Joe Bonamassa - Live

[belikerick]

I finally got a chance to see Joe B. in concert tonight and he was amazing! If you get a chance to catch his show, do it.

Also his bass player kicked ass as well, although he looked like a guy auditioning for Spinal Tap II - The 80's.

[MrGuitarguy]

I was just listening to him in the car today. That guy can play!

[MCChris]

"So It's Like That" is a great album. Can't stop listening to it, which is why I haven't gotten around to buying anything else from him yet. The live DVD that came with it is pretty cool too. Yeah, the bass player's kind of a dork (assuming it's the same guy) but aren't they all?

[hardheartedbill]

the bass player is a huge dork, BBD opened for them a few years ago and the guy walked around all night from the time he got there to the minute he played w/ his bass slung over his back like Springsteen or something ( hey, are you in a band? ) he should lose that dude he cheapens the act IMO

[MCChris]

the bass player is a huge dork, BBD opened for them a few years ago and the guy walked around all night from the time he got there to the minute he played w/ his bass slung over his back like Springsteen or something ( hey, are you in a band? ) he should lose that dude he cheapens the act IMO

The mustachioed dude with the do-rag?

[paul144]

I saw him at the Imac theatre in Huntington LI a few months ago...Joe is awesome, but the bass player looked like he wanted to have sex with his bass...he was humping and grinding the shit out of it like a horny lap dog...it was downright creepy at times...I swear if that bass had a hole in the back of it, ok, enough now I guess.

I agree...there must be 100 great bass players that would line up to play in Joe's band, and any one of them would be cooler than this ugly dude!

[hardheartedbill]

and the cowboy hat w/ silver band, and the leather bandana, and the boots w/ jinglers, and the spurs and the sunglasses, and the leather vest in Charleston SC in the summer, a real prick too, JB sat and talked for over an hour, bass guy would'nt even acknowledge "hello" . Blues fans in the crowd were mocking him openly, again, he cheapens JB's act and doesnt help JB in his bid to become a "real bluesman" in the eyes of that market, hell , his wild playing is "bad enough" for that crowd but factor in Simmons on bass ................

edited to add, dudes name is ( get this ) Eric Czar ( if thats on his mailbox then my last name is Lifeson ) I feel kinda bad for trashing him but he should have said hey back to me LOL , ya know, the guy can play, he's just read Creeme one to many times , JB needs the guy who used to play w/ Tinsley Ellis and currently plays w/ Cast Iron Filter

[belikerick]

Yeah, that's definitely the guy. Last night he was wearing a do-rag, black leather Harley vest, sunglasses like the ones Gary Oldman wore in Dracula - you know the whole rock star/pirate look? And yeah, he was grinding and posing ALL night long and overplaying like a mother f***er. If Joe hadn't been so awesome, keeping my attention all night, I would have been REALLY annoyed by that guys antics.

It was a small club (300-350 people) and we were right at the front of the stage. I'll tell you, it's just like the best lesson to watch a guy like that play up close. He's got great everything - tone, phrasing, speed, versatility and a great bluesy voice on top of it all.

Joe mentioned last night that they had $30K of equipment destroyed/lost by the airline. I could see that half his pedal board was empty but you wouldn't have known it by his tone. A friend said that he was supposed to be playing through dual Dumbles, but he had dual Marshalls (JCM 900/2000) and a Budda. If that was the tone he got by scraping together some equipment for the show, then I can only imagine his "real" sound....

[kurtsstuff]

Well...when the guitar player is "Italian" you can expect nothing less than Awesome!!!...hehehe (yes..I'm italian)

[MCChris]

Yeah, that's definitely the guy. Last night he was wearing a do-rag, black leather Harley vest, sunglasses like the ones Gary Oldman wore in Dracula - you know the whole rock star/pirate look? And yeah, he was grinding and posing ALL night long and overplaying like a mother f***er. If Joe hadn't been so awesome, keeping my attention all night, I would have been REALLY annoyed by that guys antics.

A friend said that he was supposed to be playing through dual Dumbles

News to me. I wouldn't think his tone would be in a Dumble.

[guitfiddler]

Re: bass players -

meet A.J. Hager .... the coolest, most proficient, well-adjusted, blues bass player I have ever met. A totally normal person without any "attitude" or "ego issues" what-so-ever.

scroll down this page for a brief bio -

http://www.debbiedavies.com/band.html

[jettster]

I will have to go against the crowd here cause I think his bass player and drummer both kick @ss. I have the live DVD and also saw them live last year. In order for Joe to be taken seriously by the blues crowd, he would probably need to lose about half of his chops. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but true. How many of the well known blues players had great tech? Stevie Ray but, can't think of too many others. I like him and his band just the way they are. Some of the best players out there are unknown.

[belikerick]

I will have to go against the crowd here cause I think his bass player and drummer both kick @ss. I have the live DVD and also saw them live last year. In order for Joe to be taken seriously by the blues crowd, he would probably need to lose about half of his chops.

Yes, his drummer is rock solid - no over the top BS going on there.

I don't think Joe is worried about being "taken seriously by the blues crowd" because he's got too much rocker in him and he totally kick ass as is. And I also don't think that you have to be a "known" player to be good/great but when a guys antics, stage presence detracts from the show then I think it may be time to go in a different dirrection. There are plenty of great bass players out there that could hang with Joe and be a benefit to the band. But that's JMO...

[Guest Buck Dharma]

I have the Had To Cry Today CD and love it. Here is a link to a good interview with him.

Bonamassa Interview

[Moose]

Re: bass players -

meet A.J. Hager .... the coolest, most proficient, well-adjusted, blues bass player I have ever met

I'm guessing his bandmates bend over backwards to keep him happy and make him feel appreciated. If not, they're insane because ANY musician or drummer who is cool well adjusted, and proficient is worth their weight in gold.

Bass players, being rare compared to guitarists, are worth that much more. It's the lucky folks who get to play with them.

Oh -- For the record, if anyone local finds out I said something nice about bassists, I'll deny every word.

[Guest Buck Dharma]

This is from an interview:

Bonamassa—who owns 78 guitars—gets his distinctive tones with multiple-amp setups. “I use a Line 6 Flextone, like a good EQ to add top or bottom to my tube amps as needed,” he explains. “And because Fenders and Marshalls break up at different points, it sometimes sounds as if two different guitars are playing a part. I use four amps onstage— two Marshall Jubilees, a ’65 Fender Dual Showman, and a ’68 Marshall plexi, all plugged into a pair of 4x12 cabinets with one side dry and the other running the effects. One head is always on, and I switch between the other three to get different sounds.”