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Working towards this since he opened a show for BB King at the age of 12, Joe Bonamassa is no rookie in bringing blues to the fret board, and after playing the Royal Albert Hall with Eric Clapton this summer, he’s unsurprisingly sold out the Guildhall tonight. This is largely thanks to the success of ‘Ballad of John Henry’, his latest and seventh album, whose drop-tuned title track he doesn’t waste any time getting into the set.

Bonamassa has had a bit of an image re-vamp of late. Going for a suave silver suit and shades tonight, he’s not looking like your typical blues-rocker, but when you play guitar in the leagues of Moore and Clapton, and with a talent beyond your years, you’ve earnt the right to look cool.

The set is generous with the new album, from funky guitar in ‘Last Kiss’ to the soaring notes of ballad ‘Happier Times’. Every track is performed with passionate vocals and his trademark ability to flow between blues and rock n roll, branding him with his own style and the chance of some impressive covers . From the album, a pumped up version of Tom Wait’s ‘Jockey Full Of Bourbon’ is a clearly a favourite as well as blues-tinged renditions of the Sam Brown ballad ‘Stop!’ and the passionate ‘Feelin Good’, originally covered by Nina Simone and Sammy Davis Jr.

The rest are Bonamassa classics, ‘So Many Roads’ straddles smouldering blues with deep, murky riffs and aching solos that take you to drown your sorrows in a Southern American bar. Perfect live blues all aided by an impressive full band. The benchmark solo comes in the way of intricate blues-country riffs and rock n’ roll on an acoustic guitar, before topping it off with a ‘jack of all trades’ electric finish.

He smoothly moves from modern blues to heartache to happiness and back again but it’s ‘Sloe Gin’ that really leaves its mark on what an exceptional musician and performer he really is, playing guitar like he was born with it in his hands and with a phenomenal  intensity that his records will never do justice.

Joe Bonamassa at Southampton Guildhall.

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