Jeff Beck Concert Review

     As you know from yesterday's post, I attended the Brian Wilson/Jeff Beck concert last Saturday night at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC.  I went there because I wanted to see Brian Wilson before he retires.  He is, after all 71 years old, and it's by no means certain that he'll continue to perform live after this tour.  Tagging along for Wilson's last ride is guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Beck.
      Beck took the stage a few minutes after Wilson's band left and put on a ninety minute display of the talent that saw him dubbed a "guitar god" in 1965.  Back then he played with a band called the Yardbirds who helped launch the careers of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Beck. They had a bunch of hits including For Your Love, Heart Full Of Soul, & Shapes Of Things.  Later Beck left the band and started to record his own music.  This included the blues, jazz fusion, rock, & metal which he played with many of the most talented musicians around in one form of the Jeff Beck Group or another.

Jonathan Joseph

       This tour he has, once again, put together an astonishingly talented band which includes Jonathan Joseph on drums, guitarist Nicolas Meier, violinist Lizzie Ball, and Rhonda Smith on bass.  While sharing the spotlight with Beck they've helped him once again breathe new life into his seemingly ageless music.  Perhaps it's because most of his solo music has no vocals, maybe it's the continuously changing group members, or perhaps it's because of his unique guitar style, but Beck's music really does translate well to the modern stage.

Lizzie Ball

      Wearing a black vest over a white tank top, Beck played a white Fender Statocaster throughout the performance.  Preferring to let the music do his talking, Beck, as is his way, shied away from the microphone.  It's a good strategy for a guy that can wring honest emotion and imagery from his guitar and with the help of his band he did just that.
       Opening with Eternities Breath/Stratus Beck re-established himself to the crowd as, still, one of the best guitar players to ever strap up and plug in.  Throughout the night he played the classics the audience came to hear or covered something in his own extraordinary way.  Little Wing by Jimi Hedrix was not a note for note cover, yet Beck remained faithful to the Hendrix version while also giving it an update that easily connected with the audience.  He also impressed with a cover of the Beatles A Day In The Life.  Similar to the Beatles version Beck's take built to a satisfying crescendo and a standing ovation.

Nicolas Meier

       Beck comfortably shared the stage and the spotlight with each of his band mates throughout the show.  Jonathan Joseph, always a force on the drums, displayed power and finesse along with amazingly fast hands.  Lizzie Ball, who looks like she should be a member of Celtic Woman, blew away the diva's by responding to each of Becks challenges by dynamically shredding on her violin.  Nicolas Meier provided strong counterpoints on the jazz fusion numbers but also shined on acoustic guitar with his perfect accompaniment on Yemin (which is one of my favorite Beck songs).  Versatile bass player Rhonda Smith threatened to steal the show on more than one occasion.  She ran through Beck's series of genre's with a rock steady hand and a creativity that most bass players only dream about.  She provided the steady heartbeat beneath The Pump, the metal and jazz turns of Eternity's Breath, the ethereal drone under Yemin, and slap during You Know You Know.

Rhonda Smith

       Beck was hampered by the same sound system issues that interfered with Brian Wilson's set but the lack of vocal harmonies made it less bothersome.  When Wilson and his band joined Beck on stage, despite the sound issues, it was obvious they were enjoying themselves.  Wilson seemed pleased with Beck's interpretation of Surf's Up and it was equally obvious that Beck enjoyed playing the straightforward Barbara Ann & Surfin' USA.
       Many people have tried to explain the oddball match-up of a British guitar god and the king of the surf but I have yet to hear a reason that hits the mark.  It has been suggested that Beck's love of classic cars melds with Wilson's collection of car songs like Little Deuce Coupe.  The problem is that it was Dennis Wilson, not Brian, that cared about cars.  Brian composed the music but Mike Love or Roger Christian added the pit stop poetic's.   It's also been suggested that the combination is just a crass attempt at two aging rockers to cash in while they can.  I don't think that's true because Brian just came off of a stadium tour with the Beach Boys and that's where the money is, not in 1900 seat theaters.

Beck & Wilson in the studio

     The truth is that these two, seemingly disparate talents, are more alike than at first meets the eye.  Both are composers that work within varied and unusual templates.  Both have a long history of creating psychedelic music and of joining forces with some of the most talented musicians to push the boundaries of rock music.  Both admit they are admirers of the others music and both have worked within an enormous range of genre's to create music that transmits emotion.  Both men have a certain amount of shyness in front of an audience and yet they both have great pride in their music and a strong desire to share it with the world.  But I think the real reason this strange marriage is taking place is because it's exactly what both men want and need at this time in their lives.  It's a chance to break with the past and through the boundaries to find a new place on the other side where the music is fresh.