‘This has never happened to me’: Bonamassa powers through audio issues at Cosmo
On Wednesday, Joe Bonamassa said, “You can give me a guitar and an amp and a working microphone, with the kind of band that we carry, I’m confident in the outcome.”
That’s not how it turned out Friday night at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Bonamassa’s audio equipment cut out five times during the performance. It was a case where the artist’s setup KO’d the system.
From last night, Joe Bonamassa gets a little help from his friend and sideman Josh Smith to finish this solo at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan. #RJNow @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/JeyjMKn0AE
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) August 5, 2023
“I can’t think of a better way to end, hopefully in its entirety, than to sing this one last song for you,” Bonamassa said before playing the fan favorite “Mountain Time,” one of the songs interrupted when the guitarist’s power crapped out. “I apologize for the rig going out a record five times. This has never happened to me in my life.”
Bonamassa later posted photos by ace shooter Steve Rose on Instagram, which the guitarist said were taken “before Armageddon hit my power supply.” He also posted, “Tonight was one for the ages.”
“The 20,000 hours I have spent onstage over the past 35 years came in real handy last night,” Bonamassa posted in response to an early online version of this column.
It was Bonamassa’s first performance ever at The Chelsea. Over the years the venue has hosted the likes of The Killers, Imagine Dragons, The 1975, Duran Duran, Billy Idol, and two months ago James Taylor.
Where Joe Bonamassa halted so the crew could work out the sound at the Chelsea last night … #Vegas @reviewjournal pic.twitter.com/s4M1WqbORs
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) August 5, 2023
None of those performances went off the grid like Bonamassa’s did.
The first hint of technical difficulties surfaced about 45 minutes in. Bonamassa, an enormously respected bluesman who opened for B.B. King at age 12, was mid-solo when his sound cut without warning. He stopped and turned toward sideman Josh Smith, who instinctively unplugged his Gibson Les Paul Lazarus and handed the cord to Bonamassa.
Bonamassa continued, flourishing on his own Gibson. Smith hung in front of his amps, nodding to the backing singers, sipping water and kind of loitering while crew members ducked and darted around Bonamassa’s setup.
The guitar great is a lot, obviously, musically and technically. The 46-year-old virtuoso mentioned that 10 amps were stacked onstage. Five were his, allowing him to switch off depending on which guitar he was playing (he has at least a half-dozen) and what tone he wants.
A series of floor pedals activate that system. Bonamassa gives it all a serious workout.
Reportedly, the technical failure was the voltage was too “hot” from Bonamassa’s rig, exceeding what the house system could handle. The electricity simply cut out in the same way a circuit breaker would cut power in your house.
For Bonamassa, never had a system choked in such a way. When a fan on Instagram later asked what happened, he said, “Hell if I know.”
“I’m going to take a little break while they sort this (expletive) out,” Bonamassa said from the stage, using salty language but stating his intentions in a very reasoned manner. He came back a in a few minutes, “I don’t care what the (expletive) is working, I’m going to plug into something to finish the song.”
Bonamassa might have been yearning for the days at the trusty Railhead at Boulder Station, when he was a regular in the Boulder Blues Series. The veteran showman has played any variety of venue at all kinds of gigs, in Vegas and across the country, in his vaunted career.
But instead of kicking over amps and caterwauling about the conditions, the veteran bluesman held it together. He killed a few minutes during (I think) the third power outage with a story about playing Mint in west L.A. some 20 years ago.
“I thought, this was a great crowd for Joe Bonamassa in 2003, it was roughly half-full, the people were excited,” Bonamassa said. “There was a band on before me. What I didn’t realize was that 100-percent of the people were there to celebrate the (expletive) singer’s birthday in the other band.”
When that band was done at 9 p.m., so was the crowd.
“Everybody went out the front door, except for the bartender, my bass player, my drummer, me, and the guy who was in charge of driving us around in a little (expletive) van,” Bonamassa said. “But now, I”m playing the Hollywood Bowl, for the first time, with an orchestra.”
It’s tempting to expect Bonamassa to think again before returning to Vegas, or even The Chelsea. But I’d wager he’ll be back, and not before too long. The guitar great will come armed with audio artillery, and a story for all time.
Cool Hang Alert
On the topic of those who rock it …
Classic-rock band Phoenix plays Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort at 9 p.m. Friday. Musically superior, no cover, gotta be 21 or over.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
