Red Baby Dragon

Joe Bonamassa - May 31, 2007 - The Jewish Mother, Virginia Beach, VA I drove all the way up to Virginia yesterday to see this guy, and it was worth the trip twelve times over. The concert was INCREDIBLE. For those of you who don't know, which is probably everyone, Joe Bonamassa is a modern blues guitarist with several albums to his name, and his recognition as the greatest guitarist of this generation is growing fast. He opened for B.B. King when he was twelve years old. The concert was in a little club called The Jewish Mother. This was great for me, because I got to stand right next to the stage - I was literally two feet away from him. Watching Bonamassa play solidified his place in my mind not just as the greatest guitarist of his generation, but as the greatest guitarist who still lives. He did a ten minute acoustic solo in which he pulled of some of the most amazing guitar harmonics I've ever seen or heard. It also seemed to be improvised - the other members of his band were looking at each other like they didn't know what was going on, and at the end, Joe gave them a look that said "sorry, I couldn't help myself." Towards the end, the band did a medley of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" and Led Zep's "Dazed and Confused" which blew me away. His speed and use of harmonics was unbelievable, and his note holding was ridiculous. At one point, Bonamassa told everyone to "shhhh" (which was easy to accomplish because the place was so small) and held one note for about two minutes. If you haven't heard any of this guy's stuff, check it out. It's awesome. Anyone who plays guitar needs to watch him play - check him out on YouTube, or, better yet, see him live. Just make sure you do it in a small club like that so you can get up close. This was without a doubt the best concert I've ever been to.

I just noticed I hadn't voted on this one. I chose The Necromancer because I like a lot of the guitar, but now that I see the results, I wish I would have gone with I Think I'm Going Bald. That's an awesome song, and I'm shocked to see it with so few votes.

The live versions of "You And Your Friend" and "Brothers In Arms" by Dires Straits, from "On The Night." Oh, and "Little Wing" and "Castles Made Of Sand" by Jimi Hendrix.

I say Permenant Waves, but not by much. Their earlier stuff is still good, and then there's Moving Pictures. I also like Roll The Bones a lot, but I wouldn't say it's the best. I'm surprised no one's voted for Feeback. It may not be original material, but all the covers are awesome.

Guns N' Roses is coming to where I live in early November. I'm planning to go, but that's only if the tour doesn't fall apart before then. I won't get my hopes up.

I recently saw Aerosmith in Greensborough, and hopefully this summer I'll be going to see Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I voted for Secret Touch, which is really the only song I like from this album. Just to put things into perspective, I think Freeze is about on par with Witch Hunt. However, Freeze is one of the better songs on this album. Witch Hunt is probably the worst on Moving Pictures.

Half The World. I just realized how much I don't like this album. The first four songs are good, but (apart from, maybe, Resist) I can't stand the others.

I went with Cut To The Chase because I like the guitar solo, but I also like Animate, Stick It Out, Between Sun And Moon, and Leave That Thing Alone!.

Gotta love the title track. This is probably my second favorite Rush album. I'm actually really suprized at the votes for this album. Face Up is awesome, Ghost Of A Chance not so much. And You Bet Your Life is a great song! How did it only get two votes?

This is one of my favorite Rush albums. Definately top 5. I like all the songs on it, except for The Pass, War Paint, and Available Light. I ended up voting for Anagram. I don't know why. It's not really the best, but I like it a lot.

I don't particularly like this album, but I love Force Ten.

The Big Money is a great song; probably one of my favorites by Rush.

Distant Early Warning rocks.

I voted for New World Man. Subdivisions is just okay.

At the moment, my favorite would have to be YYZ, but I voted for Limelight, just because it generally remains my favorite. I also like Red Barchetta a lot. In fact, the only song I don't like is Witch Hunt.

I voted for Freewill, but I like it and Spirit Of Radio pretty much the same. The both have a great riff, great guitar solos, and one really awesome part ("...words of the profit..." and "Each of us...").

I voted for The Trees. While Hemispheres and La Villa may be better, there's no way I'd ever listen to them unless I was on a very long trip.

My favorite is Closer To The Heart. Xanadu is long and a lot of it is just stuff you skip through, and I can't stand Cygnus.

2112. The other songs, while mostly good, are all short and seem like they were just thrown on at the end.

I say Fly By Night. It's catchy, it has a great guitar solo, and it's fun to play.