Review - Marcus Bonfanti Band

Millers 18th February 2010

Not quite the crowd this band deserves as persistent snowfall deterred all but the hardiest of blues fans for this gig. However for those who did turn out the band put on a magnificent performance.
Although there are three guys on stage this is a four piece band, with the sound desk mastered superbly by long time colleague of Marcus, T Bone, who gave polish to every number.

Throughout the set Marcus played a Dean resonator guitar with a rich, powerful fat sound which gave something extra special to the cover versions of Hendrix and Buddy Guy numbers that Marcus slipped into the playlist. Memorable cover of the night was an arrangement of “Messin' with the kid” which was truer to the Earl Hooker / Junior Wells original than the more frequently covered Rory Gallagher version.
However, the Marcus Bonfanti Band aren't about covers. The majority of the set-list was original material from the terrific albums “Hard Times” and the recently released “What Good Am I To You?”, the latter receiving wide critical acclaim throughout the Blues media not least for his remarkable song-writing talent. Song's of lost love and betrayal in typical Blues fashion with more up to date topics of mobile phones and government taxation added to the mix.
The tight and attentive rhythm section of Scott Wiber on Bass and Alex Reeves on Drums played with class, and in between Marcus played a couple of solo acoustic pieces, his rich melodic vocals alternating with gravelly growls. Watch out for these guys in your area,
Lorraine.