Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

With sweat sliding from the walls of the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool – holy home of The Beatles and one or two others – Joe Bonamassa stepped onto the stage at 8 pm, slung his guitar across his shoulders and thereby went on to rip the guts out of the place with two hours of the most sublime guitar work you are ever likely to witness.

Billed as A Tribute to the British Blues Explosion instigated by Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa decided rehashing the classic numbers penned by the this trio of master craftsmen and instead gloried in their lesser known works. The atmosphere was imbued with a sense of awe, with not only Mr. Bonamassa being its focus but also the consummate craftsmanship of Reece Wynans on keys, Anton Fig on drums, Russ Irwin on guitar and the extraordinary Michael Rhodes on bass all of whom contributed enormously to what transpired, particularly during Clapton’s Motherless Children where Wynans must have come close to busting his set, such was the vigour with which he played.

Let Me Love You Baby may be a Buddy Guy song, but Jeff Beck infused it with a rawness the like of which had never been witnessed before. Joe Bonamassa here twists the dial still higher and tighter, producing a sound that is almost ethereally beautiful. Whereas Clapton’s Mainline Florida, in this man’s hands, becomes a different beast of a song that very nearly breathes fire such is its power.

Tea for One from Zeppelin’s Presence album and Clapton’s Pretending from Journeyman continued to set the bar just that little bit higher with each fresh chord that was being delivered until, finally – after two hours of exhilaration – Sloe Gin magnificently “slows down” proceedings just a little, despite its sublime guitar break, before the obligatory nod towards John, Paul, George and Ringo with Revolver’s Taxman ends the night on an exuberant high the likes of which may never be seen again.

Not so much a gig as a happening – an experience – Joe Bonamassa’s Tribute to the British Blues Explosion is quite simply a feast of musical expression, vibrancy, vitality and vigour that will live forever in the memory.

Chris High