Joe Bonamassa

Artists: Joe Bonamassa

Venue: Cardiff Utilita Arena

Date: 23 Apr 2025

"Bonamassa gigs never fail to please, and this was no exception. Although there were no new tunes, the set list included something to please everybody, ranging from songs that people that knew him from his early days, right up to the present."

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Cardiff is the second date on this very short tour (five dates) of the UK. It is a place that Joe Bonamassa has played many times in the past and is one of the larger venues in Cardiff. Tonight that venue is filled almost to its capacity of three thousand people. This tour is billed as The Spring Tour, and unusually for his tours there is no new album currently to promote on it. I believe the new album will be released in July. As usual with any Bonamassa gig, there is no support act.

The background music died down and the Bar-Keys’ ‘Soul Finger’ came pounding across the speakers in the arena. For those of us that were around when BBC Radio 1 first took to the airwaves, then this was Emperor Roscoe’s Saturday show intro song. The band and Bonamassa, dressed in his customary blue suit, came onto the stage at 20.00. Playing a red Gibson SG, Bonamassa opened the show with ‘Hope You Realise It’ from ‘The Blues Deluxe Vol 2’ album. The band are (now) his usual line up of; Josh Smith (guitar), Reese Wynans (keyboards), Lemar Carter (drums), Calvin Turner (bass), and backing vocalists Jade MacRae and Danielle De Andrea. There were three great solos from Smith, Wynans, and Bonamassa, although his guitar was low in the mix and it was only just audible. The chords to ‘Dust Bowl’ struck up after a change of guitar to a Gibson ES 335. It is a powerful and much heavier version to the one on the album of the same name. The sound had now improved immeasurably, and every instrument and vocal sounded very clear. After a brief “Thank You”, the band broke into ‘Done Got Over It’, which had a quiet guitar solo half way through it. However the quiet was shattered by some very loud and heavy power chords that not only surprised the audience, but the band as well, which had Bonamassa laughing. The set then slowed down a shade and the backing vocalists excelled themselves on the brilliant ‘Driving Towards The Daylight’.

As is customary with Bonamassa, he never talks in between songs, but instead always introduces the band and then tells a story. Tonight was no exception. His introduction to Wynans was to ask the audience to stand up and show their appreciation for this famous ex Stevie Ray Vaughn keyboard player, and just as the crowd sat down he jokingly asked them to stay standing to appreciate himself too. He then told a story about Wales and also the various venues he had played in Cardiff, and got a lot of applause when he mentioned having played The Point and The Globe back in his early days. There was then a story about how he had not fully realised what great night life that Cardiff had. His hotel window had overlooked the Cardiff bars and night clubs, and there was a lot of drinking going on from 17.30 until 2.30 the next morning which kept him awake. But not only that, he said that he was not aware of how much recycling was done as well in Cardiff, until he was woken up a few hours later at 4.45 by all the glass bottles being emptied from the bars into the recycling skips. Needless to say there was a lot of swearing to go with that amusing story.

Then it was onto ‘Heart That Never Waits’ from the ‘Time Clocks’ album. This showcased what a fine vocalist he is and also demonstrated that he too can do very fast guitar solos when the song demands it. The final song was Led Zeppelin’s ‘How Many More Times’, a stunning version that Bonamassa obviously enjoys playing. There was also a short but sweet drum solo part way through it, before Bonamassa continued the song with extracts of Free’s ‘The Hunter’ and Jimi Hendix’s ‘Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’. The band then left the stage to a standing ovation.

Upon their return, he mentioned about playing the next song over two thousand times, and how people still complain and react on the internet if he does not play it. He introduced it as a song about a rock and a clock. Of course the song was ‘Mountain Time’. An absolutely perfect version of his most famous tune, with Smith and the backing vocalists adding that something extra to the overall feel of it. The set then ended and had lasted for almost two hours and fifteen minutes of perfect musicianship.

Bonamassa gigs never fail to please, and this was no exception. Although there were no new tunes, the set list included something to please everybody, ranging from songs that people that knew him from his early days, right up to the present. The band are the best he has ever had over the years, and they gel so very well both together and with him. If you missed him this time around, then catch him on tour when he next plays near you. You will be in for a treat.

Setlist (contains sponsors)

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Review: Paul Gregory

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