Joe Bonamassa
Austin, Texas
Royal flush.
Such is Joe Bonamassa’s frustration at having his touring schedule curtailed that this is his second virtual show, following last year’s Royal Tea Live At The Ryman (to be released on CD/DVD in June). But you’d struggle to find many similarities between that show – essentially an album showcase – and this two-anda-half-hour fan-picked set-list. For a start, tonight a modest socially distanced audience replaces the cardboard cut-outs at the Ryman. Bonamassa has also trimmed his seven-piece band down to a trio, with only backing singer Jade MacRae playing both shows. And the return of his long-time drummer Anton Fig enables him to cut loose effervescently, switching guitars after almost every number.
Oh Beautiful and Love Ain’t A Love Song (the opening salvo from 2014’s Different Shades Of Blue) have a raucous Zeppelin-esque feel, and the Royal Tea pair Lookout Man and Beyond The Silence maintain the swagger, with the latter being stretched every which way. There are also two apiece from The Ballad Of John Henry (including the title track, obviously) and Blues Deluxe (ditto).
Bonamassa also throws in a few hand-picked covers including an exquisite version of Gary Moore’s Midnight Blues, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Scuttle
Buttin’ that he used to play as a precocious young kid. Now he’s a precocious middle-aged kid and he bows out with a Cream-speed version of Crossroads, copping several of Clapton’s licks.