Drive All Night

Mmm... Such a romantic thought... Her man is gonna Drive All Night just to buy her some shoes... how sweet... He wants to taste her tender charms... and sleep tonight again in her arms. As he longs for a word from God... a word that he can cling to... he gets shivers down his spine and all he wants do is hold her tight.

But is that enough?? Or is it too late?? You see... he has lost her... and when he lost her... he lost his guts too... and now he is starting to feel the pain that he has caused himself... he misses her love... he needs her near... he whispers for her to just dry her eyes... "and c'mon c'mon c'mon... let's go to bed." Yes... that sounds so alluring... but let's not forget... she has been in tears over him... and I am sure that it's not the first time. It sounds like she has ended her crying but not to go to bed with him. He realizes that he has lost her... and now he is desperate to get her back... and so he promises her that he is coming and bringing her gifts... new shoes... that should work on any woman... but he knows that she is not just any woman... and will require much more... and so he pledges his love... "you've got, you've got, you've got, you've got my love, you've got my love... through the wind, through the rain, the snow, the wind, the rain, you've got, you've got my, my love... heart and soul"

I find it quite interesting that a man would have to lose someone he felt this much passion, love and desire for to realize what exactly he had in his hands... I'm just glad that he realizes and I hope that it is not too late............ Drive safe!!

Drive All Night @ Gothenburg, Sweden ~ July 5th

One more reason to ROAD TRIP!!!

Speaking of road trips... Have you read the new book, "For You"

It is filled with great stories of fans who, like me would drive all night to see Bruce live. I was just chatting with Lawrence and he mentioned to me that there are only 200 copies left... Make sure that you get a copy soon... actually you might want to get it now!!

Secret Garden

I can't speak for all women... I can only share with you what my eyes see and my heart feels... so how is it Bruce... a man... can tap into the hearts of women and understand us so well... an understanding that brings him such power and popularity with women? What makes Bruce so irresistible and so down right sexy?? Is it his looks? Mmm... they are quite nice... but to me... it is the things that he says... With these words he shows us that he understands how we feel... he knows just where we've been... he helps us to imagine and attain what we desire... and then he shows us how to keep it. So what is it that you want? IF it is a woman... then one 3 minute record that teaches a man how to take that dream and hold it in his hands is Secret Garden. Let's see what secrets are hidden in this treasure.

On the surface Bruce tells us that it's the things you say that will get you inside... but there is so much more to learn from this song. How do you stay inside? What's more... how do you get deep inside? I think he shows us that it's how you say those right things... it's the desire that is behind the words. The passion he holds when he tells her that he wants to go down that path where there is "tenderness in the air" With a breathy voice he covets not only the sweetness of her garden but the parts of her that will bring him down... the thorns that will make him bleed. He wants all of her... not just the beauty but he'll take her pain... and he won't just take it... he'll break through with a hammer and a vice to get inside her... yet he won't invade her... going only as far as she allows... and then he is pleased just to stand there and admire her... grateful that she let him inside of her to see that she is everything he needs even though she keeps him a million miles away.

After the Magic tour ends Patti and Bruce spend a little time relaxing in Italy.

Part Man Part Monkey

Do you believe that man decended from Ape?
Or that God created man in His image ??
Just wondering what it is that you believe...

My LOVE Will Not Let You Down

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,

but have not love,

I am only a resounding gong

or a clanging cymbal...

If I have the gift of prophecy

and can fathom all mysteries

and all knowledge,

and if I have a faith that can move mountains,

but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor

and surrender my body to the flames,

but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is LOVE.

I Corinthians 13:1-8a and 13

I'm On Fire

"It's like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull and cut a six in valley through the middle of my soul.

Is your daddy home... did he go away and leave you all alone?? I gotta bad desire?? Only you... can cool my desire?? I'M ON FIRE??"

So if he was on fire... why did he go away and leave her all alone??

What is it that makes a man leave the very thing that he needs... wants... desires? Why does "Daddy" go away? This is a question that puzzles many of good woman... so surely you don't expect to get the answer from me!! But, if I were to take a stab at it, I would say... utter confusion. From the looks of it... that confusion is causing such turmoil in his soul that perhaps he blamed her when he found himself uncomfortable and at times miserable because he couldn't control his heart or his desires... which is only natural because you really can't control such desire... so again he blames her rather than cherish her... For whatever the reason he ultimately feels that he must forget her and leave her behind... all alone. But will he be able to wipe her from his mind?

It seems that even though he has gone away his memories of her is haunting him. Perhaps he can still smell her lingering perfume. At night he wakes up with the sheets soaking wet... which shows us that the distance he put between them doesn't help to remove his desire but causes him more turmoil... and now he is having nightmares... far worse he feels as though a six inch valley has been cut through the middle of his soul. He has caused himself to suffer much more than was necessary. Rather than enjoying the desire he has for her, he tries to put out that fire... he is probably stubborn and sure that he doesn't love her... perhaps even feeling that loving her was a bad idea from the start. And so he suffers... as we watch... sitting backward, hunched over a chair... contemplating.

I think that the only thing that redeems "Daddy" is that he comes home... with a bad desire. But there is a problem... while he was a way she met someone. "Is he good to you? Can he do to you the things that I do?" Which makes me wonder if the things that he did to her were actually as good as what he thought?? I wonder about his ego. Which leaves the unanswered question: Will she cool his desire or will she let him suffer and continue his ride on that DOWNBOUND TRAIN??

Bruce adds I'm On Fire to the Magic in Emirates Stadium at The London Show on May 31.

Follow That Dream

Last month, on Father's Day, just days before I'd join the 2008 EUROPEAN LEG OF MAGIC, I commented that this day was the day that reminded me of all the men who have let me down... and believe me when I say that there have been more than I care to share... but my friend, Kit, spoke up and said to me, "Bruce's music will never let you down." And she's right... it hasn't... so I better not let it down. I know what you're thinking "How can you possibly let Bruce's music down?" The answer is simple:

By not sharing it!!

When I think back on my life... the bumps and the bruises... the times that my heart was trampled and broken... at times shattered... times when I hurt so bad that I had to remind myself to breathe... times when I hid my pain, pretending to be happy... there was even a time when I couldn't face the world so I hid myself... inside of my house... giving my fears the victory over me... but I couldn't hide from Bruce... though I tried... I had stopped listening to his music... but it found me anyway... just like it has always found me... and this time, like all the other times... it held me while I cried... it held me until my tears turn into prayers... not letting go until my prayers turn into faith... faith that someday... someway... I'd have the strength to get up and shake it off! Or should I say: SHAKE IT UP BABY ~ TWIST & SHOUT

And suddenly I'm up and dancing to MILAN MAGIC!! I can remember being there... and connecting with something that was bigger than me... bigger than my fears and my pain... and that's when I remembered that I am in debt once again to Bruce's music... and so... I am dreaming of ways I can share it with you!!

But dreaming is not enough... I'll need to FOLLOW THAT DREAM... where ever it may lead.

Dreams really do come true!

Download the full show in mp3 here

(Please use mp3s for personal use only)

Den Haag

Den Haag is the actual seat of the government

yet unexpectedly, it not the official capital of the Netherlands,

a role set aside by the Dutch constitution for Amsterdam.

What I found interesting was that is customary that the Queen of Holland is not allowed to give her opinion in public... but rather she is expected to share her views with the Prime Minister and if he likes her ideas he is free to use them but is not required to listen to nor follow her advice.

Another really cool thing about this little area is that this had been a courtyard of a castle which was like a fortress with wall surrounding.

Alex pointed out the little spout that would be used if under attack to pour hot oil down on the enemy.

All I could do was take in the majesty of it all... I couldn't help but to imagine living here in this... what seemed to be like a fairytale but yet it was so very real... I found myself daydreaming about what it would have been like to be a princess 100s of years ago in Den Haag.

photos by Alex

You Hurt Me in Den Haag

Scheveningen

Scheveningen is a small yet very beautiful little fisherman's town... it is part of Den Haag but a paradise of it's own. It's quiet peacefulness was it's main allure to me. As we strolled up the beach toward the tiny little town... Alex shared with me about the anguish in the hearts of the fisherman's wives as their husbands would go off to sea... some never to return home. It touched me profoundly that in this Dutchman's world it was the woman's heart that was honored with a statue in this dreamland.

As the wife looks out over the sea watching for her husbands return...

Scheveningen calls out for mine.

The Very Thought of You in Amsterdam

Blue Valentines

Art in Amsterdam

June 28, 2008

The painted building are where squatters live.

The late evening sky in Den Haag

LAY IT DOWN in Amsterdam

Land of Hopes and Dreams ~ Holland

Roses in Holland

Alex, Paulus & Elleke

For your kindness and your generosity

Thank You!!

I'm so glad that you were a part of my dreams coming true!!

Je suis à Paris pour vous

When I landed in Amsterdam I had no idea what to expect... I've had a dream of traveling to Europe for so long... and now my dreams were about to come true... I instantly fell in love with Holland. Having a few hours to kill I went looking for "coffee" and fell deeper in love with Holland!! My waiter filled my head with stories of Holland as the time passed... we talked politics and more time passed... finally it was time to meet up with Alex at the ferry as we had planned... so many bikes... everywhere I looked. Trams, Trollies and Bicycles!! It had been months since I had seen my friend Alex... I was so happy to see him... and hungry after such a long trip... and it turns out that Alex is quite the dutch chef!! Of course the plane ride had wiped me out and I was fast asleep soon after dinner.

Though there's so very much to tell... the most awesomely noticeable and need I say, enchanting difference to me is the wonderful sound of happiness present in the voices heard as we walked through the neighborhood in The Hague on the way to the Market. There was such a beautiful atmosphere there.

But let's get to the Bruce show! The “Fan-run” pit line was amazing!! What an awesome job they did!! One word: JOY! I so wish American GA’s could have been like this. Yes it was a very long, but wonderful day... we arrived just before 9am... I got number 92... not too bad... but then came the reality of the situation... once let in it is a free for all... you have to run to the OTHER end of the (football)field to claim your spot... not a problem... but I soon found out the running to the other end (100 yard dash) would be the easy part. You are not going to believe this... but right inside the entrance was about 200 very steep steps that you had to run up before getting to the field... if you make it up the stairs then you run... Okay... so only about 200 people outrun me... but they were all very tall guys with long legs or I could have beat them. Thankfully, Alex's long legs saved me a nice spot about 8 rows back… but right in front of Soozie... whom let me add looks great!! But by the time the shifting was complete I was in 3rd or 4th row in front of Stevie... not far from the catwalk... much better. The crowd was amazing... I've never had so much fun exchanging elbows!! I totally loved the show!! It seemed to be more exhausting than the 11 that I attended in America... and I don't think it was the jetlag! Not surprisingly, Bruce ignored my sign, MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN once more... but it wasn't until the tall guy behind me took it out of my hands and lifted it above his head that I realized that Bruce probably couldn't even see it... We got an amazing show(reviewed here) which included Summertime Blues!! Stand On It & Seven Nights to Rock!! You can listen to the whole Amsterdam show here!!

On the way out I was able to get a set list for Alex... As impressive as the set list is... the list of fans and friends that I met in Amsterdam was just as delightful. A real honor it was to meet Badmuts aka Paulus and his lovely girlfriend, Ellie... having heard so much about Paulus I looked forward to our meeting... they had great plans for me to wrap up my trip... I'll share all that with you in a bit. I met other great Bruce fans: Tony, Mich, Linda, Paula and her mother, Rachel, Maaike, Sabine, Jeffery and Rachel...

Thursday... the day after the show... Alex took me to a very nice part of Den Haag... where there was an old fisherman's town... We did a lot of sightseeing... We even visited the Museum...

So on Sunday I meet up with Rachel and Maaike and we head to Antwerp for the next Bruce show. We did a small amount of site seeing... then we had dinner at the Hilton before heading to the venue to get our numbers... there was a very small group camping outside the venue so we joined them. What a wild time that was... Maaike had not planned on staying until she missed the last train back so we did what we could with what we had... we laid out one of the bags and covered up with the other... the three of us spooning for warmth... we stayed awake laughing late into the night... bonding.

Then after a long long long wait... sweating, in the sun... did I mention my sunburn? Finally they opened the gates and the mad dash began... I ran like crazy till I got to the field and felt it was useless so I gave up only to look and see that only about 10 peeps had made it to the pit yet and there was plenty of room left... re energized I ran toward Bruce's mic-stand! I was exhausted when I arrived to the third row behind a quite tall guy and realized that I had picked a shit spot... I put my head on his back so thrilled to be there... he was happy to see I made it and gladly traded spots with me puttng me second row right behind a lovely couple, Yvette and her husband, who brought me up to stand next to them... between Bruce and Nils!!! It was perfect!!

So Bruce comes out for signs... I did not have my sign with me nor had I brought cardboard. And Alex was not there to help get me any... but before the show I got the idea to put my request--- you know which one, My Love Will Not Let You Down... on the back of my ginagiambone.com business card... It was very tiny... So Bruce starts to gather signs and he says to the lady next to me who had 7Angels on her sign... ''I'll take that one'' he said... and I reached him my card and said, ''Please take this one, too?'' He took it and said something sweet like... 'This is the tiniest and most modest request I've gotten... such a humble request... ya never know... from small things big things someday come!!''

We got a wonderful show!! In Antwerp we got Trapped, Point Blank, So Young & In Love, Sandy and I'm A Rocker... But without a doubt: Thundercrack stole the thunder!!

MAYBE in Italy we'll get my request!!! Anyhow... I heard that the Italians started queing up before the Antwerp show even started. I better hurry and get there... I arrived the day before the show to check out the que and made the choice to stay there... with number 127. The Italian man in charge of the list was the only one who actually spoke english but that did not seem to stop us from communicating... Mr. C (the leader) took the time to translate every announcement just for me and explained just how to run when they opened the gates... The group he was with had been there since Saturday... but they welcomed me and let me hang out with their little group of friends. Franchesca offered me to sit with her on her blanket and we broke bread and sipped wine. Then when it came time to sleep they had me sleep close to them (purhaps for protection from the rest of the crazy Italians!!) There were about 200+ of us when we fell asleep... but we woke to about 500 and the que of 900 was filled before noon. When it was time for the 100yard dash... Mr C had it all worked out with security that they would let in the first 150 then hold back the others till we were safe in the pit... then let in another 150 and so on... that is how I outran so many to the second row... when I got fatiqued and overwelmed by the crowd the sweet guys in front of me let me to the rail... the only time I felt a little nervous with not being Italian was when the security guy who was handing people water refused to give me a bottle... said it was gone... but it wasn't. But then just seconds later, Gary appears and hands me a bottle of water... he looked like an angel to me...

I think that one of the coolest memories in both Antwerp and MILAN was when Bruce kept bringing us glasses full of ice water to pass around... I got several sips and quite a few ice cubes to suck on in Antwerp!! I am so glad that I went to Europe... I almost backed out quite a few times... especially the last few days... but I faced many of my fears head on these last two weeks!

So about the third song Bruce says, "okay, where are the requests?" and I held my sign up high!! This time I was just having fun making a sign... but switched my request to FOR YOU cause I didn't want to keep hounding him for My LOVE... and it was the first sign he took after he pointed right at it and said, "I want that one!!" and then came over to me and we had to stretch/reach way out to each other for him to take it!! We were smiling HUGE at each other trying to reach!! There was lots of "connecting" and "interacting" during the show!! It was great!! Although he didn't play FOR YOU... What an amazing show it was!!

Summertime Blues led the way... then Out on The Streets!! Prove It, Spirit In The Night, and None But The Brave. Need I go on? Though I hate Hungry Heart... absolutely hate that song... but it was a crowd pleaser in Italy... and fun. Easily forgotten when followed by CANDY'S ROOM!! Darkness On The Edge Of Town was heavy but lightened by Darlington County Then came my favorite pair: Because The Night into She's The One!! How can you go wrong with Detroit Medley starting the encore? (by adding Bobby Jean and Dancing in the Dark to it?) But for some reason I found myself bawling to Bobby Jean and then doing the "jumping thing" with the crazy Italians to DitD. But then after American Land, Bruce wanted to stay and play some more!! Twist & Shout came out!! Singing "Ah you twist so fine" right to me and then doing his little shimmy dance right in front of me!!

Also Jon-Claude... the frenchman I met, who vowed his protection and would not abandon me in Milan... since after the show there was NO transportation available... including cabs. So with thousands of people wandering the streets looking for transportation... he made sure I got back to my hotel safely... Thanks Jon-Claude for caring!!

I think Milan was the best!! But I so wanted to go on to Paris... I fought with myself... but opted to go back to Amsterdam where Alex and I would spend one last day together sightseeing before he ran off to Dublin for a show he felt that he just had to see... one of those "gotta see once before it's too late" shows... So I ignored the voices that were screeming inside my head telling me that I really should go to Paris... and I went back to Amsterdam... where we spent a great day site seeing and the end of the day... Alex and I said goodbye and he went off to Dublin... and I went off to... Goulda (like the cheese) to spend a few days with Paulus and Elleke... who were the most excellent hosts... Elleke is one of the kindest and most wonderful ladies I've met. I can't say enough about her... in one word I call her Elegance.

A huge highlight of my trip was to experience set list watching with Badmuts!!! But when I saw that Bruce sang my request FOR YOU in Paris... solo piano... I cried... and even though I wasn't there... it became a huge tour highlight for me.

Elleke was confident that Bruce had sang FOR YOU for me... and I so wanted to believe the same... it's hard to imagine that I would be given such a beautiful gift. I am honored.

And what an amazing time Paulus and Elleke showed me... sightseeing in the Delft one day and then taking me to Den Haag's Festival in the Park! We strolled through the market and when my eyes lit up at the sight of a most beautiful blouse Ellie insisted on getting it for me. She sent gift tins with waffles in them home to my children as well... I felt so loved and welcomed by Ellie and Paulus... Oh back to the festival... I got to see Jason Mraz... who I have been wanting to catch... he reminds me of a very young Bruce... and I saw a cool band from Scottland and one called Proclaimers... and later the day ended with Sheryl Crow. It was a wonderful day in the park... eating and laying in the sun with friends. Maaike and Rachel had met us there adding to the pleasure of it all. Rachel and I connected and I am sure we will be very good friends for a very long time. Then Paulus, Elleke, Elleke's brother and I went to a nice restaurant on the shore for ribs. Yummy!! Ellie's adorable brother had joined us for the day... what a sweet young dutchman he is... so much like his lovely sister. Paulus' son, Rick shared a bit of his talent with me just as I was leaving... a very talented one he is... and very sweet... I so wish I could have stayed for the entire show!!

So what is it that makes a Bruce experience so vital in these last days?? Once again I come to the conclusion that it is all about the connection. Not only does Bruce connect to his fans but he connects his fans one to the other... with a connection of love that miles can not distance nor come between... a connection that language differences can not hinder the communication... a connection that binds your heart to mine.

It was so hard to board that plane the next day to go back to America...

I did it... but I left my heart in Europe.

Download the full Amsterdam show in mp3 here

Download the full Milan show in mp3 here

(Please use mp3s for personal use only)