Bonamassa in top form
on his Strat and took his time just tinkering with strings (to total silence in the crowd) as if he was goofing around at home before ambushing us with a scorching return to the riff. His solo on the Texas roadhouse rocker “I Gave Up Everything for You, ’Cept the Blues” ended up somewhere between Dick Dale and Eddie Van Halen.
Behind him was an absolute dream band, with Reese Wynans (of SRV’s Double Trouble) on keys, the legendary Anton Fig (of the Letterman band and much, much more) on drums, veteran bassist Michael Rhodes, trumpeter Lee Thornburg, saxophonist Paulie Cerra and two soulful backup singers from Australia in Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippins.
He joked about a fan saying no one gives a [expletive] if HE sings when those ladies are around — and they could certainly carry their own set somewhere — but Mr. Bonamassa, while not having quite the grit of SRV or some of the Moondog’s guys, is no slouch as a blues/ soul singer.
Along with making up a seamless ensemble, the players got their chances to shine, particularly Mr. Fig doing an intricate-to-thunderous solo coming out of Albert King’s “Angel of Mercy” and Mr. Thornburg muting the horn for a jazzy, noir turn on “Dust Bowl.”
Recent sets have Mr. Bonamassa playing Led Zeppelin’s “Boogie With Stu” early on. He ditched that one, but late in the set, after a pummeling “Going Down,” he got the Led out on the show-stopping “How Many More Times,” turning it into an epic with the quietest little solo building into the most monstrous riff of the night.
At that point, with his mauve shirt drenched a dark purple, he let the ladies soar, gospel-style, on final “Hummingbird,” which served as a tribute to both Leon Russell, who wrote it, and his mentor B.B. King, who made it one of his staples.
He left the stage saying, “Seeing you tomorrow night,” and no doubt some fans were expected to return Friday night for a set that would have some new twists.
The 39-year-old Bonamassa may have been born too late to become a radio superstar, but he was born at the right time to keep this blues-rock tradition going.
Those ads on the back of buses that say “The Guitar Event of the Year,” they aren’t far off.