Bonamassa pretty much owns Zakk Wylde here.

[Zap]

Regardless of the licks and the tone... It's gotta be the monitors of lack of.

He must not have been able to hear himself. There's no way he'd play so badly out of tune if could hear himself. I don't think he's let himself go to that extreme.

That fast lick he goes into at about 1:45... He's playing out of key... Well then he looks down and realizes he's not on the right frets and finds the right key again... Proof that he wasn't hearing very much...

Again, as has been mentioned here already, you can't tell me you need to hear yourself perfectly to know you are in key after playing the same pentatonic box licks for 30 years? Ok, the song is in A, my root is on the low E string fifth fret. That's where i start my pentatonic box. Now i do all my runs from that point up. I think he missed the right fret when he went up the neck because he was too busy widening his stance, dipping his head back, and spitting into the air. So the proof is that he wasn't paying attention because he was too busy being badass. The guy is a joke. I can't listen to a thing he is on. Needs a haircut and a shave and to ditch the dirty biker look.

Bingo.

 

[paulyc]

To be fair, Joe could own just about any rock guitar player.
I think he was being very kind to Zakk.

It's not a competition, but Joe highlights other players weaknesses.

Bullshit, I've seen him jam with plenty of guys from Clapton, Walter Trout, Jim McCarty, etc. JB was great, but there wasn't any owning going on. Stick an 80's metal asshat in the ring, and he got his ass owned good. Shown up for the chump player he is

I hope you're not calling ALL 80s metal players asshats...There are quite a few that would hold their own here.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

I'd much rather hear Zakk do Pride & Glory style playing.

He's in the key of "Who Gives a F - - -"
Don't think he cares about much these days.

 

[the crush 36]

I think he's afraid to tone it down 'cuz he might lose his "following"...Personally I'd rather see him go back to the Pride & Glory thing instead of BLS...[/qu

I used to love Zakk Wylde in pride&glory days!! I hate BLS! I don't know what happened to him! He can't sing anymore! and after seeing that video! He lost something! Cuz he can play with feeling (back in the day) but that was not good! JB blew him out of the water! damm!!!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Zakk...just sucked here. Joe is pretty standard, plenty of guys play like bonamassa/ej , I was not really impressed by either. Maybe they should have had Doug rappaport get up there , he would have played the same licks as bonamassa, or maybe Richie Kotzen because he can actually hang vs Zakk who just shit himself. Fuck it, they needed to call Nuno. Nuno can play circles around Bonamassa...this list can go on.
We all know Satch would have destroyed everyone...

Now we are just in a pissing match... Satch would not be able to hang with Rappaport or Kotzen when it comes to this genre. He's great don't get me wrong but blues would be right in Kotzen's wheelhouse. Actually, none of that even matters because all the guys mentioned above would play IN KEY and stop to take a breath rather than alternate picking everything in a blur of chorused notes. I think it is time for Zakk to move on to his second career as a bouncer at a local watering hole.

 

[carlygtr]

To be fair, Joe could own just about any rock guitar player.
I think he was being very kind to Zakk.

It's not a competition, but Joe highlights other players weaknesses.

Bullshit, I've seen him jam with plenty of guys from Clapton, Walter Trout, Jim McCarty, etc. JB was great, but there wasn't any owning going on. Stick an 80's metal asshat in the ring, and he got his ass owned good. Shown up for the chump player he is

I hope you're not calling ALL 80s metal players asshats...There are quite a few that would hold their own here.

No, some 80's guys can really play and dip into the blues if they want to. Zakk is the asshat. He left that stage with a full diaper

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I'd much rather hear Zakk do Pride & Glory style playing.

He's in the key of "Who Gives a F - - -"
Don't think he cares about much these days.

This exactly.. the key of "who gives a F---". I think that nails it.

 

[carlygtr]

Zakk...just sucked here. Joe is pretty standard, plenty of guys play like bonamassa/ej , I was not really impressed by either. Maybe they should have had Doug rappaport get up there , he would have played the same licks as bonamassa, or maybe Richie Kotzen because he can actually hang vs Zakk who just shit himself. Fuck it, they needed to call Nuno. Nuno can play circles around Bonamassa...this list can go on.
We all know Satch would have destroyed everyone...

Now we are just in a pissing match... Satch would not be able to hang with Rappaport or Kotzen when it comes to this genre. He's great don't get me wrong but blues would be right in Kotzen's wheelhouse. Actually, none of that even matters because all the guys mentioned above would play IN KEY and stop to take a breath rather than alternate picking everything in a blur of chorused notes. I think it is time for Zakk to move on to his second career as a bouncer at a local watering hole.

You must be kidding. Satch can and has hung with just about everybody. What's Kotzen gonna do? sweep pick in Crossroads?

 

[paulyc]

Kotzen can play ANYTHING. He's amazing. Not just "shred" stuff. Chicken picken, sweeping, tapping, country turn arounds, double stops, melodies...he can do it ALL.

 

[rupe]

A few things come to mind as I read this thread:

1. Zakk definitely hacked it up on that, but it wasn't close to as bad as I expected based on the comments. I'll bet those in attendance weren't nearly as aware of his out of key playing and slop as we are by having the ability to listen and discern at a reasonable volume and without the "grandeur" of a theater setting.

2. Commenting on live tone from an audience video is simply stupid. Everything sounds thinner on a hand held recording device. Having seen Joe live about a year ago, his tone is much darker than what came across on this video...it very easily could have taken Joe from muddy to good, and Zakk from good to thin...we simply don't know enough without being there to comment on tones.

3. The exception to #2 is that chorus pedal...it needs to go.

4. I don't get all the apparent hate for Zakk himself? I've had the opportunity to hang out with him...you won't find a cooler dude anywhere. Zero ego and extremely humble when you talk to him...he's still a huge fan even though he's made his own mark.

5. What's with all the fashion police here? So he looks like a dirty, smelly biker...why do you care? Unless you're wife/girlfriend can't control her impulses around dirty, smelly bikers, you should thank him. But for those of you who are still offended by his appearance, here's something to cleanse your retinas:


6. Joe is great and I'm a big fan, but to say he would own just about any other rock player is ridiculous. He frequently falls back on the same descending run every time he "cuts heads" and really doesn't have what I would call distinct original phrasing like many other rock players...he wears his influences on his sleeve pretty boldly and plays things pretty damn straight for the most part.

Here he gets taken to school by Warren Haynes...if you have trouble seeing it or understanding how, you have a long way to go as a player:

In closing, I agree that Zakk didn't make much a showing here but I think we all know that he's capable of much better.

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

far cry from this

or even this

maybe he had an off night playing with JB - I sure wish he'd do more this style of music instead of the boozed bruized and numbskull prison riot music he plays now

 

[Shawn Lutz]

To be fair, Joe could own just about any rock guitar player.
I think he was being very kind to Zakk.

It's not a competition, but Joe highlights other players weaknesses.

Bullshit, I've seen him jam with plenty of guys from Clapton, Walter Trout, Jim McCarty, etc. JB was great, but there wasn't any owning going on. Stick an 80's metal asshat in the ring, and he got his ass owned good. Shown up for the chump player he is

I hope you're not calling ALL 80s metal players asshats...There are quite a few that would hold their own here.

and improvise freely over a simple track

 

[carlygtr]

To be fair, Joe could own just about any rock guitar player.
I think he was being very kind to Zakk.

It's not a competition, but Joe highlights other players weaknesses.

Bullshit, I've seen him jam with plenty of guys from Clapton, Walter Trout, Jim McCarty, etc. JB was great, but there wasn't any owning going on. Stick an 80's metal asshat in the ring, and he got his ass owned good. Shown up for the chump player he is

I hope you're not calling ALL 80s metal players asshats...There are quite a few that would hold their own here.

and improvise freely over a simple track

Yeah, Like Zakk did Simple track. Deceptively easy. Yet he came away as a complete hack.

 

[robertkoa]

Nothing else to say here that hasn't already been.
I am surprised to hear him play so out of key. the whole damn thing is in A.....simple.

I've played that song many times with my old blues/rock band and I'd start out with the Clapton licks then get a little riptastic then reign it in and hit the Clapton licks again. There is opportunity to rip on this tune, but that was terrible.

Good point you almost HAVE to quote some Clapton to do this song.

The two that OWN it are Robert Johnson and Clapton.

Way back when Clapton first did it , combined with the amazing Vibrato he had...it was an amazing piece of Virtuosity with feeling, and there were maybe 10 players or less with a Vibrato like that, probably 4...

Bonamassa seens to be "on " almost always, gotta bring your A Game to Jam with him.

 

[Alex Stanley]

Joe's singing is as bad as his guitar face. A little of him goes a long way.

 

[moronmountain]

Zakk was better when he drank............ however! Dude's he was a jamming a song that I'm sure he never plays, and JB prolly has done that song a gazillion times. Bring JB on stage with BLS, no rehearsal, and told a key to play in on any metal/hard rock song that the BLS dudes know, and it would look the same in reverse. Zakk overplayed on that song by alot, but when doing a loose jam, peeps end up falling on their crutches. It's normal, and understandable. JB is a really solid blues player, but he's not guitar hero IMO. I get sick of all the pretentious peeps that only think jazz and blues players are skilled and/or tasty, but many of them couldn't even jam on a steady rock tune. Zakk is no studio player that can cop any genre to a T, but he's a damn fine rock/metal guitarist even if he hasn't done anything creative in some years. I'm not sure I ever thought of him as all that creative of a player in the first place, but he's always been in the "bad ass" category.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I'll fend off the ZW attackers...here's a tune I always enjoyed big time (not necessarily the video though

 

[carlygtr]

Bring JB on stage with BLS, no rehearsal, and told a key to play in on any metal/hard rock song that the BLS dudes know, and it would look the same in reverse.

They weren't playing a JB tune, were they? They were playing an old standard every idiot knows how to play. To try and say JB couldn't present himself in a harder rock setting is a joke. I'm not a big JB fan but he can play, and in a variety of genres. There's a blistering Superstion w/ Joe jamming with Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice. Another tune that Zakk would be cupping his sakk on. The guy blows. His time came and went. I put this up. Best I ever heard Zakk-

 

[thiswaythatway]

Zakk...just sucked here. Joe is pretty standard, plenty of guys play like bonamassa/ej , I was not really impressed by either. Maybe they should have had Doug rappaport get up there , he would have played the same licks as bonamassa, or maybe Richie Kotzen because he can actually hang vs Zakk who just shit himself. Fuck it, they needed to call Nuno. Nuno can play circles around Bonamassa...this list can go on.
We all know Satch would have destroyed everyone...

Now we are just in a pissing match... Satch would not be able to hang with Rappaport or Kotzen when it comes to this genre. He's great don't get me wrong but blues would be right in Kotzen's wheelhouse. Actually, none of that even matters because all the guys mentioned above would play IN KEY and stop to take a breath rather than alternate picking everything in a blur of chorused notes. I think it is time for Zakk to move on to his second career as a bouncer at a local watering hole.

You must be kidding. Satch can and has hung with just about everybody. What's Kotzen gonna do? sweep pick in Crossroads?

I'd rather hear Kotzen sing it than Joe, Ritchie has a great voice. I don't like his tone at all on the Winery Dogs album and live I thought Billy Sheehan drowned him out. But Kotzen doesn't even use a pick anymore and the Winery Dogs album is pretty good, has some good songs on it to the point where solo's are not the big attraction on it.

 

[moronmountain]

Bring JB on stage with BLS, no rehearsal, and told a key to play in on any metal/hard rock song that the BLS dudes know, and it would look the same in reverse.

They weren't playing a JB tune, were they? They were playing an old standard every idiot knows how to play. To try and say JB couldn't present himself in a harder rock setting is a joke. I'm not a big JB fan but he can play, and in a variety of genres. There's a blistering Superstion w/ Joe jamming with Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice. Another tune that Zakk would be cupping his sakk on. The guy blows. His time came and went. I put this up. Best I ever heard Zakk-

I meant a "cover" that the BLS guys know. I don't know how to play Crossroads, because I don't care to learn a song that every burned out, half assed, washed up, never has been, suck ass cover band plays. I'm glad I'm not an idiot.