Bonamassa’s “Time Clocks” tour delivers energizing blues rock (Omaha Review)

Joe Bonamassa brought his “Time Clocks” tour to the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, August 5th. It was just the third date on tour after playing the first two shows in Nashville and Kettering, Ohio.

The Opening

This is the fifth Bonamassa show I’ve attended over the past decade and one thing you can always count on is Joe’s time clock being set to 8 PM. The show always starts promptly at 8. The lights went out just a few minutes before 8 and then Bonamassa and his eight-piece band took the stage.

The show kicked off with “Dust Bowl” which rolled into “Evil Mama” and Gary Moore’s “Midnight Blues,” which was a definite fan favorite with the crowd joining in during the chorus. The performance followed with “I Didn’t Think She Would Do It” and “Just ‘Cos You Can Don’t Mean You Should” off Redemption. The latter featured a fiery guitar solo that got the crowd into a frenzy.

“Time Clocks”

Joe then introduced his band before kicking off the “Time Clocks” portion of the show. There was a new rhythm section featuring Lemar Carter on drums and Calvin Turner on bass. Backing vocalists included Jade McRae, Mahalia Barnes, and Danielle DeAndrea. Reese Wynans (keys) got a huge ovation from the crowd.

You’ll also notice Josh Smith as the second guitarist in the band. Smith is Bonamassa’s partner in crime and co-producer on several projects (Eric Gales, Joanna Connor, Larry McCray, Joanne Shaw Taylor, etc). During the performance, Bonamassa referred to Smith as the best guitarist on the stage.

This is the first time I’ve been to a Bonamassa show where he played nearly an album in its entirety. Usually, he’ll play a handful of songs from a new album, but it was cool to see the attention on Time Clocks, which was voted Blues Rock Review’s #1 album of 2021.

One quick thing that stands out from the performance is the use of imagery. Each song had custom tailored graphics on the huge projection screen, which was a nice touch. And as always, the sound was clear.

Bonamassa started with “Notches.” Before beginning “Questions and Answers,” Bonamassa spoke about an ex girlfriend he wrote the song about and questioned why he asked her out in the first place. “Loyal Kind” with its powering riff was an electrifying performance.

The Conclusion

“Time Clocks” was the final track Bonamassa played on the album before finishing with two fan favorites, “The Ballad of John Henry” and a captivating version of “Mountain Time” which at one point even included Smith joining in during part of the guitar solo.

“Mountain Time” is just one of those songs you have to hear live. Joe shared the story of how the song came about when he was 22 years old and it was his co-writer, Grammy winner Will Jennings’ swan song before heading into retirement. Jennings also wrote lyrics to Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.”

All in all, Bonamassa and company are firing on all cylinders. The “Time Clocks” tour delivers an energetic and tight performance from start to finish. Bonamassa also adds a bit of humor between songs for good measure.

Set List