Bournemouth International Centre 30 March 2012

This was originally written for the Planet Rock fan forum. It includes a rude word (which I have censored) but in my defence, I'm only quoting Joe

Joe Bonamassa - guitar and vocals
Carmine Rojas - bass
Rick Melick - keyboards
Tal Bergman - drums

Another tour by Joe Bonamassa (does he ever stop) and his second visit to the "Malibou of the South" as he put it. Well, it had been a warm and sunny day and Joe had been on the beach chatting to the pretty girls, and asking if they were going to the gig that night, to be met with the response "Who the hell are you"

I settled into my seat in row B, in the centre, with much anticipation, and I was not disappointed. After 2 Minutes to Midnight had blasted out, the volume was turned up and the lights came on with Joe and band in their places ready to go with Slow Train.

What followed was a guitar masterclass, and with Joe just a few feet away from me, I spent my time watching his fingers flying up and down the fretboard, with my mouth open and thinking how does he do that? I know - lots and lots of practice.

We got a stunning version of Gary Moore's Midnight Blues, Sloe Gin coming early in the set, but still as fresh as ever, a thumping John Henry with amazing theramin work, and a guitar and drum "battle" between Joe (on a white double neck) and Tal at the start of Young Man's Blues. I think Joe won, when he played the first few bars of Stairway To Heaven Tal is a great drummer, he looks like Bill Bailey, plays like Animal from the Muppets, and comes across as Keith Moon re-incarnated. He threw his sticks out into the audience twice and each time they flew over my head at a fair old speed.

We also had some special guests for the night. First up he introduced an old friend (who had lent him many of the guitars he was playing that night) Bernie Marsden and together they ripped through Further On Up The Road. I've never seen Bernie Marsden before, but he's a great guitar player, with a wonderful bluesy feel. The second guest was someone Joe came across on the Blues in the Schools program. He said "I met him 3 years ago when he was 15, and he took my guitar off me and showed me up in front of everyone. Tonight I have my revenge." On stage came this long haired teenager by the name of Rus Scagell, and all three (Bernie was still there) provided a brilliant Blues Deluxe. Check out the video, I think we may be seeing more of this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18zqg3brNH8
I liked Bernie's "Hah" just before he took his solo, but he showed it's not necessarily how fast you can play, it's also the spaces you leave. They both left to rousing cheers.

Straight after that, out came the acoustic for Woke Up Dreaming. I read a review from someone who writes for a guitar magazine saying he thought 8 minutes of acoustic guitar work was too long. He knows nothing. Sheer brilliance.

On to the end, and Joe finished up with India/Mountain Time. Starting with some beautiful solo guitar using the volume control to great effect, and working through the next 11 minutes of powerhouse blues rock, they left the stage to huge cheers and a standing ovation.

There followed the usual Bournemouth version of the stage rush, i.e. a rather genteel stroll with lots of "excuse me, no you first". I've never known anything like it in all the other venues I've been to. Right at the front, I noticed someone had brought his two young daughters (maybe 9 and 10 years old) to the show, and they were right up against the stage, which was so high the youngest could barely see over. This is important for what came at the end of the show.

So back came Joe to make his little speech about how he's done 13 albums, 140 songs and had "zero hits", and to guarantee there will be no hits on his new record. He added a little extra comment this night about how the music stations would play his music, but don't because "it's 18 ******* minutes long". This was followed by the title track of the new album Driving Towards the Daylight, and it's the only song of the night without a guitar solo. Maybe Joe is secretly trying to get a hit? Or maybe it's so new, he hasn't got round to working out a solo?

Then out comes the Flying V and we're off into Just Got Paid, with the audience participation bit (shout "Yeah" at the appropriate moment), Joe standing on the monitor, some furious Zeppelin riffs thrown in, a drum solo from Tal, Joe and Carmine trading licks right in front of me, and even a bit more theramin work. Absolutely ruddy amazing.

It all comes to an end and Joe gives his guitar to the tech, and then comes the most incredible part of the gig. Remember I mentioned the two youngsters earlier? Joe goes over to the theramin, unscrews it and hands it to one of the girls (slapping away the hand of someone else who tried for it). I don't know why he did this, but it may have been because he saw them after dropping the F bomb and felt guilty? Whatever the reason, the memory will remain with me for a very long time.

You may or may not like Joe as a performer, but you have to admit he is not only the hardest working man in rock music today, but also one of the nicest.

The band were spot on all night. Carmine seemed very happy, grinning through every song, and Joe and Tal have a great rapport on stage. There's a lot of fun being had up there, and it shows.

I would also mention that the merchandise is reasonably priced as well. All CDs were £10, all DVDs were £15, T-Shirts were £15 ( I think) and Hoodies were £30. I tried to get a hoodie but they were sold out of my size, so I settled for a couple of DVDs (his new one Live at Beacon Theatre and the BCC Live Over Europe).