Ok fuck it. I'm into my third viewing of this concert now (and a few bourbons along as well), and I'm gonna say what I have to say. If you don't like Joe, or you don't like me talking about Joe, just skip this post.
I can't believe how much FUN this concert is. It's not Joe's usual style. By his own admission in the past, he's more of a British/UK blues-influenced musician (Clapton, Beck, Moore, etc.) than American blues. But this show is all about (obviously) the ~50's-era American blues, the precursor to rock-n-roll. (Seen Back to the Future? Yeah that sort of stuff.) It's not that Joe's trying to
BE Muddy or Wolf, but he's playing songs they're known for, with a big nod to their music and their influence, but with Joe's own contemporary style. This music is almost exclusively the standard 12-bar blues (I-IV-I-V-IV-I) stuff, three chords - again harkening to the standard pop/rock 3-chord style that most of the time I find nauseatingly simplistic. Harmonically, it's nothing new or even all that interesting, but what makes this concert is what Joe does
inside the constraints of this style. What he does with the solos. How his band (more on this in a sec) fills it in. It's something I haven't seen in any of Joe's earlier work, and is one of the things I respect most about his artistry - how he is willing to stretch himself into musical styles that are outside his "bread and butter."
This band is top-notch. Note that it's not a single one of Joe's normal touring band. Most of these people he's played with or recorded with before, yes, but this band seems to have been specially selected for this particular concert (which you get more of a sense of if you watch the extras). I respect how Joe gives every member of the band their own moment to shine. In particular, I love the bassist (Michael Rhodes, who's been around forever), and especially the keyboardist (Reese Wynans, who was with SRV and Double Trouble). There's also a harmonica and second guitarist who add a lot to the show. And finally the horn trio, led by Lee Thornberg, who (in various incarnations of members) have played with Joe since his Royal Albert Hall debut ~7 years ago. Anton Fig (~30 years on the David Letterman band) is the drummer. Every member of this band has something to contribute, and visibly does so in this concert. It's far more than just a "Joe and sidemen" sort of deal.
If there's any weakness in this show, it's Joe's vocals. While he's come a long way in his singing in recent years, his voice just doesn't have the "growl" of a true gritty American bluesman, especially in the lower register. He does a pretty decent job of it, but
DON'T judge this concert on the basis of the vocals (Zing). Fortunately, I'm not that into the vocals per se, as we've discussed before it's just one among many instruments, to me. Joe really (REALLY) shines in the guitar here, pay more attention to that if you listen to this concert.
And WOW this venue - Red Rocks - which I was not that familiar with before, is spectacular. Seeing the sun go down over the Colorado Rockies over the course of this concert, with the city lights (Boulder?) in the background, really added a lot to the overall effect, at least for me. And to think, our very own Doghart was actually present at this concert, I'm so friggin' jealous... I looked for him in the crowd shots but couldn't find him.
In conclusion (finally), even if you're not a big Joe fan, if you like 50's blues rock, you'll like this concert, I promise. Get it.