The house was rockin’ Saturday night as Joe Bonamassa performed a show to a sold out crowd at the Pearl at the Palms. The show was in support of his No. 1 Billboard charted album “Driving Towards the Daylight “and the bluesman didn’t disappoint.
Fans were treated to an opening acoustic set including “Athens to Athens” and “Woke Up Dreaming” before plugging in and performing songs including “Dislocated Boy,” “Who’s Been Talking” and “Young Man’s Blues.”
Bonamassa is no stranger to the Palms, having recorded two studio albums at the resort’s Studio at the Palms recording facility. The journey of making the album was documented in a video series Bonamassa released last year.
To see the photos Click Here!
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Danny Zelisko Presents and the Celebrity Theatre announced today that legendary progressive rock group Yes will be performing live at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Long time Yes fans will be in for a real treat as the band will play three of their iconic albums, “The Yes Album,” (1971), “Close To The Edge” (1972) and “Going For The One” (1977) performed live in their entirety in one evening.
Yes’ 2013 tour will mark the first time since 1973 that Yes will perform an album onstage in its entirety. The 2013 version of Yes will feature bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes and singer Jon Davison.
Squire is the only member of Yes to have appeared on every Yes album. White joined Yes in 1972 and has been with them ever since. Although Howe took some time away from Yes in the 1980’s while he performed with Asia, it is his guitar work that most Yes fans are familiar with as he contributed to all three of the albums that are scheduled to be performed. Downes recently returned to Yes in 2011, having played with Yes in the early 1980’s. Like Howe, Downes too is also a member of Asia.
New lead singer, Jon Davison, joined Yes in 2012 having taken over for Benoit David, who had taken over vocal duties from long time Yes front man Jon Anderson. Both Anderson and David had to leave Yes for medical reasons. Davison performed admirably with Yes during their 2012 tour.
Yes’ Phoenix appearance will be the second date of Yes’ United States 2013 summer tour. Currently Yes is finishing up a North American tour swing before heading to South America for some dates in May. It is expected that Yes will be recording a new album with their current line-up in the fall of 2013.
Tickets for Yes’ appearance at the Celebrity will be priced at $43, $58 and $78 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 8th, at the Celebrity Theatre or online at www.celebritytheatre.com. To charge by phone, call 602-267-1600 ext. 1. All tickets are subject to a surcharge.
Eric Clapton eased into the opening night of his tour in support of the just-released “Old Sock” at US Airways Center on Thursday, March 14, gently strumming acoustic guitar on “Hello Old Friend,” a laid-back track from “No Reason to Cry,” at the helm of a nine-piece band.
That mellow vibe continued on “My Father’s Eyes,” a reggae-flavored easy-listening hit from “Pilgrim.” But he’d strapped on an electric by the third song, “Tell the Truth” by Derek and the Dominos, squeezing out sparks on the first of several awe-inspiring solos, a series of fluid, well-phrased runs that really hit its stride when Clapton leaned into the bent notes at the end of certain lines and let them ring out. There was no shortage of stunning guitar work, of course, both by Clapton and second guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, by the time they’d closed the proper set with an epic “Cocaine” and then returned to start the encore strong with “Sunshine of Your Love.”
The man has assembled quite the cast of players for this tour, from the undeniable rhythm section of drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Willie Weeks, to Paul Carrack of Squeeze on Hammond B-3 organ and piano. On several occasions, the groove that rhythm section worked was as impressive as the soloing (see “Tell the Truth” and “Black Cat Bone,” which really swung). And Bramhall more than held his own against the master, while those female backup singers, Sharon White and Michelle John, added goosebump-raising gospel-flavored soul to the proceedings. They pretty much carried the vocals on “I Shot the Sheriff” and their wailing made the “Old Sock” original “Gotta Get Over” an unexpected highlight of the early set.
Clapton was good about sharing the spotlight, allowing for excellent solos from Bramhall, Carrack, pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (who tore it up on “Black Cat Bone” by Albert Collins) and a second keyboard player, Chris Stainton. That also meant Carrack was able to sing a few, including Squeeze’s “Tempted,” Ace’s “How Long” and an encore-closing cover of the old Joe Cocker hit, “High Time We Went” (which Stainton co-wrote).
Early highlights included a slinkier reading of “I Shot the Sheriff,” which featured an epic Clapton solo that ended with him mirroring the melody on his way to restating the opening riff really high on the neck of his guitar, and a wah-guitar-driven rendition of “Got to Get Better in a Little While,” a funky, gospel-flavored gem by Derek and the Dominos.
Clapton returned to acoustic guitar for a mid-show mini-set of quieter material that started strong with “Driftin’ Blues” before making its way through a version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” that sounded more like Bessie Smith’s rendition than the one by Derek and the Dominos, a breezy, reggae-flavored “Tears In Heaven,” “Goodnight, Irene” and “Wonderful Tonight” (with Bramhall supplying the signature guitar line and Clapton recasting the tale in future tense for no apparent reason).
After Carrack took the mic for “How Long” with Clapton supplying a really nice solo, the concert turned into a Robert Johnson tribute, including a hard-grooving slide-guitar-driven “Stones in My Passway,” a swaggering “Love in Vain,” Clapton’s Cream staple “Crossroads,” which earned the most enthuastic audience reaction of the night to that point, and some of Clapton’s sweetest bends on “Little Queen of Spades.”
They pulled out of the Johnson mini-set with “Layla,” White and John taking the high notes on the chorus hook and Clapton turning in another epic solo. A pregnant pause at the end of his last solo made it feel like they were skipping the piano coda, but they didn’t, to their credit. There were moments were they seemed a little lost on that part, but this was the opening night of the tour, and they more than made up for the sense that they hadn’t quite practiced that section enough with moments of transcendence. Clapton could closed the set with that. Instead, he stuck around for “Cocaine,” stretching it to twice the length it is on “Slowhand” with rousing gospel vocals, yet another brilliant Clapton solo, a Carrack organ solo and a spotlight-stealing explosion of notes from Stainton working his way up the keys with a combination of reckless abandon and savage intensity.
Starting the encore with one of Cream’s best songs was an excellent way to build on the momentum of those last two numbers. And “High Time We Went” was a spirited (and playful) way to say goodnight. Just when you thought it was over, Jordan brought it back to life with some powerful drumming, Clapton grinning as he waved goodbye the final time the chorus rolled around, as though to say, “No, really, it’s high time we went.”
The Wallflowers opened the show with a well-received set that included “6th Avenue Heartache” and seemed to peak with a rousing rendition of the even hit “One Headlight.” But then, Jakob Dylan took it up a notch with a spirited cover of Elvis Costello’s cover of Nick Lowe’s Brinsley Schwarz song “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” before closing with another track from “Bringing Down the Horse,” “The Difference.”
Also, Dylan’s really looking like his dad these days. Of course, it may just be the hat.
Set list
Hello Old Friend
My Father’s Eyes
Tell the Truth
Gotta Get Over
Black Cat Bone
Got to Get Better in a Little While
Tempted
I Shot the Sheriff
Driftin’ Blues
Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
Tears in Heaven
Goodnight, Irene
Wonderful Tonight
How Long?
Stones in My Passway
Love in Vain
Crossroads
Little Queen of Spades
Layla
Cocaine
Encore:
Sunshine of Your Love
High Time We Went
By Ed Masley The Republic | azcentral.com
PHOTO BY: Cheryl Evans/The Arizona Republic
This Sunday's Arizona Republic ad featuring Spank! The Fifty Shades Parody and Ian Anderson
Fresh from her 10th Grammy win earlier this month, the ginger goddess of bottleneck guitar, Bonnie Raitt, returned to the Valley on Sunday night, Feb. 17, playing to a packed-to-the-rafters Mesa Arts Center.
“I love this hall,” she said. “I don’t get turned around like at the Celebrity Theatre.”
She also joked about how glad she was that they had finally come up with a category for her music — Americana.
“For forty years they haven’t known what to call me,” she said. “When ‘Nick of Time’ came out, most people thought I was country. I think it was because of the hair.”
Raitt showcased her Grammy-winning new album “Slipstream” for much of the show — playing about half of the album, from the funky show-opener “Used to Rule the World” to the tabloid tale “Marriage Made in Hollywood.”
Although not known as a songwriter, Raitt has always had impeccable taste in cover tunes, and she played several from “Slipstream” as well. The late Gerry Rafferty got a nod with a reggae-fied “Right Down the Line,” as did Loudon Wainwright III, on “You Can’t Fail Me Now,” a song originally recorded by Wainwright for the movie “Knocked Up.”
Bob Dylan’s “Million Miles” was turned into a blues workout.
“He’s strange but he’s prolific,” she said of Dylan. “I think he’s gonna go places.”
Her longtime band of guitarist George Marinelli, bassist Hutch Hutchinson and former Rutle drummer Ricky Fataar were augmented by organist Mike Finnigan, who took the lead vocals on the bluesy “I’ve Got News For You.” Opening act Maia Sharp joined Raitt for “Take My Love With You.” Raitt even brought her guitar tech Danny Alvarez out to play on “Come to Me,” a favorite from her 1991 smash “Luck of the Draw.”
The biggest cheers, of course, were reserved for the hits, from the slinky, sexy “Love Sneaking Up on You” to the sublime “Angel from Montgomery.” One of the few cover tunes that actually surpasses its original, Raitt dedicated “Angel” to her late mother, singing the opening lines “I am an old woman / named after my mother” a cappella before the song built to a beautiful guitar solo from Marinelli.
After that quiet moment, Raitt was ready to rock and roll again, strapping on her Stratocaster for her 1989 comeback hit, “Thing Called Love.” In honor of Mardi Gras, Raitt closed the main set with the raucous N’awlins-flavored “I Feel So Damn Good (I’ll Be Glad When I Get The Blues).”
For the most part, the extended encore stayed on the quiet side. Starting with the smash hit “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” Raitt said she was eternally grateful that she was given the first shot at that song.
She also said it always gave her the blues to play it, leading to an amazing version of “Love Me Like a Man,” a Chris Smither tune originally featured on Raitt’s 1973 “Give It Up” album. Raitt played the classic accompanied only by Hutchinson on bass ukulele.
After plugging back in for “Love Letter” from 1989’s “Nick of Time” — the album that started her run of Grammy wins — Raitt unplugged again for the beautiful, heartbreaking closer “Louise,” from her 1977 album “Sweet Forgiveness.”
“I heard someone call out for this and I think it is appropriate in such an amazing venue,” she said.
“But I couldn’t play it after ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ — that would be too much emotion.”
Setlist:
“Used to Rule the World”
“Right Down the Line”
“Something to Talk About”
“Million Miles”
“You Can’t Fail Me Now”
“Love Sneaking Up on You”
“Come to Me”
“Marriage Made in Hollywood”
“Take My Love With You”
“Angel From Montgomery”
“Thing Called Love”
“I Got News For You”
“I Feel So Damn Good (I’ll Be Glad When I Get The Blues)”
Encore:
“I Can’t Make You Love Me”
“Love Me Like a Man”
“Love Letter”
“Louise”
By Michael Senft Special for the Republic | azcentral.com
Alice Cooper and Shep Gordon at a 2013 Grammy party.
