Joanne Shaw Taylor Shows She’s Nobody’s Fool in Milwaukee at The Pabst Theater
Joanne Shaw Taylor Shows She’s Nobody’s Fool in Milwaukee
Written and photographed by Brooke Billick
Joanne Shaw Taylor is simply a brilliant blues-rock guitarist and singer. Taylor made her
Milwaukee debut on Sunday, October 30, 2022, at the historic Pabst Theater before an
enthusiastic crowd of fans.
Taylor’s performance was in support of her 8th studio album, Nobody’s Fool, released two days
prior to her show at the Pabst. The album was produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith
and released on Bonamassa’s KTBA Records, a project of the Keeping the Blues Alive
Foundation. With a couple of exceptions, all of the songs on the album were written or co-
written by Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Joanne Shaw Taylor originally hails from the West Midlands of England. Her early interest in
the blues was inspired by her love of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins and Jimi Hendrix. She
was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at the age of 16 who, having watched her
play, immediately invited her on the road with his supergroup D.U.P. Since then, her career has
continued to blossom, leading her to play with a number of musical legends including Jimmy
Cliff, Bonamassa, Stevie Wonder and Annie Lennox.
Over the past 20 years, Taylor has released a series of successful studio albums and a live
blues album with a number of collaborators, with two No. 1 albums on the Billboard Blues
Charts and one in the UK Top 20 Album Chart.
In addition to tracks from Nobody’s Fool, Taylor’s set included songs spanning her entire
career, including a number of covers by great blues artists.
Taylor launched into set with her tough-toned take on an early Fleetwood Mac/Peter Green
song, “Stop Messin’ Round” from her 2021 release, The Blues Album. This instantly set the
pace for the evening with her aggressive, energetic guitar style.
Taylor’s songs highlighted many of her extended guitar solos. On stage, she was a force to be
reckoned with, as she swayed back and forth and from side to side. From the grin on her face,
Taylor appeared to be having the time of her life. Certainly, the crowd loved her enthusiasm
and energy.
When Joanne Shaw Taylor told the audience this was her first time in Milwaukee, many
screamed back how much they want her to return in the future.
“Bad Blood” had a definite twangy, honky tonk feel to it leading into Taylor’s engaging and
catchy chorus.
The album version of “Won’t Be Fooled Again,” which featured Joe Bonamassa, starts off with
an interesting guitar twist, almost reminiscent of the plucking on Asian stringed instrument such
as a Japanese Koto. While this wasn’t replicated during the show, Taylor offers her playful
playing and uplifting lyrics as she reflects on the back end of a painful breakup.
In between songs, Taylor engaged the audience with tales of her experiences and journey along
her singing and songwriting career.
The title track of Taylor’s new album, “Nobody’s Fool,” has a definite country feel to it and
reminds listeners of the perceiving inequity often found in relationships—“If men are so
great/Why are women having to save them/All of the time.” This leads to the moral of the song
being “when you’re nothing to no one, baby/Then you’re nobody’s fool.”
During a break between songs, Taylor talked about her mother, who passed away about 10
years ago. As she talked about how much she missed her mother, Joanne wistfully wondered
what advice her mom would give her if she was alive today.
Offering the insight that “grief never leaves you, it just changes over time,” Taylor transitioned
into the tribute “Fade Away”—a soft and sweet ballad reminiscing about past sorrows but
remembering that “the darkest clouds, they never stay…You’ve so many memories still to
make/And they’re all such a blessing.”
Taylor played pretty much exclusively on her vintage Fender Telecaster throughout the whole
set—the same guitar she’s used for her entire professional career.
Reflective of her boundless energy, Taylor constantly whipped her hair from side to side. This
led her to remark once that “at least God gave me the gift of great hair!”
Taylor commented that many of her songs reflected some pretty heavy themes. Sometimes,
she said, she loves her songs just because they have lovely melodies. This led to her song
“Runaway,” which, of course, included a wonderful melody, but also dealt with a theme of a love
who can’t seem to commit to a relationship.
“Watch Em Burn,” from her debut album, White Sugar, showed the sheer raw power of Taylor’s
guitar, along with her edgy vocals.
Taylor then slowed the pace with “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” an ode to a relationship
gone way too far south. Her vocals throughout the song were low and sulky, pulling the
audience into her heartbreak.
Joanne Shaw Taylor ended the evening with two of her earliest songs, “Mud, Honey” and “White
Sugar,” which gave audiences the opportunity to sample offerings spanning her career.
Overall, the evening was a guitar lover’s dream—a high-energy guitar fest featuring the
incomparable vocal and songwriting talents of Joanne Shaw Taylor.
One of the laudable aspects of Joe Bonamassa’s project, Keeping the Blues Alive, has been to
highlight the talents of newer, under-exposed artists. Taking Joanne Shaw Taylor under his
wing will certainly continue to give her exposure and popularity in the US and elsewhere—this is
so well deserved based on her distinctive talents.
Joanne Shaw Taylor’s US fall tour continues through November 18, 2022, followed by several
UK dates through December 11, 2022. Her spring 2023 tour picks up on March 19, 2023.
Check out her tour dates at https://www.joanneshawtaylor.com/tour/
See full gallery of the night here.
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, 10/30/2022
Set List:
STOP MESSING ROUND
I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME
THREE TIME LOSER
IF YOU’VE GOT TO MAKE A FOOL OF SOMEBODY
CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME
TWO TIME MY LOVIN’
NOBODY’S FOOL
BAD BLOOD
WON’T BE FOOLED AGAIN
FADE AWAY
RUNAWAY
DYIN’ TO KNOW
WATCH ‘EM BURN
I’VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG
JUST ANOTHER WORD
BAD LOVE
GOING HOME
MUD, HONEY
WHITE SUGAR
Twitter/Instagram: @joanneshawtaylor, joanneshawtaylor.com, @keepingthebluesalive,
ktbarecords.com, @pabsttheatergroup, @shutter16, @brookebillickphotography
