Show Review: Joe Bonamassa @ The Fox Theatre Detroit, MI 05/03/2013

My journey to the Joe Bonamassa show started on Thursday night when he and his guitar tech Mike Hickey stopped by to check out the vintage guitar collection owned by a local west side guitar collector. Hanging out on the sidelines watching them both open case after case of vintage guitars owned and collected by this collector over the years was literally like watching kids in a candy store with free reign to help themselves to all that they desired. I'm no guitar guru by any means, but by the expressions on their faces as they examined and played each guitar over the course of the night, it was evident that they were all on cloud nine that night.

Forward to Friday night, I made my way down to the wonderful Fox Theatre, sold out that night for the show, people milling around the block hours ahead of time, Detroit jumping, with all the businesses in the immediate area of the Fox packed to the gills, the excitement glimmering in the warm spring air from the the exuberance of the crowds that had flocked downtown to witness the magic that was about to be performed on stage that night.

Shortly after 8pm, Joe B took to the stage for a short acoustic set, coupled with his drummer and keyboardist for a few songs in an intimate and moving block of songs, engaging the sold out crowd in a hypnotic trance, a heartfelt performance if there ever was one, the timbre of the notes ringing solidly throughout the theatre. That was shortly followed up with a crescendo buildup to an explosive launch in to the second act of his show, as the lights and smoke filled the stage casting flickering shadows tall and dark across the hall. Launching in to his electric set full of energy and vigor, Joe Bonamassa and his band took Detroit on a tour de force of sight and sound, blues notes wailing in a mournful, soul reaching sound that echoed long in to the night, touching the hearts of everyone in attendance. As a special treat to Detroit, he brought local blues legend Jim McCarty on stage for a couple songs, bringing the crowd to it's feet in recognition of it's roots in blues and music legacy. It was by far one of the most blissful concerts I have witnessed to date, and you would do yourself a huge favor to experience the wonder that Joe brings to the stage.

Tour Dates:

05/08	Montreal, CAN	Canada	Theatre St. Denis	Buy tickets
05/10	Boston	United States	Wang Theatre	Buy tickets
05/11	Albany	United States	Palace Theatre	Buy tickets
05/13	Philadelphia, PA	United States	Liacouras Center	Buy tickets
05/14	Baltimore	United States	Hippodrome	Buy tickets
05/16	New York	United States	Beacon Theatre	Buy tickets
05/17	New York, NY	United States	The Beacon Theatre	Buy tickets
05/18	New York, NY	United States	The Beacon Theatre	Buy tickets
06/22	Bergen	Norway	Bergenhus Festning	Buy tickets
06/24	Surrey	United Kingdom	HAMPTON COURT PALACE FESTIVAL	Buy tickets
06/26	Antwerp	Belgium	Lotto Arena	Buy tickets
06/29	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Carre Theatre – Sold Out	Buy tickets
06/30	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Carre Theatre – Sold Out	Buy tickets
08/16	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Estadio Luna Park Password:Bonnafanarg	Buy tickets
09/18	Cardiff	United Kingdom	Cardiff Motorpoint Arena	Buy tickets
09/20	Bournemouth	United Kingdom	Bournemouth Bic	Buy tickets
09/21	Manchester	United Kingdom	Manchester Arena	Buy tickets
09/23	Aberdeen	United Kingdom	Aberdeen AECC	Buy tickets
09/24	Edimburgh	United Kingdom	Edinburgh Playhouse	Buy tickets
09/27	BIRMINGHAM	United Kingdom	BIRMINGHAM NATL. INDOOR ARENA	Buy tickets
09/28	Brighton	United Kingdom	Brighton Centre	Buy tickets
10/01	Budapest	Hungary	Budapest Congress Center	Buy tickets
10/04	Vienna, Austria	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle	Buy tickets
10/05	Prague	Czech Republic	Kongresové Centrum Praha	Buy tickets
10/06	Groningen, Netherlands	Netherlands	Martinplaza	Buy tickets
10/08	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falkoner Theatre	Buy tickets
10/10	Oslo	Norway	Sentrum Scene	Buy tickets
10/11	Stockholm	Sweden	Waterfront	Buy tickets
10/13	Helsinki	Finland	Hartwell Arena	Buy tickets
10/16	Moskow, RU	Russian Federation	Crocus City Hall	Buy tickets
10/20	WARSAW	Poland	SALA KONGRESOWA	Buy tickets
11/02	Cleveland, OH	United States	State Theatre	Buy tickets
11/05	Louisville, KY	United States	Louisville Palace	Buy tickets
11/06	Knoxville, TN	United States	Civic Auditorium	Buy tickets
11/08	Roanoke, VA	United States	Roanoke Civic Center	Buy tickets
11/09	Richmond, VA	United States	Landmark Theatre	Buy tickets
11/10	Fayetteville, NC	United States	Crown Theatre	Buy tickets
11/12	Charlotte, NC	United States	Ovens Auditorium	Buy tickets
11/15	Clearwater	United States	Ruth Eckerd Hall	Buy tickets
11/16	Clearwater	United States	Ruth Eckerd Hall	Buy tickets
11/18	Birmingham, AL	United States	BJCC Concert Hall	Buy tickets
11/20	Augusta, GA	United States	Bell Auditorium	Buy tickets
11/22	Atlanta, GA	United States	Fox Theatre	Buy tickets
11/23	Atlanta, GA	United States	Fox Theatre	Buy tickets
11/27	Houston, TX	United States	Bayou Music Center	Buy tickets
11/29	Corpus Christi, TX	United States	American Bank Center	Buy tickets
11/30	Austin, TX	United States	Austin City Limits Live	Buy tickets
12/03	Lubbock, TX	United States	City Bank Auditorium	Buy tickets
12/04	Albuquerque	United States	Kiva Auditorium at the Albuquerque Convention Center	Buy tickets
12/06	Oakland, CA	United States	Paramount Theatre	Buy tickets
12/07	Reno, NV	United States	Reno Events Center	Buy tickets
12/10	Fresno, CA	United States	Warnor’s Center For Performing Arts	Buy tickets
12/12	Santa Barbara, CA	United States	Arlington Theatre	Buy tickets
12/13	Los Angeles, CA	United States	Dolby Theatre	Buy tickets
12/14	San Diego, CA	United States	Valley View Casino Center	Buy tickets

Official Website
http://jbonamassa.com/

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http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeBonamassaTV