{"id":897,"date":"2011-12-01T20:00:58","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=897"},"modified":"2015-10-13T18:57:46","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T18:57:46","slug":"joe-bonamassa-verizon-theater-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2011\/12\/01\/joe-bonamassa-verizon-theater-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Bonamassa – Verizon Theater – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Michael Pittman <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dec 01, 2011 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"When I walked into the Verizon Theatre for the Joe Bonamassa show I really wasn\u2019t sure what to expect. Not being a close fan I wasn\u2019t as familiar with his material as the rest of the sold out (2700 strong) house was. I had given up on the long guitar solos a long time ago because.. I dunno, maybe it\u2019s that I grew up listening to Hendrix, Page, Winter, Beck, Clapton and all those guys and there just wasn\u2019t anything to add.<\/p>\n

As if to punctuate that feeling a friend of mine from long ago and far away sent a photograph of yours truly he found laying around. It threw me back to the days when the guitar gods reigned and every record dripped of impossible licks and left us breathlessly practicing, trying to catch up, til our fingers bled.<\/p>\n

Then comes Joe. I was able to photograph from the edge of the stage and while I was waiting for the concert to begin I found out there was no opening act and that Bonamassa was going to play for an astonishing 2 \u00bd hours without an intermission. I\u2019m thinking..\u201dOh no\u2026THAT long??\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grew up on strings..literally. His father owned a guitar store in Utica, NY and Joe started playing at age 4. Ever since opening for B.B. King at age 12 he\u2019s gone on to work with people like Buddy Guy, Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephan Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman. In the early 90\u2019s his first band was called (appropriately) Bloodline and consisted of himself, Doors keyboardist Robby Krieger\u2019s son Waylon and Mile Davis\u2019 son Erin.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"That Joe loves to play live was obvious this evening. He was a man of few words and let his guitar do all the talking. It spoke as smooth as silk and delivered each syllable with an honest emotion for what turned out to be a very short 2 \u00bd hours. His mostly British blues influenced playing cast a spell over the audience and kept all eyes on him as he soared out of Rory Gallagher\u2019s Cradle Rock from 2000s\u2019 A New Day Yesterday, into the solid When the Fire Hits the Sea from the just released Black Rock CD, then down to Midnight Blues, a song by the late Gary Moore he masterfully soaked in everything the blues are.<\/p>\n

The next 3 songs were Slow Train, Dust Bowl and You Better Watch Yourself which came from this years\u2019 Dust Bowl. Dust Bowl is just one of two CDs released this year, the other one is titled Black Rock. This evening we heard Steal Your Heart Away, Bird on a Wire, and the already mentioned Cradle Rock from that Black Rock CD. We laughed with Joe as he described the song John Henry as the closest song to a hit he\u2019s had before he played it with everything he had\u2026phenomenally.<\/p>\n

Touring with Joe was a world-class rhythm section comprised of Carmine Rojas on bass, Rick Melick on keys and Tal Bergman on drums. The people each one of these guys has worked with reads like a who\u2019s who of touring stars.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Joe has another band called Black Country Communion which features Jason Bonham (Zeppelin\u2019s John Bonham\u2019s son), Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple), and Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Kiss, Alice Cooper). It was the latter lineup that recorded the Black Rock project.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"The final song of the evening was Just Got Paid Today which is of course a song that will endear you to the hearts of nearly any Texas audience. Joe took this opportunity to create a medly of the hooks from a variety of guitarists. The venerable Billy Gibbons was of course represented, as was Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton to name a couple. It was a real crowd pleaser and topped off an evening of some of the finest guitar playing I\u2019ve heard in many years and in my opinion ranks Bonamassa with the league of all time greats.<\/p>\n

The entire show from start to finish was produced with class and a fanatical respect for the audience. The sound couldn\u2019t have been better, the lighting was extraordinary and of course Joe\u2019s performance was second to none.
\nSo guess who\u2019s a certified Joe Bonamassa fan now? Yea, ok\u2026I\u2019m looking forward to his return and it can\u2019t be soon enough! Another great LiveNation production.
\nSetlist<\/p>\n

Cradle Rock
\nWhen the Fire Hits the Sea
\nMidnight Blues
\nSlow Train
\nDust Bowl
\nYou Better Watch Yourself
\nSloe Gin
\nJohn Henry
\nLonesome Road Blues
\nHappier Times
\nSteal Your Heart Away
\nBlues Deluxe
\nYoung Man\u2019s Blues
\nWoke Up Dreaming
\nMountain Time<\/p>\n

Bird on a Wire
\nJust Got Paid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Michael Pittman Dec 01, 2011 at 08:00 PM When I walked into the Verizon Theatre for the Joe Bonamassa show I really wasn\u2019t sure what to expect. Not being a close fan I wasn\u2019t as familiar with his material as the rest of the sold out (2700 strong) house was. I had given… <\/p>\n

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