Joe Bonamassa at Roy Thompson Hall – 11/17/12

Written by Agah Bahari and Photographs by Lee-Ann Wylie

Since the early days of the late great guitar innovator Les Paul, the history of electric guitar has seen countless talents, many greats, and some legends. Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Eric Johnson are among the names that will be remembered and celebrated forever, for their contribution to music and electric guitar. Saturday night at the prestigious Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto hosted Joe Bonamassa, a legendary guitar player and perhaps a saviour of Blues in the first decade of the digital 21st century.

On tour for his eleventh studio album, Driving Towards the Daylight, Joe Bonamassa was back to bring the Torontonian fans of Blues, perhaps the greatest night of the year and the one to be remembered until his next performance in the city. Starting with a solo piece, followed by a great version of Bad Company’s Seagull, Joe started the night with a 4-song acoustic set. The brilliant guitar and vocal performance plus a greatly designed acoustic environment created the warm welcome for the wide variety of about 2,000 audience, from young teenagers to older ladies and gents. After quick change of the guitar, Joe was back on the stage with an electric Gibson, starting his electric set with Woke Up Dreaming. Goin’ through arsenal of his masterpieces, including Dust Bowl, Midnight Blues, Chuck Berry’s Wee Wee Hours and Blues Deluxe, Joe executed his incredibly-exercised mastery of performance, dynamic, melodic phrasing and showmanship. He finished his set with a beautifully improvised intro, followed by the memorable Mountain Time.

Joe and his band were off the stage, but the standing ovation demanded otherwise. And so the band were back for 2 more songs, starting with the title track of perhaps Joe Bonamassa’s greatest album by far, Sloe Gin, followed by the 10-minutes tribute to some of the greatest riffs, moments and memories in the history of Rock & Roll and Blues, Just Got Paid. A perfect ending to 2-hours of electric, magical performance by one of the most dynamic ensemble in today’s music scene.

If you’re a Rock and Blues fan and an enthusiast, don’t worry and be happy. The masters of Blues might be long gone or getting too old, but fear not as there are people like Derek Trucks, Gary Clark Jr. and indeed Joe Bonamassa, who have inherited, reshaped and bringing back the legacy of the decades of feelings and emotions, following the footsteps of the legends, from Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and BB King, to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn.