Joe Bonamassa - in Prague after eight years.

Reese Wynans, a seventy-five-year-old keyboardist, is a formidable figure. Despite his relatively advanced age, Joe Bonamassa couldn't have reached for a more suitable instrumentalist. A recommendation to which there is little to add is Reese's tenure in Stevie Ray Vaughan's legendary Double Trouble band, as well as a number of other great collaborations. Josh Smith is the "second" guitarist in the line-up around the sixty-four year old American blues icon of our time. The quotes are certainly spot on, in 2019 World Guitar magazine ranked Josh as the sixteenth best blues guitarist in the world. Playing alternately on two identical Ibanez guitars, distinguished only by color, this earthy fellow in a hat delivered a series of nimble and well-built solos. Joe Bonamassa has engaged these stars for his 2023 European tour.

Along with the blues titan (a verbatim quote from Joe Bonamassa's website), the rest of the band shone right from the very start of the concert at the Forum in Karlín, where just over 2,000 blues devotees found their way to on the third day of May 2023. With his usual precision and without any openers, the protagonist opened the concert with his favourite opener Evil Mama (Redemption, 2018). The hallmarks - a dark suit, black glasses and a gold Gibson Les Paul fitted with Ernie Ball strings around his neck. It took a while for the sound to settle, but then it worked for a full one hundred and ten minutes without any problems. Thirteen songs including the encore, played in just under two hours, may seem little, but the first six songs alone took a full fifty minutes and it can't be said that it was an artificial stretching of the footage. The second thing played, Dust Bowl (Dust Bowl, 2011) is played by Joe on a red Epiphone Gibson ES-335 with a capoid on the fifth fret. The swinging tempo, and a different sonic register compared to the first track, reveal a well thought out performance scenario. In the third track Love Ain't a Love Song (Different Shades of Blue, 2014), the quality of the two backing vocalists, clad in black pants and beige blouses with silver sequins, becomes apparent. More prominent and more exploited is the Australian Jade McRae on the right. The guitar solo is reminiscent of a keyboard in sound and colouring and it is a challenge for the audience to see who is really the soloist. Self-Inflicted Wounds (Redemption, 2018) sounds very American, especially in the vocals, and is topped off with a singing showcase by Jade McRae. The Heart that Never Waits (Time Clocks, 2021) is the first and only track from the latest album. Joe plays a Fender Telecaster and takes off his glasses for a few seconds at the end, which the audience rewards with a special round of applause. I Want to Shout About It, by Coco Montoya (2017), would have merited an original brass section, but at the Prague concert it's replaced by keys and a second guitar. Another cover follows, namely Double Trouble (Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks, 2015), also performed eight years ago at Bonamassa's last Prague show to date. The experience of each note played is reflected in the face and transformed into wrinkles and creases around the mouth and eyes. The hitherto uninterrupted progress is interrupted by the band's introduction, during which we learn that most of the musicians are from Los Angeles (California) and are the best of their generation. One of the highlights of the evening is A Conversation with Alice (Royal Tea, 2020), which hides the story of a guitarist and his psychologist. The fairly sober set begins to change colours as the spots lean into the audience, who enthusiastically applaud the drum, bass and especially the keyboard solos. A cover of Tom Waits' Jockey Full of Bourbon is already being followed by the penultimate item of the core set, Lonely Boy (Royal Tea, 2020), with a colourful patchwork of displays of the individual abilities of the players on each instrument. Just Get Paid (Shepherd Bush Empire, 2007, cover by ZZ Top) symbolically closes out a hundred minutes of top-notch blues, showcasing virtuosic and refined guitar technique and a wonderfully pedaling band. The obviously enjoyable atmosphere on stage carries over to the audience, and they unhesitatingly heed the indicated call for a standing ovation and rise to honor the artistry of American blues magician Joe Bonamassa and his bandmates. In return, he promises an early return and an extra night of concerts. The encore is provided by Sloe Gin from the album of the same name (2007).

The blues concert of the season lived up to expectations and offered the highest quality possible. Let the call addressed to the last song be answered, just get some sloe gin somewhere and have one glass to cheers, along with the wish of a soon reunion.