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Concert Review
JOE BONAMASSA
at Henry's Blues Garage Hannover,
Germany Friday April 21, 2006
The ride to Hannover is easy
enough, even for a Friday evening, as we've learned to leave
later in order to avoid the traffic. It seems that ninety
percent of the traffic are polish people heading back to
Poland for the weekend, as the Autobahn A2 is the fastest way
to get back home.
But this review isn't about
the state of the "European Union", it's about Joe
Bonamassa. I was late to jump on the Joe Bonamassa "Band
Wagon", living here in Germany for the last four and a
half years, I missed what's hot and what's not from back home,
and back home Joe Bonamassa is hot news. Home in my case is
Latham, New York, just ten miles outside of Albany, the states
capital, and just an hours drive from Albany heading west
towards Syracuse / Buffalo is Utica, New York, and that's
Joe's hometown. To us locals, the only memorable thing that
ever came out of Utica, N.Y. was UTICA CLUB BEER, Shultz and
Dooley, that's until Joe came rolling along.
We arrive at the Blues Garage
as usual around 8:10, but what's unusual is the crowd of
people lined up outside the venue and waiting as patiently as
humanly possible to get inside and start the Friday night
party activities. So we talk to each other in line, compare
notes and cd covers and discuss Joe like music pro's. There's a
food vender and many of us take advantage of this convenience
just to kill some time, and grab a quick bite on the way in.
Five hundred people waited in line and ultimately pasted
through the doors on their way to one hell of a memorable
evening.
Inside, finally and we catch
up with our friends Wallbreaker and Florian. Henry the owner
is running all over the place at full speed and his wife
Ramona and his daughters who also work there, are in top gear
providing Grade-A service as always. Grab a beer and a coke
and find a place to get out of the way and relax for a half
hour, it's 9:30 and Henry makes damn sure that the bands kick
off exactly at 10:00 - sharp! But not on this night, 10:00
comes and goes, 10:15 - 10:25 - 10:30 still no band, no Joe
Bonamassa no nothinŽ. People are getting restless, checking
their watches every two minutes, wandering all over the venue,
trying to get any vantage point possible, but there's none to
be had. Even the staircase to the upstairs area is packed,
with only one thin space open to ascend and descend the loft.
10:45 and this pressure cooker is more than ready to rock and
roll - and so it does. Right out of the gate Joe and his new
band are on fire, they're up to speed in a heartbeat and they
never let up. Rock / Blues and Jazzy Acoustic Numbers keep the
audience enthralled and entertained for the entire ninety
minute performance. My personal favourite was "Woke Up
Dreaming" which left everyone speechless and emotionally
drained. Joe did some excellent slide guitar work on a few
numbers, let his guitars wail on the rock and blues tunes, but
most of all Joe Bonamassa became one with the audience. This
is the magic of his performance, he relates perfectly to his
audience, he's not only performing but so involved with trying
to make himself and everyone there happy that everything in
the room just seems to fuse happily together into a beautiful,
warm glowing, happy experience. Some artists are good
performers, some are very proficient on their instruments of
choice, and some create magic within the given moment, Joe is
all of these things and then some. It's not an act, it's real
- one hundred percent passion, energy and unbounded
unsurpassed talent. Joe is rare, unique, special and a thrill
and joy to watch on stage. His movements are effortless, his
playing the same and his guitars are a fascinating collection
of best friends that when called upon, never let him down. In
my reviews I usually give a run down of the set list, this
time it's different. Here are just a few performed on this
evening: Woke Up Dreaming - Love You / Hate You - Burning Hell
- If Heartaches Were Nickels, Walk In My Shadow, you fans know
the rest, the set list isn't important - what I came here to
talk about, is the new band line up!
The old band consisted of Joe
Bonamassa (Guitar / Vocals), Eric Czar (Bass Guitar) and Kenny
Kramme (Drums). The new band is Joe Bonamassa (Guitar / Vocals)
Mark Epstein (Bass Guitar) Bogie Bowles (Drums). Bogie is from
Kenny Wayne Shepherd's band, and Mark is from Johnny Winter's
band. Mark got this gig playing with Joe through his friend
Eric Czar, so let there be no talk of hard feeling or someone
being slighted in any way, there were no "Mumbling
Words". It was all above board and a mutual decision was
made by everyone involved. In conclusion, Eric Czar and Kenny
Kramme will land on their feet and produce more great and
inventive music in their careers, we've been told.
With that being said, what is
the new band like on stage now? Tight, tight as ever before.
The drumming is precise and a driving powerhouse, non-stop
rolling thunder - supportive rhythm section of excitement and
energy. The bass lines are even reminiscent of Mel Schacher
from Grand Funk Railroad fame, that thundering authoritative
rumble of power, class and passion all rolled into one driving
force. It's directly because of this fantastic rhythm section
that Joe is able to come across so effectively with everything
that he's doing up front. Lay a good foundation and anything
is possible and permissible under these fertile conditions.
Lay a great foundation and magic and miracles can / do happen
right before your eyes, and that's the essence of this review
- you ain't seen nothinŽ like it. If you go expecting to see
Mr. Bonamassa walk on the water, he will not disappoint, but
you're missing the whole point. He knows he can walk on the
water, and he just does it, no big deal to him - but he wants
you to feel the excitement / experience of being transported
from one emotional / physical adventure onto another
.and
that's his gift to you. He'll lift you up, carry you along and
leave you feeling that you've been someplace you've never
travelled before. Then he and the band drop you off further on
up the road, and you'll never look back!
The audience was tightly
packed into this venue, more people then I'm used to, and
while not at all uncomfortable it was still an overwhelming
situation. Henry's Blues Garage, is like the old Fillmore East
in New York City, it has the same feel and atmosphere of say
1967-1972. Just as a quick example why we love this venue and
it's owner and his family. There was a man by the name of Holger who is in a wheelchair, and he found himself stuck in
the back of the audience, needless to say all he was gonna see
was everybody's ass and none of the concert. Henry took hold
of his wheelchair and escorted the man right to the front of
the stage, right in front where Joe was standing. Upon talking
with this gentleman after the show, I came to learn that he
owns his own independent blues record label, and that he was
also at Joe's concert the night before. We bought the man a
beer and as the stage hands were passing out Joe's guitar
picks, Brigitte and I both got one - whereby Brigitte says to
me, give the man in the wheelchair one, we don't need two, and
he'll enjoy it. He did, and this is how we make friends
wherever we go.
Meeting Joe Bonamassa: Well,
first we hung around the backstage area, waiting and talking
with other fans. Then I walked over to Florian for a chat, and
he says Joe is right around the corner signing autographs, no
shit I blurt out! We walk ten feet around the corner and sure
enough, there he is, big as life and in vivid living color.
Brigitte has the camera at the ready as she starts snapping
away. I have all my JB - CD covers out and at the ready for
his autograph. I stand on the left hand side as the line was
coming from the right, as I wait for my turn to approach him.
I start by saying, "Hey Joe, why the hell don't you
answer your emails?" "I sent you many an email and
you never a reply?" He looks a little taken aback but
raises his head with more smile on his face than shock and
with no anger - he says "you're not from here are you,
you don't sound at all German?" I reply, "I'm from
Albany, New York" Joe face breaks out into the broadest
smile you've ever seen in your life, "we're near
neighbours" he point out, "where exactly in the
Albany area are you from"? Latham, I tell him, "ah
yes I know that town" he says, "my parents still
live in Utica, what brings you here to Germany?" I
introduce him to Brigitte, they have a little chat while I
purchase a copy of his brand new cd entitled "You and Me"
and he autographs it for us while still talking. Henry comes
up with a few posters for Joe to sign and the autograph
session is over. I then ask Joe if he's going to come out
front later and we'll be more than happy to buy him a drink
and we can talk a little while longer. Joe says "we get
our drinks for free, but I'd be happy to talk with you and
Brigitte for awhile". Great, we'll catch you later.
Our Impression: Great guy,
nice person, good manners, and if you passed him on the street
he'd be just like you and me, one of us. Did I mention
brilliant? As I watched him listening and interacting with
everyone around him he caught it all and missed nothing - he
has a brilliant mind that allows him to multi-task without
shifting gears. I mean fast as greased lightning, split second
timing, with the god given ability to access the situation and
respond quickly and accurately. With all due respect, Joe
Bonamassa and our friend Popa Chubby seem to function in the
same way, and are both great talents of our time. Also, both
have Leslie West in their corner as their most loyal supporter.
Both appeared on Leslie's "Guitarded" cd, Popa on
"Stormy Monday" and Joe on "If Heartaches Were
Nickels". All three musicians have a lot in common,
besides their great talent, they're all overgrown
teddy-bears-loveable squeezable and a real pleasure to know.
Joe Bonamassa being the gentlest of the three, what an
unassuming guitar hero and overall talent the man is!
So, we hung around and
watched and waited patiently for Joe to come out and stand
still long enough for us to finish our chat. The band invited
us back to their hotel, and if we stayed long enough that's
where we would've ended up, but as with Leslie West, Ten Years
After and Popa Chubby we never like to overstay our welcome. I
may be wrong, but I don't think so. While it would be very
nice, and most people would love to be invited back to the
bands hotel room, we respect their privacy. Maybe this is the
reason why we have stayed friends with so many bands and
famous musicians. We also have earned their respect, and we're
always welcome to join them for dinner, backstage, drinks, and
after the concert. As for Mr. Bonamassa, we did say a proper
good-bye, shook hands, thanked him for everything and parted
ways on a high happy note. We'll meet again, I'm sure and it
will be as though we never said good-bye. To be close to Joe, just place one of
his cd's into the changer and crank it up.
Thanks for everything Mr.
Bonamassa
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