Phoenix Show

Sorry for the double Phoenix post, for whatever reason it wouldn't let me respond to the existing one, so here we go.

Well, last night it's safe to say that I was shocked to see that Joe has gotten even BETTER since the last time (and first time) I saw him at the Tempe Center for the Arts two years ago. His singing was spot on and strong, and his playing clearer and more articulate. Couldn't imagine that you could improve on what I saw in Tempe, but I was pleasantly surprised.

As the last poster said, the set list remained mostly the same from the last few gigs. If Heartaches Were Nickels was amazing to hear live, as was Sloe Gin (intro...wow), Blue and Evil, Young Man Blues, and Bird on a Wire. The Cherry Es-355 was the guitar highlight of the night for me, it was a nice change up to Joe's sound. While others may complain about the older songs in the set list, it's been two years since Joe has been to our neck of the woods and I for one am not complaining. Though I would have liked some more Black Rock stuff (got the album two weeks ago), I had never heard any Ballad of John Henry stuff live yet so it was definitely a win-win.

On the subject of sound, at the Tempe gig a few years ago I was wishing for just a TAD more volume, but just enough. This gig seemed spot on sound wise. The vocals and guitar were loud enough for me (as a working guitarist it's hardly ever loud enough for me)    The only concern was Rick's parts were sometimes buried. Not all the time, but some of the time. I brought two first time Bonamassa show goers with me who were blown away from the first note of the Ballad of John Henry. Though I brought a pen and paper to write a setlist, that action as well as trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera were aborted when I realized I was missing part of a once every two years show to mess with it.

At my youthful 20 years I've already seen many of the greats: B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, and the list keeps going on; and with these shows and the release of Black Rock Joe has made himself just as valid as the hero's of yesteryear, at least in my book. Tone, voice, chops, amazing band, songs, and now even great showmanship, he's a great influence and hero for anyone into real music. Bands like his restore my faith in music and keep me hoping that someday it will return to it's old brilliance. I read that he's soon going to be working on his next album. All I can say is that I hope he keeps this up for many years to come! This show and the new album have satisfied my thirst for great music, but just for the moment. Now to wait in great anticipation for Black Country (or whatever it ends up being called). Thanks to everyone who makes these shows happen, I'm sure it's a great crew!

Seth Gibson