A lot has changed since I last saw Joe in Tulsa in 2002. I had first seen him at the Oklahoma Blues Fest early in May. I had become a regular here after that bonabaptism. Signed up for the Street Team e-mail alerts and was one of the people wondering why has this guy been a kept a secret. Later that year in July he was booked at a small theatre on a Wednesday night back in Tulsa. I piled the Suburban with as many people as I could drag along telling them man just wait till you see this.
Well a generous estimate would have been 35 in attendance out of which 20 were there to see the local kid opening.. A few of them left before Joe took the stage. Well Joe proceeded to blow the roof off the place he didn’t care if there was 15 or 1,500 he played like there was no tomorrow making me realize even more that I was witnessing a special moment, that he truly was the real deal.
I’m not going to go into detail what transpired in the last four years but I will tell you this
last night also a Wednesday if those same 35 showed up late that came to the 2002 show I don’t think they would of fit in the place. The Joe Bonamassa I first saw was a monster on guitar with a big Strat sound that I had never heard anything like before. Oh yes you could hear some influences from guitar legends but played like only Joe can. Precise emotional playing from an intense performer.
Last night you got that same player with a more Gibson flavor with the stage presence to captivate and draw a crowd even deeper in to the show. He had them in his hands from the first rift to the last. Last night I saw why this elevator he is riding isn’t going to stop till the top. The guy can sing like nobody else. He will be who all others are compared to someday. I am just glad to be along for the ride.
I would also like to thank the Blues Society of Tulsa, KMOD and John Wooley at the Tulsa world that helped this show such a succes.