Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: St. Veit
Concert date: 09.07.2010
Attendance: 500
Ticket price: 25 euros
Venerable guitar elder statesmen like Jeff Beck rarely show up anywhere near us, so the Rockline crew naturally jumped at the chance and took the time for a trip to Austrian Carinthia, where the former Yardbirds member and star of Antonioni’s film Blow up recently stopped by with his backing band. St. Veit, or “Sveti Vid na Glini” as Marko Prpič put it just as we were driving past the candle-decked town where the Carinthian big shot Haider died in a car crash some time ago, is a little town just a stone’s throw from Klagenfurt. The concert location (the courtyard of the local castle, just big enough for around five hundred heads) was also a perfect match for the atmosphere and the genre Beck has stayed loyal to for many years, which you might best describe as ambient fusion. Beck’s latest album Emotion and Commotion (Rockline review here) was written in the same spirit, and music critics have already declared it the record of the year.
The confident show in St. Veit confirmed that Beck is well and truly back among the living. Of the last incarnation of his backing band, which we got to admire on the DVD Live at Ronnie Scotts (Rockline review here), only keyboardist Jason Rebello remained. He was joined on bass by Rhonda Smith (Prince) and on drums by Narada Michael Walden, who replaced the legendary Vinnie Colaiuta. Jeff kicked things off at nine on the dot with the classics Stratus and Led Boots, followed by songs from the new album, like Corpus Christi Carol and Hammerhead. Of course, there was also People get ready, which the guitarist once sang with Rod Stewart, plus a refined instrumental arrangement of the Beatles’ A day in the life.
On a hot July evening, Beck once again proved his mastery. An unrivaled feel for dynamics and the ability to make even the simplest melodies sound monumental under his skilled fingers are just two of his many strengths. Part of his distinctive sound also comes from the fact that the maestro plays without a pick, plucking the strings with the thumb of his right hand while his other fingers deftly toy with the knobs and the tremolo arm of his faithful Stratocaster. That gives Beck complete control over his sound. Before the end, the guitar legend paid tribute to the recently departed Les Paul with How high the moon, and closed the show with a cover of the operatic aria Nessun dorma.
With his latest album and this year’s concerts, Jeff Beck has probably reaped at least as much success as he did at the peak of his long career, and has finally pulled level with his great rival Eric Clapton. Despite the huge popularity the guitarist has enjoyed lately, though, he mostly picks somewhat more intimate venues for his shows, like Ronnie Scotts and the aforementioned courtyard of the Carinthian castle, where you can clearly hear every note played and the music breathes together with the listeners. Smaller stages let the maestro interact better with the crowd and are in every way a more fitting complement to his refined poetics. Stadiums can stay with Clapton.
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
1. Eternity’s Breath 2. Stratus 3. Led Boots 4. Corpus Christi 5. JB/NMW shred 6. Hammerhead 7. MNA Na Eirean 8. solo bass guitar 9. People Get Ready 10. Rollin & Tumblin 11. Big Block 12. Over The Rainbow 13. Blast From The East 14. Angels (Footsteps) 15. Dirty Mind 16. Brush With The Blues 17. Higher 18. Day In The Life —encore— 19. How High The Moon 20. Nessun Dorma
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