Joe Bonamassa Bournemouth BIC 20-03-16

Joe Bonamassa’s new album “Blues of Desperation” is released by Provogue on Friday 25th March.


Tonight's gig was in Joe's words 6 months late after he caught bubonic plague on the morning of the original date in October of last year.

Anticipation is the watch word as the 3500 strong crowd take their seats and in Joe's world 6 months is a long time as with the impending release of stunning new cd Blues Of Desperation this coming Friday the 25th of March a new setlist to see and be in awe of.

Over the course of 2 hours and 15 minutes we were treated to 4 new songs from the new cd then a selection of Joe's recent 3 Kings shows(due a live release this year)and some Joe classics too.

Here is what was played.

For this 5 week European tour Joe had the following world class musicians as his band.

Anton Fig drums
Michael Rhodes bass
Reese Wynans Hammond organ/keyboards
Lee Thornburg horns
Paulie Cerra horns

Each is a world class musician in their own right and collectively you find yourself watching each in turn whether it is a drum fill,a bass run or watching Reese play the most incredible Hammond passage.Each have huge smiles on their faces showing a love of playing music together.

All appear on the new cd and after Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire as intro and a short Reese keyboard intro and we were into opener of the show and cd in This Train.

I was in a privileged position that I have had the new album for a month and was looking forward to seeing how they would come across in the live setting.
Stunning is the answer.Joe's stop start guitar riff with Reese and the horn section filling in the gaps while Anton did a fine imitation of the two drummers on the cd.Great chorus and evident already was the superb sound as Joe started the solo Micheal's bass work underpinned his work.

Mountain Climbing is classic Joe with a huge riff and big chorus showing off how hard Joe has worked as a vocalist too with his vocals soaring.Love the way the band take it all down with some of my beloved light and shade before building it all back up again and Joe's emotive solo had the crowd roaring in approval at it's end.

Blues Of Desperation has some stunning light and shade as it builds to some crashing riffs pre chorus and Joe's lengthy slide solo showed off his qualities as Anton's tribal drum rhythm showed us why he in Joe's words is pound for pound the best drummer on the planet.

No Place For The Lonely is an 8 minute slow bluesy ballad with Joe's near 3 minute solo as the outro. The band underpinning the song as we go through a solo of such magnitude the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention as he shows a sense of dynamics and passion and feel that is awe inspiring.

Photo credit to Mark Lloyd

We then go through a series of covers of songs that Joe covered in his 3 Kings show with songs from Freddie King(See See Baby),BB King(Never Make A Move Too Soon) and Albert King(Angel Of Mercy).

All played with a love for the original artist with enough twists and band turns to put their own stamp of class and originality on each song.

Back to Joe's last album A Different Shades Of Blue with fantastic versions of Oh Beautiful and Love Ain't A Love Song to show that his own original material can stand next to songs from any era.

The last 2 songs of the main set are just jaw dropping in their intensity and Joe's playing seems to actually go up a further notch which seems barely possible.

Sloe Gin and The Ballad Of John Henry are each greeted like the last song ever played and the crowd rise and surge to the barrier.

John Henry has a new lengthy band workout mid song that takes it off at a different tangent with Anton's incredible drum pattern and Michael's bass work superb as Joe riffs and solo's as only he can with some fast fingered work that would show any new kid on the block who is at the top of the guitarist tree.

One encore in the shape of BB King's Hummingbird which again showed off the band dynamics as the song ebbed and flowed and Joe's emotional soloing ending the evening on a high note.

Jo Bonamassa continues to amaze with his never ending quest to take the blues to the masses and his ability to reinvent a musical genre.


Joe and his band is back in the UK for his British Blues Explosion dates in July and you need to be there.
I will.

A SALUTE TO THE BRITISH BLUES EXPLOSION

Joe Bonamassa pays homage to the music of 
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page

With Special Guest 
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR

 JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR OPENS FOR JOE BONAMASSA AT HOGTON TOWER, 
LONDON GREENWICH MUSIC TIME FESTIVAL AND NEWARK CASTLE

Joe Bonamassa’s love of the British Blues is at the heart of his musical inspiration; and, for the first time, is pleased to announce that British blues guitarist and singer- songwriter, Joanne Shaw Taylor, will open for him at three of his British Blues Explosion concerts in the UK in July.  Joanne will support Joe at at Hogton Tower, London Greenwich Music Time Festival andNewark Castle.  

Joanne Shaw Taylor has established herself as the UK’s number one star in the blues rock world. The girl with the big voice from the Black Country has toured extensively around the world and released critically acclaimed albums, gaining a global fanbase and playing alongside her musical idols.

Billed as JOE BONAMASSA IN CONCERT: A SALUTE TO THE BRITISH BLUES EXPLOSION, Bonamassa will pay homage to the British blues rock guitarists that inspired him – Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.  The dates will feature two special concerts performed at Heritage Castles at Hoghton and Newark, a headline show at The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, plus indoor shows in Glasgow and Bristol.  Tickets are available from ticketmaster.co.ukand www.jbonamassa.com/tour-dates.  

“If it wasn't for certain British musicians of the early 1960s, the Blues may well never have exploded into Rock music as we know it today, and indeed may have passed into history,” says Bonamassa.  Bonamassa will play Hoghton Tower, Lancashire (Saturday 2 July), Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (Sunday 3 July), Bristol Colston Hall (Tuesday 5 July), Greenwich London Music Time Festival (Thursday 7 July), and Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire (Friday 8 July).

Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page are some of the greatest guitarists of their time that influenced Joe Bonamassa’s career. All three are Yardbirds alumni, and indeed actually all played together at one time in the same band. Jimmy Page went on to form Led Zeppelin, which became the ultimate electric Blues band and both Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck became international superstars in their own right.   Read the official UK press release here - www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/joebonamassa/july2016.htm.

Now, Blues superstar, Joe Bonamassa, will pay tribute to these legends of the British Blues, in a stunning live concert homage entitled JOE BONAMASSA IN CONCERT: A SALUTE TO THE BRITISH BLUES EXPLOSION.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience not to be missed.

JOE BONAMASSA IN CONCERT

A SALUTE TO THE BRITISH BLUES EXPLOSION

Joe Bonamassa pays homage to the music of 
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page

BOOK ONLINE: ticketmaster.co.uk andjbonamassa.com

24 Hour Ticket Hotline: 0844 844 0444

HOGHTON TOWER

SATURDAY 2 JULY 2016
with special guest 
Joanne Shaw Taylor

GLASGOW CLYDE AUDITORIUM

SUNDAY 3 JULY 2016

BRISTOL COLSTON HALL

TUESDAY 5 JULY 2016

LONDON GREENWICH MUSIC TIME FESTIVAL

THURSDAY 7 JULY 2016
with special guest 
Joanne Shaw Taylor

 NEWARK CASTLE

FRIDAY 8 JULY 2016
with special guest 
Joanne Shaw Taylor

 Photo credit to Mark Lloyd