Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall playing Sloe Gin
I love the way that music progresses. As each new generation comes along, they take their musical influences, add their own magic, and create something that is rooted with the greats, but adds and augments.
So, it was with great excitement that I went to see Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall last night. Joe is one of the new generation of bluesmen that have taken up the challenge to move one of the most clearly defined musical styles onto the next rung.
He did a great job.
As well as a great practitioner in his own right, he took classic blues numbers and moved them on. For example the Muddy Waters classic, Rollin' and Tumblin', is almost a rite of Blues passage with versions recorded by Clapton, Johnny Winter, Bob, Dylan,Robert Johnson, Jeff Beck and many more. Joe's version is Last Kiss, and a very fine version it is too.
Joe is a fine singer with clear influences from John Mayall(noticeable on "Another kind of love", where he mixes Mayall back of throat singing with Johnny Winter "Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo" style guitar playing.
There were many other influences, but one clear one is Clapton. So it was a real joy when Eric joined him on stage for "Further on up the road", and I reckon that Joe actually blew Eric off the stage - maybe the Padawan is becoming the Master.
One innovation was the use of two drummers. They were very tight, and sometimes played the same, sometimes contrapuntal rhythms, a great idea.
it was a great evening slightly marred by the acoustics (we were in the standing area right at the top - an area which is very echoey), but the combination of great conversation with some buddies that I hadn't seen for some time, beer(Naturally!) and great Blues made for a very fine evening.
Thanks To Darren H for putting it all together.
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