By: Joe Lang
After catching Joe Bonamassa for the better part of his set last December at the Cabooze, I was instantly converted. Taking the tone and chops from Eric Johnson and the blues and rock sensibilities from ‘60s-era Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, his only real competition for rock supremacy is Warren Haynes. So needless to say, I was very interested in hearing Bonamassa close out the zoo concert series put on by Sue Mclean.
Bonamassa hit the stage with what appeared to be an entirely new band, complete with a keyboard, and a bassist sporting an eye patch, perhaps in preparation for talk like a pirate day, just two short weeks away. The young drummer took the kit for a 4/4 beat and Bonamassa grabbed his Les Paul and jumped into the expected riff-heavy “Bridge to Better Days.” The tune, one of my favorites by Bonamassa, was rather limp, as his singing was whispy (at best), reverb drenched and the mix wasn’t all that great. They then jumped into the standard sounding, “Walk in My Shadow” and Bonamassa gave some typical Albert King licks with a little spice. The dynamics of the band, however, allowed for some interesting contrast, and Bonamassa stretched out on some of his phrasing.
Without missing a beat, Bonamassa jumped into his searing slow blues cover of Otis Rush’s “So Many Roads,” and ripped into it with little abandon. The venue wasn’t as intimate as where I’d seen him last, but it was pretty evident that Bonamassa was trying to conjure it up for the slow blues wail. Problem was, his solos didn’t have that much melodic continuity. It seemed like he was repeating licks, but it was also obvious he wasn’t trying to phone it in; and for that, credit is deserved. Joe strapped on his psychedelic rose Tele and started to play the slow raga like intro to “Mountain Time.” And then the rain started, but because my friend and I had scoped out a spot under the roofs in the boxes, we didn’t get horribly soaked, but much of the crowd was completely drenched.
After about a half-hour, the tarps were lifted from some of the gear, the stage was dried and Bonamassa jumped back into “Mountain Time.” The quartet finished out the slow brooding piece and hopped into a cover of Mayall and the Bluesbreakers’ “Another Kind of Love.”
“Sloe Gin,” the title track from Bonamassa’s new album was up next. The tune is showcase for all of Bonamassa’s talents: great singing, blues pathos, burning guitar playing and accessible hooks. And going into the show, I hadn’t known Bonamassa had a new album out, but from what I’ve heard, Sloe Gin is among his best, outshining You and Me in terms of singing and songwriting, if not guitar playing.
Unfortunately, no one ever removed the tarps from the monitors as the rain kept on, so the mix was somewhat muffled. The band finished the set off with “Just Got Paid,” which included a jam on the instrumental section of Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused.” The drummer hopped into an uninteresting tom-heavy rock drum solo and the band exited, stage right. After a brief pause, they returned with “High Water Everywhere,” and then into the Bonamassa solo, “Woke Up Dreaming.” OK. If you have to cut your set down, the first thing that should be cut is the drum solo. Secondly, there is no point to leaving the stage. You are wasting your audience’s time. Bonamassa’s version of “Woke up Dreaming” was also taken at a breakneck tempo, and the piece is already blistering.
Sure, Bonamassa did all sorts of acoustic riffing and runs all over the place, but it simply didn’t breathe. He finished, bowed and my friend and I got the hell out of there to beat the rest of the crowd. In all, considering the circumstances, the show was decent. But knowing the blistering heights Bonamassa is capable of in a controlled environment, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed.
Location Info:
Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater
Artist Info: Joe Bonamassa
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