The word that sums up Joe Bonamassa’s gig at the Motorpoint Arena would be electric writes Ethan Davies.

Joe opened by debuting songs from his upcoming album in 2018. While nobody quite knew the lyrics yet, that didn’t stop those present from enjoying the songs. Bonamassa also seemed to be a little nervous about debuting these songs, opting to actually stare at his fretboard while pumping out his usual lightning fast riffs. By the second song you could already see the capability of his band when Joe let pianist Reese Wynans show off with a solo on the organ.

After a handful of upbeat, fast and energetic songs, Bonamassa chose to slow it down and play some slower, bluesy numbers from his new album, showing off just how diverse a musician he can be.

One thing to note throughout the gig was the lack of conversation.

Every second of chatting is a second that could have been spent playing, and he wasn’t prepared to waste any of it.

Just over an hour into the gig was when Bonamassa started to move away from his newer projects and focus on some classics.

Opening with the legendary ‘’Slow Train’’, the speed picked up once again into an explosion of fast licks and solos.

From here on out it was pure, undulated Joe Bonamassa, and it carried on to the very end of the gig.

To close the evening Bonamassa opted to cover Don Robertson’s ‘’Hummingbird’’, a nice nod to Joe’s mentor and blues legend, B B King.

However, this was only a cover by name and name only, ripping the song away from its country root, and making it stand on its own as a powerful blues number. The song was an amazing way to close an amazing night, a powerful delivery of soul and passion.