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.
