I'm doing this post for 2 reasons.

a) I haven't seen one devoted to him here.
b) He in the midst of one of his rare tours.

I'd hoped to have a serious retrospective done by this past weekend but being busy with other things it didn't get done.
So i'll scrap that idea and give just a bit of history and then on with the show.

Of the 60s Rock era guitarists, he's my 2nd favorite (the 1st is obvious).

My initial exposure to him was through...



...The Yardbirds.


Wasn't really a giant fan of that group but I noticed the songs I liked best...

Heart Full of Soul
Shapes of Things
Over Under Sideways Down (that intro)

...were all Beck era tunes.

Remember this group had Eric Clapton prior to and...



...Jimmy Page (simultaneously for a minute) after Jeff.


The next chapter was this...



...Truth

As far as amped up British Blues goes, to me this still remains unmatched. Some of the nastiest, sleaziest guitar playing on record.

I saw this edition of The Jeff Beck Group at The Fillmore East...



...Rod Stewart-vocals, Ron Wood-bass, Micky Waller-drums, Jeff Beck-guitar




Fast forward a few decades.





The twangy rockabilly/surf pre-show music fades out...



...the house lights dim while shadowy figures man their instruments.



Beck's Bolero fires up...



...and the crowd goes wild. It was all uphill from there.

The show itself is a retrospective of Jeff Beck's career with a few surprises...

Scatterbrain
Cause We've Ended As Lovers
Freeway Jam
Morning Dew
Led Boots
Diamond Dust
Going Down
Star Cycle
Blue Wind
A Day In The Life
Somewhere Over The Rainbow (guitar & piano encore)

...(Some of the tunes I can remember being played.)


For his age, this guy has kept himself in great shape...



...He reminded me of a 60+ year old brat (in a good way) onstage having a great time with his mates.


It was difficult to get really good photos of him because the guy just wouldn't stand still very long..



...He was in full on stage-stalkin' mode for the full show.


The band was well rehearsed and since Jeff doesn't talk much, tunes sequed smoothly from one to the other.
He didn't come to make speeches, he came to play!


Drums...



...Vinnie Colaiuta (Printed on his bass drum head is the statement - I HIT THINGS)


Bass...



...Randy Hope-Taylor


Keyboards...



...Jason Rebello


Vocals...



...Beth Hart
This was my only pre-reservation about the show. How would a female voice be able to handle Rod Stewart's old raunch?
When I found out that she would be singing with the band I went and listened to a few samples from her CDs.
To my horror, she had one of those fast vibrato voices that I abhor.
However in the context of this band, it wasn't as pronounced and all somehow worked.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Here's the rig...



...and pedals.

3 Marshall JCM 2000 w/Two 4x12 cabs
(this is what I was told)

2 Fender Super-Sonic w/Two 4x12 cabs
"Vintage" Channel is based on '65 Vibrolux & '66 Bassman

Haven't got a clue what's in that pedal box.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Prior to the show starting, his guitar tech walked what looked like a Gibson SJ-200 acoustic guitar across the stage.
So I thought we might get treated to a rendition of Greensleeves or Love Is Green.
However, he never played it and stuck with the same strat all night.
When he wasn't squeezing a tantalizing tone or noxious noise out of his Stratocaster, Jeff maintained an impish grin on his face all night.
He was obviously enjoying himself and the band. At times, either via body english or a head shake, he cajoled various members of the band to seemingly dig deeper. Almost as if saying, C'mon man, kick me in the f'ing ass!


Great band...






...great show.



From what i've read, his show Thursday night here at The Greek Theatre will include a 14-piece string section so that George Martin's wonderful Blow by Blow arrangements can be recreated.




...taken while listening to a beautiful take of Somewhere Over The Rainbow


Based on the strength of his performance at The Grove and the lure of George Martin's orchestral scores...



...I'm goin' to The Greek!


Probably more commentary after Thursday's show.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431
[Edited 10/2/06 7:31am]

Been spinning his Jeff Beck album a lot lately.


So, thanks, man.




:cueing up:

"He's miles ahead of anything Prince ever has attempted..."



.
[Edited 9/27/06 8:17am]

I'm jealous as h*ll, but as usual, your review can take me there even if I wasn't.

I am familiar with Beth Hart, and cannot imagine her doing vocals with Jeff Beck...but, anyhoo.....sounds like it worked OK

Can I go with you to the Greek?

...


man, Great Pics as usual!

Wish I was on the west coast, I Know it's really gonna be something to see that full orchestra Blow by Blow performance!!!! I bet Diamond Dust is gonna Kick Ass!!!

But Yeah, Jeff is one of those players that everyone admires, because of his "big ears"...he can move through Rock, Jazz, R&B, the Blues, Fusion, Electronica, and back again.... whether he's playing with Stanley Clarke, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Narada Michael Walden, Jan Hammer, Carlos Santana, or BB King, he always brings that combination of taste, feel, chops and imagination....





...
[Edited 9/27/06 9:05am]

I had no idea you were such a huge Jeff Beck fan. Fantastic! I'll need some recommendation...

ThreadBare said:

who said that? Is that in reference to Jeff?

I'm sorry to say that the only thing I'm fimiliar with Jeff Beck is his work with Steveland on Talking Book.

He's a good soloist

great post, thank you
I was about to look for some information about Jeff Beck

It seemed as if for years, Jeff was content to work on his cars at his estate. It's good to see him keep up a pretty regular recording/touring schedule (at least for him).

One of my fave Jeff Beck guitar moments is his solo on Rod Stewart's "Infatuation". In some ways, Jeff was like Eddie Van Halen before Eddie. Also, a good album to check out is "Crazy Legs", an homage to his one of his heroes, guitar great Cliff Gallup.

My dream concert would've been seeing Jeff Beck and the late, great Tommy Bolin when they toured back in 1976 - that is, if Tommy Bolin would've lived. The guitar great died after opening night (he opened up for Jeff).

great thread. great reveiw. great pics.


I really wanted to see this show when it was in town last weekend, but I couldn't make it happen.

I did see him back in '89 or so when he did that co-headling tour with Stevie Ray Vaughn. I think he had Terry Bozzio on drums and Tony Hymas on bass (Bozzio for sure, but I'm not sure about Hymas). That was a hell of a show. It was at the LA Sports Arena. Were you there, maybe? Here is some video of SRV and Jeff playing together on that tour: http://www.youtube.com/wa...EiMIMH0HRg Unfortunately, the camera work during Jeff's solo is subpar.

can't wait to hear about the show at the Greek.
[Edited 9/27/06 23:09pm]

My husband is a huge Jeff Beck fan. Too bad we live in Austin... We would have been there at the Grove to see him perform.

We are both Stevie Ray fans and Jimmy's as well. We see Jimmy quite a bit here just out and about. Plus I think Cris Layton lives somewhere near us because we see him all the time, too.

Thanks for the pics and the thread.

Sounds like a good time. The NYC show was a truly great one. I hope you stopped by the merch booth, they are selling a live cd on tour that isn't available anywhere else! I warn you because I almost missed it myself in NYC. Well worth picking up. I'd love to be at that Greek show! Enjoy!!

Stax said:

That was definitely Tony Hymas on the Guitar Shop tour, playing the bass lines on one keyboard and the regular keyboard parts on another keyboard! A great tour, first time I saw Beck and the only time I got to see SRV.

thebige said:

That was the only time I saw SRV, as well.

jacktheimprovident said:

No, taking a satirical volley. Better to not kick up dust, though, I realize.

Good to see that there are at least a few Jeff Beck fans here.
Probably won't get to do an update on The Greek performance until after the weekend.

In the meantime...





...here's a bit of a tease.


Btw, I did pick up the CD they had for sale and the show is much tighter now.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Thanks for the preview I'll have to check out this L. Shankar dude you keep mentioning.

Can you please tell us why exactly he's your second favorite 60's guitarist?

heartbeatocean said:

I thought the 1st would be obvious.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

The Greek Theatre UPDATE

A quickie frontstory.
The Greek Theatre doesn't have a traditional parking lot.
Since the venue is located in the middle of a residential area, you're basically parking on 2 to 3 lane streets.
They call this "stack parking". More accurately, it should be called "trapped parking".
When you hear your local traffic reporter say, "The xyz freeway is like a parking lot.", that's what it's like.
After the show you can't leave until the person in front, and on at least one side of you has gone.

Anyway, after having my vehicle hermetically sealed on all sides by other cars, I started gathering the necessities for the walk to the entrance.
I glanced out of the windshield and noticed 2 cars in front of me Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert exiting their vehicle.
2/3 of BBA (Beck, Bogart & Appice) also subject to peon-parking.


The Greek show consisted of the same set as The Grove with a few minor...

Stratus (a Billy Cobham tune from the '73 album Spectrum)
Behind The Veil
Two Rivers
Big Block
I Ain't Superstitious
You Shook Me
A Change Is Gonna Come
Nadia
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/Brush with the Blues

...(Tunes I couldn't remember the other night.) and one major difference.

The major difference...




....was the inclusion of a 14-piece string section.


An added surprise was a duet (on Nadia I believe)...



...with L.Shankar on double-neck violin.

There was bit of personal drama which resulted in a show within a show.
It started innocently enough when Beck broke a string in the middle of a song.
No biggie, these things happen. The guitar tech rushed out with a fresh Strat.
Beck strapped it on and went back to business as usual. That's until he got this vicious buzz.
Shook the guitar cord around the guitar jack a bit and it quieted down, for about 20 seconds.
This time it got the better of him. He gazed skyward as if to say, "Why me?"
Static stops and he starts...



...Static returns and he collapses into an I give up! heap on the stage.
Meanwhile the guitar tech is scurrying around the stage between his pedals and the amp rig trying to locate the static demons.
Jeff gets up and makes a beeline to the Marshall stack.
With the head of his guitar he gives the Marshall head 3 quick stabs to the cranium.

Jeff Beck nearly recreated his infamous guitar-smasheroo scene from a '60s film classic Thursday when his gear went on the fritz midway through a Greek Theatre date.
The crowd held its collective breath as the British guitar god became exasperated at a persistent buzzing noise (hey, in some places that's considered dance music) emanating from his amp. Movie buffs flashed back to the club scene in Michelangelo Antonioni's mod-London classic, "Blow-Up," where Beck clubs his ax to death after his equipment shorts out at a Yardbirds gig.

This time, a roadie rushed on stage, but not before Beck made a few exploratory pokes at his Marshall stack with the business end of his Strat.

http://www.dailynews.com/...ci_4418515
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After the show, myself and a friend were waiting by the merchandise booth for some other friends to meet up with.
While standing there, some folks behind us were discussing the show.
One of them commented, "You know, he was really good but he didn't blow me away like Eddie Van Halen in '8?."
I turned to get a looked at the commentator who looked as if he'd stepped off of the 1st VH album cover.
Then I thought to myself the show didn't consist of any pyrotechnics, no 10 billion nps (notes per second) solos, nobody swinging through the audience like Tarzan, no army of dancers doing Busby Berkeley-style routines, no hype-men walking back and forth across the stage yelling unintelligible commands to the crowd, no distracting stage sets, no costume changes (outside of JB taking of his shirt for the encore) and no political soapboxing, yet I was thoroughly entertained. The guy just played almost 2 hours of great music (what a concept), exactly what I had paid to hear. The solos played were emotional but also made musical sense.




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Speaking of guitar solos...

Jeff Beck doesn’t claim to know why young rock guitarists by and large have stopped playing solos. “You think they can’t do it, or is it just out of fashion?” he said, answering a question with a question.

Either way, the disappearance of the solo from most contemporary rock music has turned this six-string flamethrower into a flame-keeper. Beck isn’t consciously campaigning for the guitar solo’s revival. He’s just carrying the torch by example. A British Invasion original, he continues to play guitar-centered instrumental rock, jazz-rock fusion and, more recently, tracks underlined by computer-generated rhythms.

In a telephone interview Beck, 62, said he “still struggles” to write songs that don’t use the human voice. “My problem is finding concise pieces in a rock n’ roll context that won’t bore the pants off of people,” he said.

http://fp.uni.edu/northia...&SECTION=3

...Although the guitar solos included strategically placed classic Beckisms, they all were based around strong melodies.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The show highlights for me were the ballads...

'Cause We've Ended As Lovers
Two Rivers
Nadia (w/L.Shankar)
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (even though he just stated the theme)
Somewhere Over The Rainbow



...tunes that show that rock guitar can be raucous while simultaneously radiating incredible beauty.

I'm guessing that keyboardist Jason Rebello wrote the string arrangement for that night's encore of Somewhere Over The Rainbow as he conducted the section.


As for the future, he's considering doing a classical piece...

He's also exploring classical music, replacing the lead violin in Mahler's Symphony No.5 with his trademark Stratocaster sound.

"It's been hard. Mahler 5 is one of the slowest movements. There's no room for any mistakes whatsoever," he says. "To hold the note is one of the worst challenges, the strongest challenges - that and to not make any mistakes in those passages. But that's what I'm here for. If it was easy, people would be doing it. I'm just crazy enough to try to take it on."

http://www.rockymountainn...57,00.html

...I hope he follows through. That's something i'd love to hear.


Another great show that proves once again...



...that nothing beats years of dedication and experience.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Now Im going to play The Pump

Thanks for this t/A, I wanted to go when he came through Detroit but my friends were like "$60 a ticket?, We're out". This is the next best thing and I love all of your details.

Guitar players are an egocentric bunch (comparing him to VH in the 80s, WTF?!).

I'd love to see him in concert

The closest I ever came was when I just passed at the last minute going to see him play with Stevie Ray Vaughn

iconsweat said:

Excellent.

I've got a live version of that tune done by Steve Lukather and Larry Carlton.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Slave2daGroove said:

Slave,

Do be afraid to go to a show alone.
If I hadn't done that, I never would've seen Miles Davis.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Yes, I've seen Prince, the Rolling Stones, and Prince again alone (if only because the scalpers didn't have seats together). I didn't mind.

NDRU said:

I know that exact feeling...



...only too well.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Damn! you could have told me if his string broke!

NDRU said:

At the very least.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431