Frustrated with Bonamassa Live CDs

Hey Effischer - I am from Syracuse, NY and used to see this '' kid '' at local music outings and bars. I will admit the kid has/ had talent and I have seen him as an adult here in Syracuse as well. I have some of his music but the harder edge he has taken since his early days of - straight up blues has pushed me away. I agree his recordings are not the greatest .....I am just wondering if it is just that his huge ego has gotten in the way of the recording process ! Still enjoy some of his stuff ......

Garebear, I'm not into this type of music generally, but will buy some now as over my long life I have learned that folk from Syracuse generally have exquisite taste !

Syracuse has had some great jazz and blues acts over the years. We think it's because of all that snow. Kind of like the Italian food and pizza there, nothing else to do in the winter. We go back at least once a year, usually at New Year's, to remind ourselves what real food tastes like and what really bad winter weather looks like.

When we saw Joey in Cleveland in 2012, his ego didn't seem to be in the way of anything. He didn't talk much and most of the three sets he played had tons of improvisation. Seemed to really feed off the guys he was playing with, especially during the acoustic set. We had special seats we got through our local PBS station (WVIZ), so were right on top of the left PA stack. Won't do that again - way too loud.

Don't have an issue with his more rock-oriented material, but it can be a little much in a 3 hour show. You may recall the band Stroke from back in the day. They usually played Shifty's on Friday nights several times a year. Those guys were a great local act and had the blend of blues and rock just right to our ears.

Another real treasure (and a friend) is Jeff Stockham. He is seriously into Civil War reenactment music now with the Excelsior Coronet Brass Band, and got tagged by Steven Spielberg to do the band sequences in Lincoln. Does Gettysburg every year and has since the 90s. He's played with T.S. Monk, Stan Colella, Little Georgie, Marcia Rutledge, Syracuse Symphony and many others. Check him out if you get a chance.

One of the things we miss about Upstate was all the serious music and audio people like Tony Levin, Doyle-Whiting, 805, Dave Belles, the Gows, Steve Rowell and more. Have fun in the 'Cuse and happy listening!

I've lived ALL over the country, north , south, east and west.
Nicest people I've ever encountered in USA were during my time in Syracuse.
The 'cuse is like a flop eared puppy from the pound, not much to look at but with a heart of gold.

Shubert and Effischer...thank you for the kind words and looking at -5 today and there is some real good pizza here in Syracuse. I still go see Doyle and Whiting every chance I get and they are still good....Joe and Mark are still putting out recorded music that is just amazing ...think you can find them on Amazon. Dave Hanlon is still around and great with his own band ...and Stroke still play and Shifty's keeps a rockin ! Then you may remember this...the fist time I saw Joe Bonamassa was at the Party in the Plaza and he was 12 ......I turned my back to listen to him because I had an issue with looking at a kid who wasn't even hitting puberty, play licks as good as Eric Clapton and BB King ....! You knew the kid was going to be great and he is ......just love that '' old '' Delta and Chicago Blues sound. Stay well and we were probably at these same places together at one point in our lives and we didn't even know it !