I saw Joe Bonamassa live last night!

[oldguy]

St. Joseph, Mo. trailswest! festival, the outdoor stage a 8:30 p.m.

Joe was awesome, the entire band was. Polished, professional, tight, right on cue the entire night. Kickin' a$$ and cranking out some of the most excellent blues/rock imaginable, with tone to die for. And done at a perfect volume level, it thumped the chest, was in-your-face, and at the same time allowed us to leave afterward w/o ears ringing on the ride home. Kudos to the sound folks on this one.
The band opened with "John Henry", Joe playing a doubleneck Musicman, and making very good use of slide coupled with a theremin to get some fantastic sounds.

Les Pauls, a Firebird, a Flying V, another Musicman (singleneck)........
Marshall Silver Jubilee, Carol Ann, Van Weelden, Bogner......
Dee thoroughly enjoyed it also, waaaayy more than her expectations. She'd said earlier if the night air got too chilly she'd head back to the truck for a jacket.
Once the band started she said no way was she leaving, she wouldn't miss a minute of this show.
I'd also invited my younger sister, who likes different types of music, but mainly country. She was mesmerized........ told me this was the most unbelievable thing she'd seen in years.......maybe ever.
My friend Charlie from my work also made the trip up (from the K.C. area). He was duly impressed as well, never moving from his chair, his hands and fingers moving as Joe played lead on each song. Charlie gave as big a compliment as I've ever heard......(you have to know Charlie, very understated man)......... "He's no slouch, that's for sure!" I had to laugh at that one.

Joe moved from one song to the next, pausing only to change guitars, or to say "Hello, St. Joseph", "Thanks for invititing us", "Great to be here", etc.
He also did a solo acoustic number which progressed from one style to the next, playing blues, rock, classical, country, etc. Very nice.
I hope everyone who attended knows and appreciates what they got last night........... a top notch group of professionals playing great music.
The buttons for a 3 day pass to all shows cost $6.

[Spudman***]

That's great you got to see him. I'd definitely go if he ever comes out here to the nether reaches of gig land.

I think that other Musicman guitar is the 25th Anniversary model. They are a very nice guitar.

[oldguy]

Spud, you would appreciate it more than the average bear. The sound was, IMO, flawless, every nuance came through, great SPL, and no tinnitus afterward.
This was the guit, btw. I got some nice pics. The beautiful building was the backdrop for the stage.

[duhvoodooman***]

Excellent, OG! Glad you were able to see him. He's right at the top of his game, IMO, and the band he currently has is first-class all the way.

Joe has spent a TON of time and effort optimizing his sound/gear setup. He typically places his amps behind a W-shaped plexiglas baffle to keep the volume manageable while still getting the tone & drive he wants, but I don't know if he uses that setup in outdoor venues. I was impressed when I saw him back in late Feb. by that same thing you mention--great sound with plenty of volume, but not overpowering, and you could hear every nuance of his playing. Amazing stuff!

P.S. Nice pics! :

[oldguy]

Vood, yes, that is the setup he used last night. Here's a pic I took, while everyone else was doing other things, the gear geek (me) was taking pics.
(FWIW..... I've already e-mailed pics to Joe's website, and told them none of the shots I took will be used for profit, and Joe's people are welcome to use any and all of them if they want. )

[Blaze]

Joe has spent a TON of time and effort optimizing his sound/gear setup. He typically places his amps behind a W-shaped plexiglas baffle to keep the volume manageable while still getting the tone & drive he wants, but I don't know if he uses that setup in outdoor venues. :

Oldguy pic..

[Kazz]

He was here Tuesday night. Unfortunately we do not have a weeknight babysitter so we did not get to go. Good thing when Tesla comes October 25th we have a sitter for that night. We also have VIP passes :-)

[bigG]

Very cool, OG! Thanks for the review and pics!

(and thanks to Blazes for the blow-up pic!)

[mrmudcat]

Cool!!!

[oldguy]

Cool!!!

Muddy........... the Gibsons........ohhh, the Gibsons.....amazing.
( click the pics to enlarge)
The first Les Paul played was the lemon top w/ the Bigsby. Beautiful grain, no pic could do it justice, but beautiful as can be.

[Spudman***]

Spud, you would appreciate it more than the average bear. The sound was, IMO, flawless, every nuance came through, great SPL, and no tinnitus afterward.
This was the guit, btw. I got some nice pics. The beautiful building was the backdrop for the stage.
[url=http://www.thefret.net/vbimghost.php?]

Thats a Morse model.

[sunvalleylaw]

That looks like such a good show. I am happy for you. The closest I have seen Joe come around here is about 5 hours away from me, and further from Spud, with whom I wanted to road trip. Next time, maybe he will come to the SLC area or the Tietons and I can haul over to watch with Spud. I certainly had fun at the last show we attended together.