Cheese and Grain, Frome (Page 1 of 2)

Hiya Paul

Guess there is a degree of maturity in JB fans, as I'm 50, although I'm sure a lot of younger folks can appreciate his ability.

Tonight in Frome is my first JB show, and for me, and this is a link with my age, I'm looking forwards to making the link between his references / influences Alvin Lee/Ten Years After, Rory Gallagher & Free, all of which I saw live in the flesh as a wet behind the ears teenager in Bristol where I live.

Whilst having what I regard as fairly eclectic tastes, and still regularly getting out to gigs, my recent discovery of JB has allowed me to believe that I have discovered someone who can recreate that gut churning excitement that I discovered in music growing up.

Anyway, like you, cannot wait, have a great night.

Best wishes

kpr

Yoe ARE as young as the BLUES you Feel...

Better Days ARE coming now...

The ROBIN will rock ... I will nod my head and SAY yes

PLEASE make the most of this tour people you WILL need a telescope to see JB next year

Thanks Mitch..Stay warm and it warms me to hear reviews..The belly thing...oh my....Cathy

Say WHAT???  More info please..........

Encore was a Bluesy Jam " You Upset Me Baby " with Scott Mckeown Guesting

........................ Michael

Sorry folks. I didn't mean to get everyone guessing. I just couldn't remember his name or find anything on the net! Thanks to those who named him.

Paul

ROFLMAO, Absolutely priceless! Cried with laughter at the image.

Glad she liked her present. I shall be taking my wife next time. Trying to get her to agree to see Joe at Cornbury with the bait of a weekend at a hotel in the country.

Phil

Right review time, having to fly back to ireland however has delayed the process a touch. It's also my 100th post so il make it a good one. Well, replace good with long.

The day started at 04:00 when my alarm went off, blaring some crap swing jazz or something.  Normally however, being a teenager it's usually impossible to get me out of bed before lunch time, today however i was out and into the shower before the intro of the first swing jazz song had played.

After a nice 07:00 flight to Siberia, er i mean Bristol (so damn cold) it was time to get the hire car. Had to wait about 10 mins for it to warm up and to scrape the ice off it. I knew i shouldn't have complained about boring UK weather in the other thread....

We arrived in Frome at about 10:30 and after checking into the hotel, we went for a dander around Frome and a check round the venue, Joe and the crew looked like they were still asleep on the bus so we headed back to the hotel, grabbed a bite to eat then my dad and I took a little 45 minute power nap. My uncle and brother decided to stay in bed a touch longer, i was obsessed with missing the start of the queue.

After a couple of pops down to the venue to check the queue status, somewhere between 4 and 5 when i arrived down at the venue again i saw LynB had already arrived. (I'm afraid however i can't place the name of the person that was with Lyn and this is really annoying cause i should know this. I'm very sorry )

This then meant queue time, normally thats not a problem but on this day we were facing temps that must have bene around the 0C mark and im sure dropping into the minus after dark. Again teenage wisdom came to play, i had only my Bonamssa t-shirt and a thin jacket on. None the less this slight "chill" wasn't ging to stop me. This is Joe Bonamassa we're talking about.

After a short while Micahel and his two daughters arrived and as the Forum members at the front continued to talk we watched the queue get longer as the sun went down. The place fits 800 and it was sold out, that sounded good. As the time came closer to door opening time of 8pm i could feel the excitment building...it was probably about all i could feel too due to the cold. I think hypothermia was starting to set in cause i had stopped shivering

Finally the doors were opened and we pilled in towards the heat and stage. I got my place just left of centre, my brother to my left and Michael to my right. We were all set. After a short while, Crosby Loggins came on. He didn't seem too bad although i wouldn't say it would be my cup of tea. After Crosby had finished his set, the excitement grew even further. I caught the odd glimpse of Joe walking about behind the stage and Dave had turned the amps on to get them warmed up. It was near time.

Then it happened , the final wee checks had been made and Dave gave the thumbs up to the sound desk and all systems were go. I'm telling you Joe was smokin', right from the first explosive chord of the new way of starting Bridge to Better Days and after it just got better and better. Joe's standing places for solos were either right in front of me or in the centre of the stage in front of Michael. No matter how many times i see it i don't think i'l ever failed to be impressed. Woke up dreaming, a song i always look forward to was fantastic, it definately hasnt run its course yet. Just got Paid was one of the best I've seen yet, again with some of the soloing done right in front of me.

The rest of the guys were keepin it real at the back and providing a fantastic foundation for Joe to play on. I always enjoy seeing the little jokes that Carmine and Bogie share during the show aswell as the ones were Joe might throw in a new lick or phrase and get them all smiling. The encores were great aswell with Asking around for you now being done on the gold top rather than the 335. Still sounds bloody good though.

The band then took their bows with lots of cheers and dissappeared. Next however Dave then wheeled out a battered Fender amp head with a cabinet that looked like it had fallen off one stage too many. I had seen Scott on the bus earlier and round the back of the stage so i had an idea this was comming. Joe and the band came back on stage and Joe annouced Scott Mckeon as a guest appearance and as you know they had a jam with You upset me baby. This however is where my opinion could start to differ from the rest lol. Joe and the rest of the band were sounding fantastic as usual, Scott on the other hand after several motions from Dave to turn his amp up and several tries to turn his amp up he was still getting a rather weak and weedy sound. Carmine tried to turn his amp up aswell but nothing was happening. Scott also stompped through his 3 old pedals with not much of a difference in tone or sound. What Scott was playing didnt sound too bad though i got the feeling he didnt really know what he was doing. In all this surprised me as i had seen Scott before supporting Joe at Shep Bush last year and he didnt sound too bad at all. Maybe it was just where i was standing although even when Joe played one note it just sounded soo much better lol, I'd like to hear other peoples opinions on that one.

At the end of the show i wasn't able to hang around for too long as the rest of my party were looking to get back to the warm hotel and into bed, i did have enough time however to get a quick chat with Bogie and he was able to sign my Bonamassa tab book which i was also fortunate enough to meet the rest of the band earlier and they all signed it aswell

All in all it was a great experience and another damn good Joe Bonmassa concert, well worth the flight to England for although i can't wait for the day he comes to Ireland

Cheers,
Matt