“We started out as a cover band” confessed guitarist Joe Bonamassa as he emceed his annual shedding of his shark skin suit and shades and cruised in on his vintage Cruiser to take his pilgrimage and a “regular member” of the ultra hip Rock Candy Funk Party at the stuffed Baked Potato Wednesday night. Well, no wedding or bar mitzvah ever sounded this good, as the RCFP mixed funk, jazz, blues and rock with a flavor like the wildest of Christmas Egg Nogs!
Gone are all the horns and background vocalists for Joe B, as he sounds happy, relaxed and liberated to simply play what he likes how long he likes with his compatriots, bassist Mike Merritt, guitarist Ron DeJesus, keyboardist Rento Neto and co-leader/legendary drummer Tal Bergman. While he has been unfairly criticized in the past for not having his own unique sound, the same cannot be said for Bonamassa’s alter ego as a funkified guitarist in a CTI-sounding soul band, as the guitarist sounds completely personal, with solos, tones and excursions that cannot be compared to any other six string gunslinger.
The hard driving tunes such as the ironically named “Token Ballad” and “Ode To Gee” feature the juxtaposition of irresistibly deep laid rivulets by Merritt and Bergman, while Neto supplements and leads with jazzy keyboards, fusiony synths and electric pianos. After going lock in step in rhythm riffs with the indefatigable DeJesus, Bonamassa (in jeans, reading glasses and baseball cap) delivers fiery and breezy solos, while on the Soul Train’d “This Tune Should Run 4” he turns his ax into a Vegematic and chops up notes until they’re sliced and diced, all to Bergman’s relentless backbeat.
The jaw-dropping moment of the night came as Bergman and Merritt snapped out “Prez” to Neto’s tapping into a Herbie Hancock collection of Head Hunter’s electronic explorations before Bonamassa took the reins and used his guitar to take the music and the club to a delicate, soft and dainty library hush. Playing notes with a quietness and economy as if he was being charged commission for each 8th note, he had his fingers assuage the strings with the tiniest of tone as if ants were tap dancing on his Gibson. The tension created by the implied pulse and whisper of notes was delectably delicious, leading to a complete exhalation of joy at the closing foot stomping climax.
Closing with their “hit single” (“It just went copper!” boasted Bonamassa), the band turned into a mix of twin guitar lead Yardbirds and a 21st Century version of The Fabulous Flames on “One Phone Call” as Bergman delivered a drum showcase mixed taste and heat. The entire evening, was as electrifying as the extra Christmas lights around the stage, and as piping hot as their stuffed potato with cheese and mushrooms.
Upcoming shows at the Baked Potato include Bob Reynolds 12/12, El Trio 12/13-14, Nerve Bundle 12/17-18, Brian Auger 12/19, Albert Lee 12/21 and Arnold McCuller 12/28