It’s safe to say that music’s ability to uplift and bolster the human spirit is the reason why we’re all music lovers. However, in reality, there’s nothing that every real music fan loves more than a toe-curling tale of crushing defeat…
And the latest in a long and endless line of rock ‘n’ roll gone wrongs comes from an unexpected source. It seems that even the guitar greatness of Joe Bonamassa has strayed wide of its target in times gone by.
Speaking exclusively to Guitar Player, the guitar legend was quizzed for career highs though soon – perhaps inevitably – the conversation turned to the altogether much more enjoyable subject of career lows…
But first, let’s indulge the great man’s genius. Best gigs, then…
“The obvious one would be the Royal Albert Hall in 2009 with Eric Clapton,” Bonamassa begins. “That one was good – it was my bar mitzvah. But the absolute best performance I ever gave, in my humble opinion, was the first time we played Red Rocks in 2014. The weather was perfect – it was 80 degrees, and no wind. It was a golden era and a perfect storm. And luckily, we filmed it.
“Going back to the Albert Hall, I learned something very important during that first show in 2009: You’ve got to play the venue; you can’t let it play you. The first time I did the Albert Hall, it played me. I’ve now performed there 13 times, and I play it.
“So I walked into Red Rocks with a bit of bravado. You can’t walk out all flat-footed, like, ‘Oh, shucks, oh, my... ’ You’ve got to own the place. You’ve got to be like, ‘I belong here.’ We had done some great warm-up shows, so we went in with the wind at our backs.
“Those natural sidewalls sounded so good, and the whole thing just flew by. My left hand flowed. The inertia carried me along.
“It was one of those gigs that you want to bottle. Everything just worked – it was like an out-of-body experience… We’ve done 10 years in a row, and we’re going back this year.”
OK. Get to the good stuff. And the worst?
Following the release of Bonamassa's first solo record, A New Day Yesterday, he was booked onto a Jethro Tull summer tour, being encouraged to play the title track – a Tull cover – to packed houses by none other than the band's Ian Anderson and Martin Barre.
However, after the show's wrap-up, Bonamassa found himself rather left to his own devices…
"We had three weeks of shows booked on our own, which meant we went from playing full places to not-so-full places. We showed up at this place in Memphis called Beale Street Live…
“The ticket price was $12, but we were getting 100 percent of the door, so it was a good deal. Our showtime was 8:30, no opening act. I was backstage and I said, ‘It’s kind of quiet out there.’ Time to go on came around, and I swear, there were five people in the club: me, the bass player, the drummer, the bartender and the guy driving the van. We grossed zero dollars.
“There’s nothing more deflating and Spinal Tap than going to one of the epicenters of the blues and drawing zero people. Not a single person paid, no one came in.
“We ended up working on a couple of things arrangement-wise, so it was like a rehearsal. This went on for 45 minutes. Not even the bartender was watching us. It was ridiculous.
“I think I got a Diet Coke out of it, and that was it. It was the worst."
So remember. The next time your E-string snaps mid-solo and your van gets nicked mid-gig, Red Rocks and Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall are right around the corner.
