Joe Bonamassa

The news of a sudden heatwave has clearly reached the south coast if the volume of exposed and reddened torsos are anything to go by as the queues build an hour before doors outside the Brighton Centre. A skimming stone’s throw from the infamous Grand Hotel, it stands incongruously rather sterile, by comparison to the imperious balustrades and ornate wrought iron balcony detailing of its regal neighbour. Word has clearly got round that Blues royalty is here tonight as a sold-out crowd is treated to a fabulously kingly performance from Smokin’ Joe to mark the end of this five date UK tour.

Having dedicated his life, from the tender age of twelve when, as a child prodigy, he played with BB King, there’s no denying that this New Yorker has earned the right to strut from one side of the stage to the other, and this he does with the freedom of someone who simply goes wherever the mood takes him. Peeling off one jaw-dropping solo after another ensures that three and a half thousand of us are held captivated, hanging on every note, for best part of two hours.

It flies by from the moment, bang on eight o’clock, the band wander on stage opening with ‘Hope You Realise It’ from 2023’s ‘Blues Deluxe Vol 2’. The seven-piece are in sublime form with Reese Wynans’ sole spotlight hitting his sedentary position stage left, as with his own noble wave he conducts proceedings, particularly on Freddie King’s ‘Pack It Up’. While Joe’s floating tone soars, it’s impossible to ignore the ingeniously creative moves from backing vocalists Jade MacRae and Danni D’Andrea, the former getting deserved plaudits for her “mercy-pleading” soul on emotive favourite ‘Self Inflicted Wounds’.

The overriding beauty tonight though is how Bonamassa has unearthed ways to play songs, with which I’m very familiar, and still expose hitherto untapped feel from every bar. Bringing fresh innovation receives more than the odd wry smile of respect from those present, with the likes of SRV tribute ‘Done Got Over It’ seeing Joe practically run out of fretboard as he draws the first “play it, Joe!” from his transfixed devotees. It’s this attention to every inch of the neck that shines throughout, repeated on later ‘Heart That Never Waits’, as he arpeggios relentlessly as if taking us on each song’s maiden voyage.

Highlight of the beautifully balanced set is mid-placed ‘Last Matador of Bayonne’. Reflective and sombre, Bonamassa stands resiliently proud and still, summoning every fibre of Gilmouresque stateliness as drummer Lamar Carter’s brushes get a workout. Prostrating submissively into his speaker stack for the last remnants of feedback deservedly gets the evening’s first standing ovation. Introducing the band, Joe shares how this marks the fifth time he’s played Brighton, referring to his band as “a regal collection of lords and ladies” as he self-deprecatingly introduces “the best guitarist on stage”, and musical director, Josh Smith, before Bonamassa demands the hall rises to its feet for the legendary, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Wynans.

Leaving the heaviest stuff till the end, we get a blistering rendition of Led Zepp’s ‘How Many More Times’, with an excerpt of Albert King’s ‘The Hunter’, but without Jimmy Pages’ bow on this occasion! Announcing his closer, Joe admits to getting into a lot of trouble “from Scotland and Wales for not playing this final song,” while the English are assuaged as Bonamassa bows out with crowd favourite ‘Sloe Gin’.

A night of limitless flair and unparalleled virtuosity finds the King of Blues-Rock in masterful form.


Picture credit: Robert Sutton