When I'm writing this, I'm in Barcelona to see Bon Jovi, the band who introduced me to Southside Johnny's music in 2001.

In 2001, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes were the support act for Bon Jovi during their European tour. June 19 th , Paris , was the first time I saw them play. At that time I didn't know them at all, but right from the start I loved the sound. And that's definitely not always the case, I've seen some horrible support acts in the past ;-) But they were different! After that first show, 3 more shows would follow, ending with Jon Bon Jovi singing a couple of songs with them onstage in Hamburg and Zurich .

Two years later I forgot about them a bit…sorry… when a friend asked me if I would like to join her to a Jukes concert in Amsterdam , the Paradiso. I love the venue, I like the band, so no need to think about it. When ordering tickets, I noticed they would play Utrecht the day after Amsterdam , so before I knew it, I had tickets for both shows.

Amsterdam was fantastic, Utrecht , just as good! And that's where it happened… a new fan was born! I didn't know any of the band member's names at that time, which caused kind of a weird situation that evening. When I asked Southside to sign my newly bought CD, he asked me who the other band members were who signed it. I just acted as if I didn't hear the question... I had NO IDEA who they were. The same week they also played in 2 other venues in the Netherlands , and on that evening in Utrecht , as a new fan, I decided to go to these shows as well.

One year later, in 2004, I made sure I learned the names, bought some CD's and learned some songs, so I was ready to go on a first real Jukes tour. 15 shows in 4 different countries, including 2 Bobby solo shows, which is kind of unique for us European fans. And also the years after 2004 I tried to see as many European Jukes shows as possible. Trying to catch up for all the years that I missed out on. It brought me to many different places, sometimes very beautiful (read Bergen , Norway ), sometimes not so beautiful (read Bilston, UK ).

After thinking about it for a couple of years, in 2007, Rea and I finally crossed the Atlantic to see the guys play in New Jersey , Martell's…. What a great place, what a nice weather (I'm used to rain) and what a fantastic atmosphere. One week in NJ was way too short…. so yes, we'll be there this year again. New Jersey , be aware, 2 crazy European girls are coming over again!

So… next stop… New Jersey and Virginia Beach . Or maybe Morocco ??? Well, who knows…

Karin