By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa
Review: Joe Bonamassa at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, Florida-February 18, 2022
The Busiest Man in Blues Rock
In February 2020, Rock At Night reviewed one of Joe Bonamassa’s two-night, sold-out blues extravaganzas which would turn out to be one of the last concerts of the year. By mid March, the entire concert scene in America—including the Joe Bonamassa US Tour—was put on hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. During 2020, as live shows became livestream shows, the “busiest man in the blues business” was not idle at all. No no. Lucky for us, he recorded the rock-laden album Royal Tea prior to the pandemic, and released it in October 2020.
As a true musician’s friend, he has been busy collaborating and mentoring other musicians, like Rock At Night favs’ Joanna Connor, Joanne Shaw Taylor, and recently Eric Gales. With his non-profit organization Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, he has raised thousands of dollars to benefit relief funding for musicians around the world. Musicians are essentially self-employed and not touring, selling merchandise, or performing live gigs have devastated the industry.
Fast-forward to March 2021, Bonamassa was busy on the road, touring with socially distanced gigs. In the Fall 2021, he returned to his more bluesy roots and released his album Time Clocks.
Live Review
Rock At Night was fortunate to catch the mighty bluesman on his North American tour prior to heading to Miami on his Keeping the Blues Alive At Sea VII cruise to Jamaica. Bonamassa is performing both Friday and Saturday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida.
Before the band emerged on stage, the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter roared over the P.A., bringing back memories of junior high school. The band then entered the stage, including Bonamassa, who was wearing a dark grey suit embellished with rhinestones, a white and black polka dot shirt, his trademark dark shades, and slicked back hair.
Performing “Evil Mama” from his Redemption set the tone for what would be an evening rich in blues. Other familiar hits followed like “Love Ain’t a Love Song” and “Midnight Blues”. There was a lot of hand on leg and toe tapping in the audience as Bonamassa winced, grimaced , and poured his soul into “The Heart That Never Waits, a song from his recent album Time Clocks. During part of the song the band held back as Bonamassa plucked the guitar strings softly and quietly. As all eyes gazed upon his agility, an audience member yelled, “Yeah! Work it Joe!”
The show became rocking as he performed one of the harder blues-rock songs from Royal Tea, “I Didn’t Think She Would Do It”. With the wah-wah pedal pumping, this may have been my favorite song of the evening as well as the 70’s flavored “Conversation With Alice”.
By this time, each song segued to the next with no audience banter between songs. “Pain and Sorry” took the audience from a stirring, emotional melancholy tune into an epic full-blown blues song, which garnered a standing ovation.
He paused and conversed with the audience asking, “How are you feeling in this fine evening? It’s nice to be back.” He recalled the last time he played in Clearwater, it was a socially distanced show with “four people in 16 chairs separated by four people and 16 chairs.” He noted it was difficult back then to “sip your beer through a mask.”
Bonamassa introduced his esteemed band members: Australian singers Jade MacRae and Juanita Tippens; Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and “Mr B-3” Reese Wynans; bassist Steve Mackey; drummer Lemar Carter; and guitarist Josh Smith.
He noted that Royal Tea has been nominated this year for a Grammy Award as “Best Contemporary Blues” album. Additionally, its live DVD has been nominated for a regional Emmy Award. He explained that he would not clear a space on the shelf because it would replace his “framed copy of TV Guide signed by Willard Scott.” He berated himself for the joke saying, “Shut up and play the fucking guitar.”
Joe Bonamassa never disappoints and proves time and again why he is the master of contemporary blues—and one of the top five guitarists alive today. This is a must-see show for all blues-rock fanatics.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
I grew up in a household full of rock music, studied journalism in college, and then became a scientist.Although my science career has served me well, music has always played a major role in my life. I grew up reading "Creem" magazine; I play several musical instruments as a "hobby";and it seems a camera has always been in my hand. Now, I am combining what I love the most--music and photography--serving as editor of Rock At Night. I travel between the US and UK seeking my dream! My motto: life is short...no regrets. Chyrisse
