Sometimes, you get lucky.
In the summer of 1999, Joe announced he was doing "just for the hell of it" shows with longtime collaborators Gary Burke and Graham Maby at clubs in New York City. He did some shows at The Bottom Line in July and then announced the Joe's Pub dates in July.
Joe's Pub seats 150. The shows sold out quickly. I was at a conference in Utah when another show opened up, and I acted quickly and got tickets.
I took my friend Tom, another Joe Jackson fan (the wife wasn't interested, which was fine.)
Got to the show, and it's a bar, that's it. I met some people from the mailing list (isn't that always how it is these days?) and sat right in front, about 5 feet from the piano.
The show was amazing. The band were tight and I've never seen Joe having more fun. After opening with The Lovin' Spoonful's Summer In The City, they did songs from all of Joe's career, and covers of Steely Dan, David Bowie, The Beatles, Duke Ellington, Radiohead and others.
After the show, we stuck around and got to meet Graham and Gary, which was a thrill. Joe didn't come out before we left though.
And then to top it off, these concerts were released as a live album (Summer In The City:Live In New York) It's cool to have a CD and be able to tell people, Yeah, I was there.