Joe Bonamassa in Canada--FINALLY!

My 16 year old son, Steve, and I caught Joe's show on 3 consecutive nights here in Ontario this past October, and were stunned by the man's power and expertise in a live setting. Steve is a gifted player himself, and because Joe makes himself so accessible to his fans, Steve got to shake hands with his hero; he got his Chandler guitar signed, put 2 personalized Dunlop picks in his pocket (he now plays his own Les Paul with one of them almost exclusively), and even managed to score a signed set list from the 3rd night. I can't thank Joe enough for the huge thrill all of that gave my son. And me.

As for the show...well, words will just never cut it. We were already huge fans of the music, proud owners of all of Joe's CDs, and Steve's band had long since incorporated a few of Joe's songs into their set list.

But to see him live...

He wore a snazzy blue suit on that first night, and opened the show with a song that was new to us, "The Ballad of John Henry". Within seconds Joe and his band owned the crowd of over 800 people, and a times it was almost as if he knew the intent young face front and center (my son) was having the time of his life, because for some of his most powerful leads he walked right up to the edge of the stage, stood three feet from us and ripped the lid off the art of blues/rock guitar mastery. Combined with that big, soaring voice of his, the performance stood as the most amazing I had ever witnessed in a long life and enduring love of the art form. And he pulled it off with apparent ease for 3 nights running.

Thanks, Joe, and we hope you come back to Canada real soon. We love you up here and Steve and I are busy spreading the word.

Sean