Despite having achieved considerable commercial success, the name of Joe Bonamassa is still relatively unknown
outside of guitar aficionados and a certain class of blues and rock fans. Bonamassa's background and discography are
extremely varied and
incredibly impressive, including such feats as opening for B.B. King when Bonamassa was all of 12, and later forming a
band with the sons of legends Miles Davis and Robby Krieger. Bonamassa's solo career has seen number one charting
albums in the Blues category and collaborations with any number of rock and blues legends. Bonamassa is a New York
native whose parents owned a guitar store, perhaps helping him to absorb the instrument's vocabulary by something
akin to osmosis. He's an unlikely superstar, not especially charismatic and fairly low key in his personality and stage
presence, but once his fingers hit the strings, there's no mistaking the incredible virtuosity that Bonamassa has at his
beck and call. While this 2011 Beacon Theater performance in New York City sticks fairly closely to a general blues
feeling, traces of flat out rock and incipient flowerings of jazz and pop also populate Bonamassa's diverse vocabulary.
This is a fairly no frills concert that concentrates on the music rather than stagecraft, and it proves that actual musical
talent can sometimes, against considerable odds, outweigh the prevalence of manufactured acts who look good but
have no facility with any instrument and who require autotuning to even begin to sound professional vocally. The
audience here is rapt and excited to see Bonamassa up close and personal, and this concert finds him in fine form both
musically as well as in some nice, albeit brief, interchanges with the assembled masses.
The fact that several of Bonamassa's albums have charted in the Blues category might some to believe he's akin to a
Johnny Come Lately version of B.B. King, or something like that, but the fact is Bonamassa's approach is so varied and
far reaching that it almost becomes ridiculous to even attempt to pigeonhole him in any given category or genre. The
Beacon Theater concert does tend to concentrate on up tempo, riff driven tunes, several of which follow the
basic three chord structure of classic blues, but Bonamassa repeatedly pushes the envelope even within this
fundamental structure. At other times Bonamassa indulges in considerably more complex songs, eliciting a huge variety
of tones from various guitars that vary from subtle, sine-wave purity to growling ferocity. It's like watching an
instrumental chameleon who at one moment might be Mark Knopfler, another moment Bill Frisell, and at another
someone as iconic as John McLaughlin.
While Bonamassa is front and center for the bulk of this concert, singing and playing the majority of an interesting and
propulsive set list, he does bring on a really interesting assortment of guests to help out with various tunes. His recent
collaborator Beth Hart comes on stage and wows the audience with a couple of gritty songs, and later both John Hiatt
and Paul Rodgers lend their formidable talents to the proceedings. Bonamassa is a gracious host, but he seems almost
too shy to even introduce these people, bringing up their guest turns almost in passing and then letting the surprise
kind of wash over the audience in waves.
Bonamassa seems almost to be a genuine underground phenomenon in a way. His albums regularly chart, he
obviously has a rabid and loyal fan base which regularly helps his live concerts sell out rather quickly, and yet if you
were to ask the general populace, even those who like guitar "rock gods" about him, chances are most, if not all, would
shrug at the mention of his name, not recognizing it. Bonamassa has two nice live Blu-rays out now, this one and a
previous one that was recorded at The Royal Albert Hall, and perhaps they can help him break through to true
mainstream acceptance and acclaim. It's a rare artist that can segue from the hard driving "Slow Train" to something as
gloriously lyrical as "Mountain Time" (my personal favorite on this concert, and one of the prettiest tunes in
Bonamassa's large and varied repertoire), but Bonamassa proves that not only is he a jack of all (or at least most)
guitar trades, he's also a master of all of them, truly a rare feat.
Joe's set list includes:
Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York Beacon Theater Is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of J-Records with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer
in 1.78:1. This is generally a solid looking release, with crisp and well detailed imagery, at least with regard to the close-ups. As is frequently
the case with these live concert offerings, midrange and especially far range shots often suffer in comparison to the close-ups and have a
somewhat softer, blurrier look. Black levels are really consistent and wonderfully inky here, though shadow detail is sometimes lacking in the
upstage and wings areas. As should be expected by now for anyone who is used to these lushly lit concert outings, once again a quasi-
posterizing effect is well in evidence in deeply red and/or blue lit sequences. Again, as usual, lights aimed squarely at the cameras also suffer
from very noticeable banding.
Joe Bonamassa: Live from New York Beacon Theater features three audio options, a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, an
uncompressed LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down, and a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The two lossless tracks offer superior fidelity with some
awesome low end (just exactly what is that amazing LFE that starts out the concert—it doesn't look the drums are being played, but
there sure is some heavy "thumping" going on). While the 5.1 track offers excellent spaciousness, I personally wished Bonamassa's vocals had
been mixed up further, as they're often buried in the instrumental mass, something that is ameliorated somewhat in the LPCM 2.0 track, where a
lot more of the lyrics can be heard. Fidelity throughout all frequency ranges is excellent and the many different guitars Bonamassa uses
throughout the concert all sound fantastic.
Woke Up Dreaming (1080i; 11:01) is a gorgeous solo performance and seems like it might have been the
encore for the evening.
A Friend Stops By (1080i; 8:20) has none other than David Crosby dropping by backstage to talk with Joe
about an alternate guitar tuning (DADGAD), and then to play a little bit. This is a very sweet and low key interchange between a living legend
and another legend in the making.
A Busker's Tale (1080i; 1:52) features footage of Joe playing for subway audiences (included as a montage in the concert's pre-
credits sequence) accompanied by Joe's
concert patter about the situation, including a great punch line.
Those of you who are already Joe Bonamassa fans are well aware of this lion's incredible virtuosity in just about any and every genre he sets
out to tackle. The bulk of this concert tends to focus more squarely on blues and rock, but any given tune offers the opportunity for Bonamassa
to take off in any number of unexpected directions, giving the overall concert an unpredictable air that adds to its allure. Bonamassa's virtuosity
is simply undeniable, and while many fans will probably prefer his hard driving efforts which are here in abundance, I personally loved the quieter
moments, such as the truly stunning "Mountain Time", which manages to be both lyrical and incredibly propulsive once the band kicks in. This
Blu-ray has some appealing supplements and features solid video and superior audio. If you're a Bonamassa fan, this is a no brainer. If you've
never heard of Bonamassa (and chances are a lot of you reading this haven't), take a chance on this disc, especially if you like unbelievably good
guitar playing. Highly recommended.
