Joanne Shaw Taylor’s US tour stopped by The Orpheum Theater on April 2nd to support her last album Nobody’s Fool released last year. A little after 8pm, the lights turned black and the musicians got on stage while John Lee Hooker’s “I’m In The Mood” resonated through the speakers of Downtown Los Angeles’ most beautiful Art Deco theater.
“Stop Messin’ Round” opened the show and the blues-enthusiast crowd cheered as the first guitar notes pierced the air. The first part of the show was mainly a selection of songs from The Blues Album, her 2021 blues covers album. A bit later in the evening, a good portion of Nobody’s Fool was also played, including “Figure It Out” on which Carmen Vandenberg (from Bones UK) joined the band on stage to play guitar.
The musicians were on point, giving a strong and steady platform for JST to shine. Joanne’s performance was incredible, each guitar solo being more amazing than the previous one. The live rendition of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” was maybe the most powerful moment of the night with extended solos that no one wanted to end, ever. Blues can be raw and deep or light and uplift you. Joanne’s music has a range of emotion that covers it all. Towards the end of the show, she switched her Fender Telecaster (her main guitar) for an acoustic guitar to play “Fade Away”, a beautiful song about mourning her mother. In between songs, Joanne takes the time to give some background on the songs she’s performing or cracking jokes to lighten the mood after a sad song.
Not only every one of her live performances is another demonstration that she belongs amongst the best guitar players, but her soulful voice is yet another talent of hers. Joanne and her band left the stage, only to come back for a short encore. After close to 2 hours of magic, the show ended, leaving the crowd satisfied and amazed. The US tour continues until April 15, so enjoy it while it lasts and don’t miss out on an opportunity to see Joanne Shaw Taylor live.
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
Photos + Review by Manuel Gay | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!