Phoenix, AZ—The elevator doors closed, and one of the women who entered the tightly packed space was exuberant in her chatter.
“Wasn’t that just awesome?”
People in front of me validated her question. It was her next statement that summed up the night’s Joe Bonamassa concert at the Arizona Financial Theatre on November 2, 2024.
“The things his fingers did to that guitar should be illegal!” This elicited laughter from the elevator crowd, who’d also just finished watching the Bonamassa concert.
Indeed. Once I’d finished photographing the first three songs of the concert, I sat in my review seat, and concentrated on the show. Bonamassa delivers, hands down. The set list is orchestrated to take the crowd up and down through a musical journey while Bonamassa masterfully manipulates the crowd, and I was not the least bit disappointed.
Where I became aware of Bonamassa’s control over the crowd with his playing is “Happier Times,” which is the first song in the set that slows the crowd down and hits them hard with emotions of sorrow and loss, compounded by the heavy, resounding drum beat that starts the song off. When Bonamassa finally breaks into his guitar solo, it’s truly a wailing exhibited through instrumental genius and skill.
When the song ended, my thought was that Bonamassa is the blues equivalent of composer Hanz Zimmer, well-known for exploring and experimenting with sound in his movie score compositions to see what he can create. Bonamassa does the same thing. You can see him in different songs, when he breaks away to do a solo, how he tilts his head, leans down with his guitar, listening to the sounds he is creating, working to see what else he can create in that short time and space.
Bonamassa paid homage later in the set to Phoenix, the Arizona Financial Theatre, his long-time manager Danny Zelisko, and even gave a shout-out to the Rhythm Room, where he played his first time in Phoenix. His commitment to giving the audience their money’s worth was evident in his apology for starting late.
“I have an app that I watch, to see how many people have checked in,” Bonamassa said. “I wanted to wait for most of you, since you paid good money for these tickets. What’s five minutes among friends?”
The band accompanying Bonamassa is just as stellar. Reese Wynans, keyboardist with a history of playing with blues icon Stevie Ray Vaughn, was absolutely mindblowing. Playing multiple keyboards at the same time, Wynans showed clearly he is a legend in his own right. Josh Smith, playing guitar, took the spotlight several times, and it was easy to see why Bonamassa has him on this tour. Calvin Turner, was the epitome of cool as his bass added a rich percussive undertone throughout the show. The backup vocalists, Jade Macrae and Danielle Deandrea, were a powerhouse of vocalizations that at times were reminiscent of gospel harmonies. Last but certainly not least, was drummer Lemar Carter, who was excellent throughout the show, would later take the spotlight and just blow the audience away.
The last song of the show, “Just Got Paid,” was an amazing last song of the set. The treat was when everyone, Bonamassa included, left the stage, Carter performed a blazingly powerful solo that showed just how talented he is, and left no doubt as to why he is part of Bonamassa’s band and tour.
The show ended, and the encore was the fan-favorite song that started it all 20 years ago for Bonamassa, “Sloe Gin.” I don’t think this song can ever get old for the Bonamassa fans, and he delivered exactly what the audience wanted, making it the perfect closure to a well-executed performance.
Band:
• Reese Wynans: keyboards
• Josh Smith: Guitar
• Calvin Turner: Bass guitar
• Lemar Carter: drums
• Jade Macrae: backup vocals
• Danielle Deandrea: backup vocals
Setlist/Key:
• Hope You Realize (C#)
• 24 Hour Blues (Gm)
• Done Got Over It (F)
• Love Ain’t A Love Song (Bb)
• Happier Times (Cm)
• Shout About It (Ab)
• Double Trouble (A)
• Heart That Never Waits (B)
• Is It Safe To Go Home (Am)
• Lazy Poker Blues (E)
• Just Got Paid (E)
• Slow Gin (Dm)
