Photos by Arnie Goodman
New York City’s Beacon Theater was filled to capacity on the opening night of three concert performances by guitar legend Joe Bonamassa. The Bonamassa devotees in the stately venue witnessed Bonamassa’s iconic five piece band, complete with two back-up singers and two bandstands for the horn players, that evoked the “big band” sound, along with a pre-recorded big band intro featuring a musical shoutout to Muddy Waters, with yellow, blue and red lighting cascading from the top of the stage. There were four double speaker columns at the back of the stage, creating a perfect ambience as Joe Bonamassa, guitar in hand, walked out onto the stage to begin a musical guitar-laden salvo that kept audience members eager for a never-ending night of music.
Bonamassa began with his self-penned “Evil Mama” and “Just ‘Cos You Can Don’t Mean You Should” and then put his guitar aside to thank the concert goers for “all the years of support.” He then went back in time to let everyone know that the 30th anniversary of his very first gig was the week before this spectacular opening night, and mentioned that some of those early gigs were at NYC venues such as The Bitter End, The Cat Club, The Lone Star Café and The Bottom Line, and how honored he was to have found a home at The Beacon.
After his look-back stories, Bonamassa introduced his amazing touring band for these performances, a gang which included keyboardist Reese Wynans, bassist Michael Rhodes, drummer Lemar Carter (who was filling in for Anton Fig, who showed up later in the show), trumpeter Lee Thornburg, saxophonist Paulie Cerra and Australian back-up singers Juanita Tippins and Jade MacRae.
Other musical highlights of the evening included powerful renditions of “This Train,” a searing cover of Delaney & Bonnie’s “Well, Well” and “Woke Up Dreaming,” complete with a no-holds-barred story of how he and Will Jennings came to write this soulful Bonamassa show staple. All in all, this was another milestone to remember in the Joe Bonamassa story, one that is still being written.
—Howard B. Leibowitz
Be the first to comment!