"When you embark on an adventure like this you've got to commit to it", addresses Bonamassa to the 1500 strong crowd in Vicar Street. "... and sometimes you have to combine some songs to make it work. I'm going to pay you a little tribute to Jimmy Page now". No one can ever say he doesn't mean what he says.
It was the first of a 13 show tour and Bonamassa was determined to start on a high note. After that first promise came the first notes of Page's 'I Can't Quit You'. This was night blues came back to Dublin. Bonamassa last played in the capital five years ago with Black Country Communion. Judging by the packed out venue and two dates he was booked to play, I'd say he was dearly missed. This time around he wasn't here to play with Black Country Communion or his new solo record. Instead he plucked the best tracks from his heroes' back catalogues. The works of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck and more formed his set.
Strutting his finest playing skills on the comfortable looking stage, Bonamassa was the epitome of the coolness cliché. In a sharp blue suit, slim, black sunglasses and a gorgeous Gibson Les Paul over his shoulders, he looked every inch a bluesman. Couple that with his virtuosic band consisting of the top session musicians and a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (Reese Wynans) and you've got a powerhouse performance. The note-for-note synchronisation of tom-toms and bass and guitars and organ keys was testament to this.
Highlights of the night were Anton Figg's blistering solo to close the show during a performance of Albert King's 'The Hunter. Bonamassa thanked the audience for coming out and having so much a fun on a "rainy, sunny, rainy, then sunny, then rainy again day in Dublin". To end out the band regrouped off stage and five minutes later returned with the unmistakable sound of the classic track 'Sloe Gin'. I overheard one of the audience members describing that rendition as a "religious experience". If that doesn't say it all nothing will.