Bonnie Raitt concert at the Civic

We loved seeing Bonnie Raitt last week, she puts on such a professional show and yet it feels so personal. There’s a real enthusiasm and freshness even though you know she has been playing these songs with this band for decades. She changes guitars nearly every song; various Stratocasters and a jumbo acoustic that looked like a Guild. She explains that some artists change their outfits but she changes her guitars, and goes on to explain each one has a slightly different tuning. What I admired was that the changeovers were done so smoothly. All the guitars are radio frequency with the transmitter pack on the back of the strap, so no unplugging and replugging – no thumps or bumps. Once she has a new guitar over her shoulder, with help from the guitar tech, there’s no fusing with stomp boxes or volume controls on the guitar – she just plays it. Many of her songs are slow, ballads I guess, and even the rocking ones are slow-burners. The guitar solo work from both Bonnie and her guitarist George Marinelli are restrained, they never try to take the roof off. Here’s a review of the concert by Marty Duda https://www.13thfloor.co.nz/?p=85399

Author: Tony Richards

This was originally a travel journal for family and friends interested in my adventures, but now I'm back home I just continue with it as a general blog. I chat about design, music, danish pastries, the people I meet – I hope you'll tune in.

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