JB at the RAH

rlw

Friday night.  Good seats in the stalls, place was rammed.  Not unlike a football crowd at times funnily enough.

A strange evening in my view.  Joe was in great form as was the band.  A variety of songs from Blues of Desperation to begin with, all suitably toughened up with different solos; some favourites to follow followed by some of the songs he did on the British Blues Explosion tour last year.  A good mixture of old and new. originals and covers.

The sound was simply superb, never heard better at the RAH.  As loud as possible I guess and super clear.  The solos could have stood out a bit more but that would be my only criticism.  Again, the bass lines were clear and defined with no thud, thud, thud.  Drums sounded great, as did the two singers.  The two horn players were clear and distinct.  Pretty much perfect.

Guitar wise we got two, maybe three strats, two teles, two LPs, a Firebird, a Flying V and an Explorer.  Presumably all worth a fortune and played without sympathy.

Joe played as he plays.  Showy but superb.  The few times he talked to the audience, he was witty and humble.  

But the venue sucked all the life out of it.  It's too big and airy for that kind of show which needs to be in a proper theatre to remain intimate.  Hammersmith Odeon, the Colosseum, even the RFH, would be better.  But that's the price of success I imagine.

What should have been a fantastic night out was a bit like watching it on the TV.  Brilliant performances by all concerned, let down by the hall.

Still, it could have been the O2, which would have been even worse.