Rhonda Smith was in fine form tonight as bass player and singer at the Jeff Beck concert on his first leg of the U.S. tour. She provided the necessary funk to a well-rounded two hour set (with three encores) of R&B, jazz, and rock with a really tight band made up of Narada Michael Walden on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass and Jason Rebello on keyboards--and, of course, Jeff Beck. A wonderful concert! I highly recommend it to anyone who has a chance to go! Any Rhonda Smith fans on the org? Share some stories about her and her association with Prince. All I can say is that I am now a big fan of her based on her performance tonight with Jeff Beck! Still floating from that concert!

I love her... have both albums and play them regularly.

Yeah, the show was great. I was second row with nobody in front of me. I was completely side stage and probably would have complained about barely being able to see Jeff if Rhonda was not right in front of me. She sounded amazing and looked beautiful as usual. Did you notice the little "Owwaaah" she did at the end of " Rollin and Tumblin." That was the fifth time I have seen Jeff and it was the funkiest I have ever heard him. I loved Tal but Rhonda sure brought the funk. That was a killer version of "I Want To Take You Higher."
[Edited 4/17/10 21:15pm]

She's great. And hot.

Yeah, love the lady.

She ... stirs me in more ways than one!

Went looking for Rhonda Smith albums at Amoeba--they didn't have any though. But there was a Vanity 6 CD...if anyone is interested...

rmartin70 said:

You had the best view of Rhonda but you must have been deaf after the concert! LOL I had seats in the middle row on the floor so I had a perfect view of the whole band and the sound was still loud enough to leave my ears ringing when I left. And I agree that version of "I Want To Take You Higher" can't be beat!

poetcorner61 said:

Yeah, my tinnitus was really bothering me the next day. My ears have been ringing since a Jimmy Page concert in 1988, but when I am exposed to loud sounds it acts up. Sounds like you had a great seat. It was more like a Rhonda Smith concert for me with the best guitar playing in the world. I could only see Jeff once in a while, being that the keyboardist was blocking my view.

rmartin70 said:

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it and considered it the funkiest Jeff Beck concert you've been to. Hope you had better seats at the other ones! This was my first Beck concert--it was also a B-day present for my son--21st! He loved it and so did I--he said he liked the funk the best! I also really enjoyed the cover of the Beatles' "Day In The Life!"
[Edited 4/18/10 18:29pm]

poetcorner61 said:

I bought the first one- signed- at a Prince concert, and the 2nd one on Amazon when it came out.
I just checked, and both are only available as downloads now on Amazon.

Hey poetcorner61 I am glad you and your son enjoyed the show too. Wow, what a birthday present. Three out of the 5 times I have seen him I have been within ten rows in the center. So I have been lucky enough to see Jeff's fingers up close. I have seen Rhonda play with Prince about 11 times but I have never watched her for a whole show until the other night. I guess its because that other guy that was on stage with her was so distracting.Lol

Yeah, I really liked the cover of "A Day In the Life." " Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was amazing too.

rmartin70 said:

Although us "older folks" might have appreciated it more! Still looking for the next Prince U.S. tour--got my engine idling!