An Acoustic Evening At The Vienna Opera House[2 DVD]

Joe Bonamassa's Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House is a musical triumph. Producer Kevin Shirley teamed up four fantastic musicians to play with Joe: Gerry O'Connor from Ireland, Mats Wester from Sweden, & Arlan Schierbaum & Lenny Castro from the U.S.A. These five artists had never before met, & after 72 hours played together in this concert with amazing precision & beauty. Along with the 12 guitars Joe used, the other musicians added an Irish banjo, fiddle, mandolin, mandola, baby piano, nyckelharpa, harmonium, accordion, glockenspiel, & a host of ethnic percussion instruments. The music they produced has a blues base but also includes a bluegrass & country-folk sound. Joe's voice has reached an impressive level of maturity & his acoustic guitar work ranks him with the best in the world. In Joe's own words "this was a risky venture", however, it was not only successful it is Joe's greatest achievement. This concert reminded me of Ry Cooder's documentary "Buena Vista Social Club", & Joe's slide guitar work on track #8 has a strong Ry Cooder sound to it. All five of these musicians played together like a finely made Swiss watch & improvised perfectly giving all the compositions a unique an entertaining sound. The Vienna Opera House was the ideal location for this concert.

The dvd and cd, for An Acoustic Evening, arrived shortly before Joe's Seattle concert. The recordings are absolutely fabulous! They gave my husband and me a taste of what we could expect on concert night. And, we were not disappointed. Kicking off his concert with some acoustic songs prepared us for the rest of an awesome evening. It didn't take long for us to realize that we were in the midst of musical greatness. Joe's voice has developed a richness and maturity that rivals some of the greatest singers of our time. He's correct when he spoke about not having the ability to hide your mistakes when performing acoustic. I very much prefer this format if you're good enough, and he is. I can't wait to see where he goes from here. As long as he continues to perform, we will be at his concerts. So, don't knock acoustic because many of us boomers would not know the correct lyrics to "Layla" if Clapton hadn't gone unplugged! Thanks Joe.

The collection of songs performed acoustically in this concert is simply outstanding. Aside from being perhaps the best guitar virtuoso of the age, Bonamassa shows great talent and flexibility in transforming "electronic" music to the "acoustic" platform and his vocals truly shine in this medium. The short-notice, coordinated choreography of the talented musicians performing this concert is not only a testament to their individual skills, but to Bonamassa himself for pulling them into his music. While Bonamassa is the star, no one is pushed to the side in the process. Each is featured in a way to showcase their individual artistry. You can see the appreciation for one another in their spontaneous glances and smiles as they perform. These musicians truly enjoyed each other and the music they shared. You, as the viewer/listener will too! I cannot think of a better piece of music culture than this DVD recording in Vienna. You will want to view it over and over.

I cannot tell you how good this is in this little review box. You can't box in Bonamassa! If you like Guitar Driven Rock, Blues, Blues Rock, Jazz - all from a very young guy who not only writes his lyrics but also his music and it's actually good - you want this.This guy is the most under-rated musician you have never heard of. When you hear this (hopefully through real speakers - not amped up bass boosters from hell) you will hear music - like it's the first time. I accidentally found him and bought 2 CDs.Then I went to a used CD shop and bought the rest of his entire catalog (new & unopened) including the 2 CDs with Beth Hart and his first rock band's CD and his other pet project Rock Candy Funk Party. Then I found the DVD concerts and then the blu rays concerts. I'm tellin' you "Get up off-a that thing".........and buy ALL OF IT. You WILL thank me.....

One of the best concerts of any kind I've seen in years. Wonderful song selections and virtuosic performances from everyone involved. So why just 4 stars? Well, several minor flaws, imo:1. The omission of a bass player was intentional to give the other instruments and the vocals more "air", but a bassist like Danny Thompson or Edgar Meyer could have added immeasurably, I think. Bad call.2. The inclusion of the Swedish Nyckelharpa is interesting, but a tad redundant when you have a fiddler like Gerry O'Connor on board. More a novelty than a solid contribution in a small combo. Another instrument choice would have been better.3. Don't get me wrong, I love Joe's guitar playing, and he came up with some captivating arrangements for this concert, but a few of the songs' guitar parts sounded a bit repetitive, and his leads make it clear that while he is a wonderful acoustic player, there are a number of better ones (Tommy Emmanuel, Richard Thompson, Bruce Cockburn and Kelly Joe Phelps come to mind, just to name a few).Do not, however, let these minor reservations keep you from experiencing this remarkable performance. If you're a Joe fan you'll love it, and if you're not, this show just might make you one. I recommend the CD/mp3 versions as well.