Joe Bonamassa @ Perth ConcertHall (23/05/11)

Fri 27th May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

An enthusiastic crowd, made up of the who’s who of the local Perth rock scene, with guitarists from many local bands in attendance, was the first signal that this was not going to be the usual type of show at the Perth Concert Hall.

With little-to-no fanfare Joe Bonamassa appeared, dressed simply in a white shirt, blue jeans, a pair of sunglasses and a vintage Gibson Les Paul. The stage setup was simple, two Marshall amplifiers centre stage. Keyboardist Rick Melick on a platform to the left, drummer Tal Bergman on a platform to the right, with bassist Carmine Rojas on the right in front of the drums. An odd looking device stood at the front of the keyboardist, which left many in the audience wondering what exactly it was.

Bonamassa immediately set the tone for the evening opening his set with the aptly named Cradle Rock, unashamedly heavy on lead guitar work, this was a cover of a blues infused rock classic from one of Bonamassa’s influences Rory Gallagher.

As has become a signature of Bonamassa’s performances, he didn’t stop for a break and moved straight into the next song of the set, the slower So Many Roads. Bonamassa’s voice was soulful, breathy and wouldn’t be out of place on 1960s Motown album. Making full use of the stage he ensured that every seat in the audience was able to witness his incredible displays of fretboard dexterity. It was showmanship at its finest.

Bonamassa’s brand of blues seemingly covered everything from ‘British’ to ‘Texas’ to ‘Chicago’ whilst still retaining his own distinct feel. When The Fire Hits the Sea, So, It’s Like That and If Heartaches Were Nickels illustrated this perfectly.

As a guitar player Bonamassa was simply incredible, he displayed an absolute mastery of his guitar that was awe inspiring.

A player as accomplished as Bonamassa requires a band that can perform to his level, and here is where Bergman, Rojas and came into their own. The level of musicianship shown was of a quality rarely seen and a pleasure to see. The entire production was very good, simple and effective. The sound was top notch.

After Bergman played up to the crowd, the band built with a train-like rythm into Slow Train which they followed up with the title track of his latest album Dust Bowl. Bonamassa and Melic started the intro to Sloe Gin, and it was at the end of this song that Bonamassa greeted the audience for the first time.

Bonamassa thanked the crowd of 1500 for coming out, and after a light hearted jibe at both the price of coffee in Perth and the state of US dollar. He told of how a journalist called him to let him know that the riff for the next song was in the top ten guitar riffs of the decade, when he enquired what number exactly, the journalist told him. He then announced the 10th best riff of the last decade and the band started into The Ballad Of John Henry. It is during this song that the mystery device was revealed as a Theremin, a hand motion controlled device that was used as a guitar effect. Bonamassa used this to make his guitar create some otherworldly sounds.

With what seemed to be a neverending stream of vintage Gibson Les Pauls appearing from side of stage, Bonamassa continued the set as he started it one guitar driven blues rock song after the next.

The introduction of an acoustic guitar had the band leave the stage, while Bonamassa departed from the bluesy rock theme and put on what could only be described as a spanish influenced classical master class, which left the even the most seasoned guitarists in the crowd with their jaws on the floor.

The band joined back in for the final two songs Django and Mountain Time, which brought the crowd to a standing ovation. After calling for an encore, anyone who wasn’t already on their feet, was brought to them as Bonamassa and co. performed a mainstay of his shows, in a powerhouse cover of ZZ Top’s Just Got Paid, with an interlude into Led Zepplin’s Dazed and Confused, before they took their final bows.

The band appearing to meet and greet the fans after the show capped off what was a fantastic night. Perth was certainly treated to a very special night with Joe Bonamassa.