Blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa came to town last night to show why his guitar is one of the hottest around these days. He did.

He blistered the Three Rivers Arts Festival with more notes than it had probably heard in the past two weeks, bouncing them off Downtown buildings like machinegun bullets off Superman's chest. The only thing missing were the flames. "Slow Hand" he is not.

Now, let it be said here that blues-rock is not usually a BlueNotes favorite. I tend to like to have time to actually listen to the notes. But also let it be said that Bonamassa is an amazing guitarist, bending the blues wire fast and furiously. And he makes it work.

Almost as amazing as his playing are his vocals, which tend to take on the pitch and volume of his fretwork. Since he's only 30, he's not worn out the vocal chords yet, but since he began performing at 10, they've already had a long workout.

His band is crisp and tight, up to the task of following where he takes them: Carmine Rojas, bass; Bogie Bowles, drums; and Rick Melick on keyboards. Rojas gets my vote for presentation: With apologies to Andy Warhol, he could easily be tagged Ultra Cool.

But don't take my word for his skills. This praise just burned its way into the BlueNotes mailbox:

Thanks, Brian.

I would've liked to have been able to present a few photos, but BlueNotes was caught with his digital images down last night.

However, instead of photos, there was a delicious moment last night before the blues when BlueNotes' alter-ego, BeerNotes, enjoyed a brew he'd never tasted -- much like the Bonamassa rush. It was Avery Salvation, and can compete with any blues-rocker for your attention.