“Let the Music Do the Talking”, written by Joe Perry, would have been an appropriate song for the house PA to blast as Joe Bonamassa’s fans strolled out of the bank of Blue Hills Pavilion on August 12th. Why? Because, that’s exactly what Bonamassa and his band did for over two hours straight. Only uttering three, albeit sincere, thank you’s to the audience by the time the middle of the set rolled around, Joe and his band, which featured Double Trouble alumnus and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, keyboardist Reese Wynans and drummer extraordinaire Anton Fig, rocketed through a setlist that was surely impressive to the 5,000 attendees at the sold-out show.
Being punctual must be an understatement for Bonamassa and his crew, as they were billed to start the show at 8:00 PM. The house PA cut out. The lights dimmed and the show’s introduction via the PA began at 7:58. Bonamassa and his guitar stepped into the spotlight at precisely 8:00. His fans rushed to their seats with cold beverages in one hand and their cellphone, recording the show, in the other.
Bonamassa wasted no time by digging right into some nasty riffs with “This Train” and the epic “Mountain Climbing”. “Blues of Desperation” followed. “Desperation”, eased itself into the set with a slower, more relaxed delivery, but there were more fireworks in store as Bonamassa laid into his six string with masterful attention to his fretboard acrobatics. Not only were his left and right hand in synch, but Bonamassa’s voice should not be overlooked. His voice was outstanding too, seemingly not needing much time to warm up during the first few songs.
“Lonely” and “River” were solid, but it was “Breaking Up Someone’s House” with the dynamic trio of backup vocalists, Mahalia Barnes, Jade MacRae, and Juanita Tippins, that shot this one up and through the stratosphere. Their soulful and equate harmonies complimented “House” and brought well-deserved attention their way. “House” also gave a few of the band members a minute or two in the spotlight with respective fills and mini-solos, more or less. Joe stepped to the front of the stage with his Flying V and the band brought the volume down as Bonamassa plucked softly on his axe, bringing the audience’s banter to only a whisper. He appeared to be channeling a little bit of the late B.B. King and the living legend, Buddy Guy with this trick to lull the audience into not just listening in general, but to listen closely to the music. It worked, but before one knew it, Bonamassa was on the attack once again by turning his volume back up to ten and savagely attacking his guitar. The crowd went wild.
“I Get Evil” found the horn section grooving and interacting with the audience a bit. Trumpeter, Lee Thornburg, kept it cool as saxophonist, Paulie Cerra, swayed his hips and pointed to the members in the front row, while Joe and Co. sang, “Don’t you lie to me” during the chorus. Bassist Michael Rhodes was clearly immersed in the music, as he was often spied plugging away on his bass with his eyes closed accompanied by a grin of ecstasy during “Angel of Mercy”. Bonamassa slunk away into the shadows by his backline of amplifiers, removed his sunglasses and wiped away the perspiration on his forehead as critically-acclaimed drummer Anton Fig was given several minutes to display his talents behind the kit.
Mid-set, Bonamassa spoke at length for the first time, referencing his love for the city of Boston. He reminisced about the legendary clubs, including the House of Blues and the amazing city where “lobster and crab seem to flow like wine”. He then shared, that before the show, he was asked to take a picture with some people affiliated with the Pavilion. His response? A sarcastic “Oh, shit!”. However, during the meeting, he was presented with a plaque that proclaimed the night’s performance as the highest grossing event in history at the venue. To which Bonamassa humbly admitted, that he had nothing to do with it. He then specifically thanked the 5,000 members of the audience that have supported him and his music. Bonamassa continued to joke, “Thank you for what you do. I just got up at 2PM and came over here to play.” After the cheers and laughs faded, Bonamassa took a few more minutes to introduce his stellar band.
Bonamassa continued with the night’s set with a couple more bits of humor, explaining that just recently he started the next song off in the wrong key of F# and continued to play until he “got dirty looks” from his band. He swapped out his vintage Flying V for another vintage Telecaster before adding, “I’m going to start this one off in the right key of F.” “Slow Train” again brought more attention to the backup singers and another jaw-dropping, wah wah-laden guitar solo from Joe. “Driving Towards daylight” followed before the band launched into “Last Kiss”, which found Bonamass signaling to the crowd to stand up. “Last Kiss”, a fan-favorite, rocked and rolled with multiple tempo changes and volume swells as the show began to near its end. Fig threw more coal into the steam engine, by cracking out an ear-catching drum fill to introduce “How Many More Times”, the bolero-infused heavy by Led Zeppelin. Bonamassa kept the song true to its original with Jimmy Page’s signature riffs and a psychedelic solo that would have fit right into any Zep show from the 70’s. Anton Fig was smiling ear to ear as he expertly played through this complex number.
Bonamassa humbly took to the mic to speak, apologizing for completely forgetting to play a song earlier in the set. He certainly did not need to apologize, nor play any more songs – as he and his band had already flexed their muscles with an outstanding set. However, Bonamassa must have felt obliged to make up for his mistake as Wynans, Fig and Rhodes helped give another nod to Zeppelin, by kick-starting “Boogie with Stu”. The audience, who were mostly all standing at this point, grooved right along with the band. And, with keeping with the current tour’s tradition, the band belted out one more home run with “Hummingbird”, which brought the set to a close.
Bonamassa’s legend is growing. His technical skills have continued to impress and inspire. His uncanny vocals do the same. It seems that his train will continue to barrel down the tracks, as long as he continues to have the desire to maintain his role as engineer. Joe’s choices of enlisting a master-class of musicians to bolster his performance only proves that he has his mind set on performing at the highest degree. Fig, Wynans, Rhodes and the rest of the ensemble are all amazing in their own rights, but together, they are truly a force to be reckoned with.
