will support him, and Derek and Jasons fans may not have an opinion.

I think the crux of the matter is what the plans were at the start, what the various members expectations, commitments, and contracts, with regards to making album and touring were? And which one of them has not stuck to his word.

Maybe the quality of what they were producing, live and in the studio, has taken them all by surprise. I think that Glenn enjoyed the critical and commercial success of BCC whereas Joe was more interested in the bland Blues that he churns out on a regular basis very critically and commercially successfully.

Its a shame its come to this.

Paul

That's a real shame. The way the whole thing played out was really ugly...I mean, these guys put down a record, and before it comes out, THIS kind of awkward break-up happens. Whatever...I hope Glenn sticks with Bonham & Sherinian into the future.

Plus...with the right marketing, Glenn would be able to pull off a very successful Afterglow 2013 tour with his solo band, I have no doubt. It's a bit awkward, but the songs are really personal to him apparently, so he might as well.

But we also know that more attention will go to the mystery project now, that's for sure!

My instinct was telling me something was not right after the tour last year.
ICould tell from Joe body language that he felt uncomfortable, some of the DVD
Is difficult to watch for me because of that.

It seems we are putting the pieces toghther in order to get a good idea of what has really happened. Guess we will never know why Joe wanted out !

I hope Glenn, Jason and DS do something with another guitar player.

Maybe they are part of the new Brotherhood!!!!

Quote from Mark3

My instinct was telling me something was not right after the tour last year.
ICould tell from Joe body language that he felt uncomfortable, some of the DVD
Is difficult to watch for me because of that.

It seems we are putting the pieces toghther in order to get a good idea of what has really happened. Guess we will never know why Joe wanted out !

I hope Glenn, Jason and DS do something with another guitar player.

Maybe they are part of the new Brotherhood!!!!

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I do hope so. While Joe has been a big part of what makes BCC work so well, to ignore the obvious chemistry between Glenn, Jason and Derek would be a shame. If they can find the right guitarist, even if the sound is noticeably different, I'm sure the music they'd put out would be fantastic

Quote from geosoulberlin

I am still a bit more than surprised now that everything on Joe's homepage about BCC is deleted, even the announcement of Afterglow. I thought he just "cleaned" his forum but the whole web presence? That's very bad style!

Who needs others for ruining his reputation with actions like that?

This is a post from Joe himself on his forum:

Quote

We are only doing the Wolves Civic.. There is no London date... Looking forward to it...
Joe B

That post was made on Sept 13. A week later the gig was cancelled.
Really sad when somebody can't make up his mind...

Is he bipolar or something??? What a nutcase!

The situation seems stretched between Hughes and Bonamassa as JB as said his forum: "I'm just one member of this band of five and very disappointed in the way this played out over has the past two months. With that said I will not allow my reputation That I Worked 25 years to establish with Roy to be Compromised by someone who has the microphone and a calendar."

it smells that is the precipitated end of BCC...

@ Cobud: JB must be a little confused: because BCC had FOUR persons in the band
I must say that I really liked BCC, but I have never seen it as a band, more like a project. I suprised me that this project lasted three studio albums. I thought the end would come earlier, because of JB very succesful solo career. I'm glad we have those three albums, which we can play for years and years
But the mud-throwing is a bit silly, what a shame.
Move on with Jimmy Page on guitar

Quote from willem

@ Cobud: JB must be a little confused: because BCC had FOUR persons in the band

Nah, they've mentioned before how Kevin Shirley is practically the fifth member of the band. I assume that's why JB said five instead of four

Quote

I must say that I really liked BCC, but I have never seen it as a band, more like a project. I suprised me that this project lasted three studio albums. I thought the end would come earlier, because of JB very succesful solo career. I'm glad we have those three albums, which we can play for years and years
But the mud-throwing is a bit silly, what a shame.
Move on with Jimmy Page on guitar

I'm surprised it's falling apart, but that's probably because I wasn't keeping up with what was going on in the band until lately But yes, at the very least, we will all still have three excellent hard rock albums!

Jimmy Page would be AWESOME, but I'm actually hoping the rest of BCC teams up with Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest. He has a YouTube channel that's been around since before he joined Priest, and there's a lot of excellent covers of famous hard rock/heavy metal songs, namely the guitar solos. I'm particularly fond of his covers for "Rock Bottom", "Comfortably Numb", "All Along The Watchtower" and "Little Wing".

And since Priest has apparently retired from world touring, I would think Faulkner probably has enough time in his schedule to work with Glenn, if they wanted to But it's probably just a day-dream.

It's a shame that before the release of Afterglow everything falls apart.

I guess it was wrong that Glenn tweeted about BCC's last album, Joe not up for it etc.
Wait for the release and see what will happen after that.
Now you get mudslinging in the press and that's not a good way to end such a great band.

I would love to see BCC carry on with someone else.
Joe wasn't my favourite.
BCC's most important member was Glenn, he wrote the majority of the tracks.

When BCC will carry on, they will lose a lot of fan's (Joe's) and will have to find other investers.

Quote from tmc344

It's a shame that before the release of Afterglow everything falls apart.

I guess it was wrong that Glenn tweeted about BCC's last album, Joe not up for it etc.
Wait for the release and see what will happen after that.
Now you get mudslinging in the press and that's not a good way to end such a great band.

Indeed. Though to be fair, both Glenn and Joe made mistakes in how to handle the situation and I understand where both are coming from.

There's obvious potential for this band and it has the chance to gain a rather nice fanbase if they tour more often and keep at it for a few more years, but Joe does have a very successful solo career already.

Quote

I would love to see BCC carry on with someone else.
Joe wasn't my favourite.
BCC's most important member was Glenn, he wrote the majority of the tracks.

When BCC will carry on, they will lose a lot of fan's (Joe's) and will have to find other investers.

I definitely agree that the band can carry on without Joe, and I kinda hope that they do. If not, I do hope Glenn forms a new band with Jason and Derek.

Quote from Cobud

The situation seems stretched between Hughes and Bonamassa as JB as said his forum: "I'm just one member of this band of five and very disappointed in the way this played out over has the past two months. With that said I will not allow my reputation That I Worked 25 years to establish with Roy to be Compromised by someone who has the microphone and a calendar."

it smells that is the precipitated end of BCC...

Yeah right, it's like there is 5 of us in the car but only one has the keys!!!