Thank you Natasha!!
The ReadingEagle posted up a nice review ... I tried to link it ... but seems their website makes you log in ... sometimes ... and sometimes not ... to see the article ... so I will take up some Forum Server space and paste the text here (not as nice or easy (font wise) as reading online, I know.) Here is the link to try first: http://www.readingeagle.com/life/articl … ctet-shine
Bonamassa's acoustic show lets talented backing octet shine.
Joe Bonamassa says he enjoys playing in towns like Reading. It reminds him of his blue-collar hometown in New York.
"I grew up in a town like this, just up the street," he told a large Santander Performing Arts Center crowd Tuesday night. "If you take Interstate 81, make a right at Syracuse and drive another hour and a half, that's where I grew up."
The blues guitar master stopped at Reading as part of a brief acoustic tour leading up to two bucket-list shows at New York's Carnegie Hall next week.
The 38-year-old was joined by a backing octet - five instrumentalists and three backing vocalists - that hailed from multiple continents. South African drummer Anton Fig, formerly of David Letterman's house band, just joined the tour yesterday.
Multi-instrumentalist Eric Bazilian - best known for his work with the Hooters and Joan Osborne - was closest to home, having grown up in Philadelphia.
The stage setup resembled an antique store. Two lights on either side of the stage provided most of the illumination; the rest came from lamps and candles sitting atop tables situated throughout the stage.
The music was rooted in soul; Tina Guo's cello and erhu, and Bazilian's banjo and mandolin added a hint of Americana. The sound was light and open due to the absence of a bass player. The lack of low, rumbling frequencies let each musician's contributions shine through clearly.
The acoustic backing was a change. So was the set list.
Bonamassa did break out a few crowd favorites - "Dust Bowl," "Mountain Time" - and well-known covers, including the show-closing take on Bette Midler's "The Rose."
But many of the 15 songs performed during the 100-minute set were culled from an album to be released later this year. The reaction to the new songs was strong, although Bonamassa had some fun with their obscurity.
"I know some of you guys are saying 'What the (heck) is this Mumford and Sons (crap),' " he joked.
Many of the songs were stompers: Bonamassa's wild left leg kept time with Fig's anchoring bass drum. When the spirit moved them, the crowd joined in with handclaps.
Despite the pedigree of all the musicians onstage, the highlight of the show might have been a song performed by only two of them.
Bonamassa on guitar and Guo on cello performed a breakneck rendition of Bonamassa's "Woke Up Dreaming" that appeared to unfold in fast-forward. Guo even incorporated snippets of the frenetic "Flight of the Bumblebee" into her contributions. Their right hands blurs, the musicians stayed locked in until the song suddenly stopped, causing the crowd to erupt into a standing ovation.
Though Bonamassa has performed in Reading multiple times since the turn of the millennium as part of Berks Jazz Fest, he believed it to be his first time playing the theater since 1992, when he opened up for Bob Dylan.
"We had a great time until Bob Dylan's people accused me of stealing a road case for a kick drum," he reminisced.
No Reading dates appear when searching Dylan's early '90s set lists on his website, so Bonamassa must have confused the performing arts center with another theater. It's not surprising considering the number of live dates he's played over his 25-year professional career; shows undoubtedly bleed together.
Contact Jon Fassnacht: 610-371-5017 or jfassnacht@readingeagle.com.
- See more at: http://www.readingeagle.com/life/articl … Yurgq.dpuf
"I was in Space for less than 2 weeks … and suddenly Jeaniene’s back … half the Band is off the gd wagon … we have comedians opening for us … and the nice kid that ran our website is now a kleptof’nmaniac. Boy ... did you guys miss me!!" Phil Valentine - Road Manager - Staton House Band
JBLP#251 (unaged) ... thank you Ron.
