Joe Bonamassa at Symphony Hall



Joe Bonamassa and band rocking out at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass., on Tuesday night.
Bonamassa used a variety of guitars including what appears to be this sweet sounding Gibson 339, style of a 335 in a body the size of a Les Paul, or is it a 335?

The last time we had seen Joe Bonamassa was about five years ago in New London, Conn., at the Garde Arts Center with Sam Bush and his band playing in support of the young blues master. A lot has transpired since then.

Bonamassa can fill a much larger venue now because of his relentless touring of the States and Europe and issuing one, if not, two albums a year. His special blend of blues-oriented rock also routinely jumps to the top of the Blues charts on release and deservedly so.

Bonamassa was in Springfield, Mass., Tuesday at Symphony Hall, a concert hall evidently not built for rock, but was suitable nonetheless as the sound was outstanding during the two-hour-plus show with only Bonamassa and his band of bassist Carmen Rojas, keyboardist Rick Melick and drummer Tal Bergman playing, no opening act.

Bonamassa’s show has certainly changed as well as he displays a more polished, smooth showmanship to go along with his guitar brilliance. It’s a throwback atmosphere as his audience of mixed ages sits and listens to the inventive guitar phrasing and technique of this mid-30s budding legend.

The highlights were many, including some of his signature tunes: Slow Train, The Ballad Of John Henry, Dust Bowl, Blues Deluxe, a Jeff Beck Group staple, the great Mose Allison’s Young Man Blues, Mountain Time, Sloe Gin and the encore closer Just Got Paid, which pays tribute again to Beck with an intro from Beck’s arrangement of Howling Wolf’s Ain’t Superstitious and a closing section that beautifully and accurately quotes from Led Zeppelin’s Dazed And Confused. This all followed an acoustic set of about 20 minutes to set the stage for the rest of the show. Here is a complete set list courtesy of the forum at www.joebonamassa.com And below a bunch of photos from the show.

Palm Trees
Seagull (Bad Company cover)
Dislocated Boy
Driving Towards The Daylight
Woke Up Dreaming
Slow Train
Dust Bowl
Who’s Been Talking
Midnight Blues
The Ballad Of John Henry
Wee Wee Hours (Chuck Berry cover)
Look Over Yonders Wall
Blues Deluxe
Young Man Blues
Mountain Time
Encore
Sloe Gin
Just Got Paid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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