Joe Bonamassa at the Leas Cliff Hall, Black Country Communion

Had the pleasure of bumping into Joe Bonamasa near his hotel in Folkestone last night, before his sell out show at the Leas Cliff Hall. There wasn't time for a chat or photo, but as he walked towards me I said 'Joe - have a great gig man'...to my surprise he stopped, stuck out his hand to shake mine and said 'hey - thanks man' with a smile...a very approachable, friendly and down to earth type of guy...

As for the show, well 2 hours of blues rock that was absolutely immense....he opened with Rory Gallaghers 'Cradle rock' before going into So Many Roads. All the expected tracks were played including Heartaches and Nickels, Sloe Gin etc. He also covered The Who's 'Young Boy Blues', as well as his usual cover of 'Just Got Paid' by ZZ Top, which featured a 'Dazed and Confused' segment. The theremin was used during 'Ballad of John Henry'. I was surprised that not many tracks from Black Rock were played, more from 'Ballad of John Henry' etc.

The Black Country Communion project he is part of with Glenn Hughes and Jason Bonham, is also something well worth a listen to. More hard rock than blues, the influences of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin are easily in evidence - but why not. Stand out track for me is 'Song of Yesterday'. Well worth a listen, it's thought that they are touring next year - on the evidence of the album and last nights performance, I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for tickets.

John Bonham 30 Years Gone

John Bonham died 30 years ago today. Although I wasn't old enough at the time to know who he was, and although I am not a drummer, his epic thunderous drumming in Led Zeppelin has been a major factor in my choice of a 'favourite band', a band of which I have been part of a tribute too for a long time. When I have stood on stage and played those songs, you can only imagine what is was really like to have heard those songs played by the band themselves. So many people have come to our shows who originally saw Led Zep in their prime, and when you talk to them, Bonham's drumming is always at the top of the list of their memories.

His performances have been sampled so many times over, and he is still a massive influence on drummers today. You can read further tributes on the 'Tight But Loose' website here

John Henry Bonham
RIP - from all at Led By Zeppelin

Jimi Hendrix - 40 Years Gone

Sept 18th brings the 40th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was 27 when he died. His legend still lives on to this day, and his influence can still be heard in music everywhere. Anyone learning to play guitar is pointed in the direction of his work as a way to learn. Who knows how he would sound today -would he have progressed even further in his playing and joined in with the 'shredders', the Van Halens' etc?....or would he have gone down the route favoured by the likes of Clapton etc, and produced some 'Unplugged' or 'Blues' albums.

We will never know, but will there ever be the likes of him again?

Here is a clip of Jimi performing Voodoo Child at Berkeley, 1970.

RIP Mike Edwards (ELO)....Clapton back to the Albert Hall in 2011

RIP Mike Edwards...one of the original Cello players in the Electric Light Orchestra during their embryonic days of the early to mid 70's, Mike played on ELOII, On The Third Day and Eldorado....Mike can be viewed on a classic performance of 'Ma Ma Ma Belle' here

Following on from the announcement of his new album simply called 'Clapton' (due out in the UK 27th Sept), Eric Clapton has announced his tour dates for 2011, which include 4 nights at The Royal Albert Hall....which lets face it, are bound to be extended for a longer run (as were the 2009 dates)...more info here

Joe Bonamassa tickets arrive...Jimmy Page book ordered

(Above - Create 2010, Ashford...image, copyright Dave Smith)

So, I've finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog...it's never too late as they say.

A welcome delivery was received this week, when the tickets for Joe Bonamassa at The Leas Cliff Hall on October 9th arrived...not long to go now, I'm very excited about this gig - he is definitely one of the star names in guitar playing these days, and manages to mix Blues and rock in a stunning way....more on this after the show.

Also managed to finally make up my mind and order the soon to be published Jimmy Page book from Genesis publications....it's very expensive, but signed by the man himself and something to treasure....more on this when it's arrived and I've put it down for a while..
Meanwhile, the arthritis in my back is becoming a bit of a 'pain'....it's time for me to get out and play again soon...the cobwebs certainly need blowing off the Les Paul...nothing is happening with Led By Zeppelin at the moment, but Steve Monk is still going with 'Know Your Enemy'...maybe I can find a way to join up with the KYE guys for a rehearsal soon....