My first Bonamassa concert in Hannover

Hi there

I would just like to share my impressions of Joe’s concert in Hannover yesterday – my very first Bonamassa concert.

To put it short: an amazing breath-taking guitar experience and a complete show of instrumental excellence through different music genres. That would be the short version…

The long version starts before the actual show when I heard two concert guests discussing Bonamassa’s guitar playing as being too technical with almost surgical precision – the guitar world’s answer to a highly skilled brain surgeon so to say. The discussion about Joe’s playing has been ongoing for years but having experienced the show in Hannover I just cannot agree in anyway: What I heard Joe playing yesterday had heart and soul. Compared to other guitar concerts I’ve attended (Clapton, Gary Moore and various jazz guitarists) Joe’s playing was at least as virtuous and vivid – if not even a class better... Of course Bonamassa’s playing has an extremely high technical level but that does not exclude an artistic touch in his playing – his brilliant technique in my opinion adds to a more soulful expression.

His virtuosity really shone through in the more jazzy and funky songs, where Joe and the band managed to draw a musical timeline from traditional blues-rock to the more experimenting jazz funk – of course with a Rock Candy Funk Party signature. One of the guys sitting next to me almost shouted: “This isn’t blues…”. Now, he would probably have been right if blues were only for guys with a broken heart and a beer in the hand, but Bonamassa’s blues goes further than that – and that is what makes him and his playing interesting. By combining the different genres and throwing in elements from various styles you end up with sophisticated blues-rock for the wine drinkers as well. Having a classical musical education (soprano, Russian conservatory) my wife correctly noticed, that Joe did not only make his guitar scream – he made it sing. In this context I also have to draw the attention to the sublime playing by Tal Bergmann and Carmine Rojas that creates the perfect frame for Joe’s subtle playing. So Joe is still playing the blues even when experimenting – in the words of the famous conductor Carlos Kleiber explaining a specific phrasing to his orchestra: “it’s the same woman, just a different position” – a remark that did not help him increase his popularity among his female music colleagues…

Of course we also got the hits like Sloe Gin, The Ballad of John Henry and Love Ain't a Love Song, which were all played almost with a certain delicate aggression. That was probably what most of the audience were waiting for – and Bonamassa did not let them down. He worked his fingers to the bone on the guitar and gave all he had: Joe gave us guitar highlights for two hours – what more can you ask for? I don’t know why, but I was expecting an acoustic opening a la Vienna, that did not happen. Did I miss it? Not really. Maybe perhaps an acoustic song as an interlude halfway through the set could have worked fine as a “breather”.

Also, Joe does not talk much – except from “thank yous” and introducing the band. That’s actual a shame because he is quite a good storyteller – judging from the Youtube material, where he talks about his guitars, guitar teachers and mentors, on-the-road experiences etc. Of course he would have to feel comfortable about “talking on stage” - otherwise it would seem awkward - but for example a few comments about his guitars, experiences with other guitarists etc. would really feed the hungry hearts in the chest of us guitar nerds. (What guitar was he playing on the last song? It looked like a Gibson Midtown Custom sunburst but that’s highly unlikely…).

Another idea for a bit more “talking” could be to surprise the audience introducing the members of the band by playing one of the songs, that either Carmine, Tal or Reese Wynans have recorded with other artists – and give it a certain Bonamassa touch (for example Bowie’s Let’s Dance – I believe Carmine played bass on that one. Just a thought…). Anyway, Bonamassa’s music and playing actually speaks for itself.

To be honest, everything really fitted yesterday, except for one thing: Joe’s blue (suede?) shoes and his grey suit. I was waiting for a version of this Elvis classic as the only obvious and logical explanation for that mismatch… :-)

What remains to be said? My first concert with Bonamassa was a fantastic music experience that stands out from all other concerts I’ve ever been to. Moreover, I’m very grateful for the fact that Joe’s playing finally opened my wife’s eyes for the beauty of guitar blues-rock – that is something neither Clapton, Hendrix, Moore nor Jimmy Page managed…

So thank you very much, Joe! Hope to see you around again soon.

Kind regards,
:-jesper