jeff beck tour review

Jeff Beck, Johnny Depp prove an entertaining combination in concert

A guitar hero and a hollywood star deliver everything their adoring fans could hope for and more..

Jeff Beck (left) and Johnny Depp perform at The Chicago Theatre on Sunday night.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

State Street might as well have been Hollywood Boulevard on Sunday night as a flock of Jack Sparrows, Johnny Depp lookalikes and other anxious fans piled into the Chicago Theatre where the actor joined guitar star Jeff Beck for a sold-out show to promote the duo’s collaborative new album “18.”

Depp was announced as Beck’s special guest back in September, a late add-on to the musician’s scheduled tour, now on hiatus until Nov. 1. A mere 90 minutes and 20 songs later, the night could be best described as a tale of two concerts that met at the crossroads of guitar hero adulation and celebrity worship, without much crossover in the middle.

Jeff Beck (with drummer Anika Nilles) plays to a sold-out crowd on Sunday night at the Chicago Theatre.

Beck began the night on his own merits, the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer hitting the stage amid a standing ovation from his fans — no doubt diehards since his Yardbirds days. Dressed in a leather vest, jeans and a pair of shades, Beck looked every part the bonafide rocker as he delivered 11 songs of pure instrumental glory (save for a talk box accompaniment on a cover of the legendary Robert Johnson’s “Me and the Devil Blues”).

Seamlessly transitioning through decades of material like “Freeway Jam,” “Loose Cannon” and “Star Cycle,” Beck’s performance was a master class in the guitar from one of music’s greatest players. Even sans vocals, he captivated the audience by speaking to them through the stringed vessel, showing its dramatic and emotive side — if not also the breadth it can accomplish, from straight-up blues to prog rock to jazz fusion.

Of course, Beck was not alone in this task, supported by a phenomenal backing band including bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Robert Stevenson, who were ambassadors of their instruments and had the kind of musical chemistry that produces explosive results.

When it was time for Depp’s entrance at song 12, the room’s temperature shifted so fast you might have thought a weather front moved across the theater. Down went many of the classic Beck fans who took their seats and paused the hooting and hollering that had created the air of a rough-hewn blues club just moments prior. And up went a sea of celebrity gawkers lighting up the aisles with the glow of their paparazzi smartphones while screaming a chorus of “I Love You Johnny.”

Johnny Depp shows off his guitar prowess during a concert Saturday night with Jeff Beck at the Chicago Theatre.

Over a near 60-year career, Beck has worked alongside with the likes of Buddy Guy, Rod Stewart, Beth Hart, Ronnie Wood — the list goes on. But Depp is perhaps one of his most eclectic choices, especially in the wake of the actor’s highly publicized court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.

In fact, Depp’s first appearance with Beck was at a show in the U.K. in late May as the jury was still deliberating in his trial, to offer the first tastes of “18,” their album (made up heavily of cover material) released via Rhino in July. It’s been in the works for three years, after the two met in 2016 and found kinship in music.

The duo performed much of it during the second half of the night as Depp took on vocal duty and shifted between electric and acoustic guitars. There was a gripping take on John Lennon’s “Isolation,” a ripped rendition of The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs” that showed off Depp’s lower register, and a punchy, boot-stomping offering of Killing Joke’s great track, “Death and Resurrection Show.” There was also original material, like the bittersweet “This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr,” a song about the pitfalls of fame that, not surprisingly, was Depp’s most vulnerable moment.

Though the actor has played a swashbuckler, a murderous barber, an off-kilter candy man and a sweet soul with scissors for hands in films, portraying himself on a live stage is a place where he really shines. A fact some might forget: Before he was ever a Cry-Baby, Depp was a musician who dropped out of high school to pursue rock stardom.

The silver screen may have gotten in the way of that pursuit, but Depp has since found his way back in recent years with The Hollywood Vampires supergroup and now working with Beck.

Deep clearly has a staunch fan base all too ready to give him a rock ‘n’ roll resurrection — on this night begging for autographs mid-show, vying for a coveted guitar picks and waiting outside by the tour buses for a peek at the star. The kind of stuff that makes people feel “18” again.

Freeway Jam (Jeff Beck)

Loose Cannon (Jeff Beck)

Midnight Walker (Davy Spillane cover)

Big Block (Jeff Beck)

Caroline, No (Beach Boys cover)

You Know You Know (Mahavishnu Orchestra cover)

Me And The Devil Blues (Robert Johnson cover)

Star Cycle (Jeff Beck)

Brush with the Blues (Jeff Beck)

You Never Know (Jeff Beck)

Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers (Syreeta cover)

Rumble (Link Wray cover)

This Is A Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr

Isolation (John Lennon cover)

Time (Dennis Wilson cover)

Venus In Furs (The Velvet Underground cover)

A Day in the Life (The Beatles cover)

Corpus Christi Carol (Benjamin Britten cover)

Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix cover)

Death and Resurrection Show (Killing Joke cover)

Heart Jealous of Fleetwood Mac
Wetton's Widow on New Asia
Longest Active Touring Streaks
Ron Wood's New High
Roth Wrote About VH's Breakup
Crue Album Vince Neil Hates

Revisiting Jeff Beck’s Final Concert

On Nov. 12, 2022 Jeff Beck took the stage in Reno, Nev. for what would turn out to be the final concert of his illustrious career.

The performance was the guitar great’s last tour date alongside actor-turned-rocker Johnny Depp . The two men became friends in 2016, later becoming collaborators. “When Johnny and I started playing together, it really ignited our youthful spirit and creativity,” Beck explained , calling the Hollywood star a "kindred spirit."

In 2020, the duo released their first song together, a cover of John Lennon ’s “Isolation.” Depp later admitted that Beck helped keep him “alive and sane and happy” through his chaotic defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

Watch Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp Perform 'Time' During Their Nov. 12 Show

The 2022 tour was in support of 18 , Beck and Depp’s collaborative album made up largely of covers. Many of those tunes made it into the set list during that final performance, including the Beach Boys ’ “Caroline, No” and the Velvet Underground ’s “Venus in Furs.”

Plenty of Beck originals were also featured in the set. The night’s opening song was “Freeway Jam,” the guitarist’s famous instrumental from 1975. “Loose Cannon,” “Big Block,” “Star Cycle” and “You Never Know” were the other Beck tunes performed that night.

The lone Depp original in the set list was “This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr,” a tune the actor slyly coaxed Beck to record for their album.

Watch Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp Perform 'This Is a Song for Miss Heddy Lamarr'

“I sent a very cheeky text to Jeff and said, 'Hey, don’t think that I’m asking you to play on this because I’m really not,'” Depp recalled to Hollywood Authentic . “'Don’t feel any pressure at all. I’m just sending you this song that I wrote. Of course, if you wanted to play on it, that’s fine. But I’m not saying you should , and I’m not asking you to, because I wouldn’t do that to our friendship.'”

Beck’s response? “Send me the stems, you fucker.”

By all accounts, the Reno performance was a triumphant end to the duo’s tour. More than 2,500 people turned out to watch the gig, including Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale , who raved about the show.

The final tune of the night was a rendition of Killing Joke’s “Death and Resurrection Show.” Tragically, song's title that would carry much more weight just two months later, as Beck died at the age of 78.

Watch Jeff Beck Take His Final Bow

More From Ultimate Classic Rock

Hear Beck, Bogert and Appice’s ‘Superstition’ From New Live Box

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Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp review, 18: Facile Hollywood back-slappery

It’s hard to imagine the level of intoxication and/or self-delusion that convinces someone that a record this weak would be a grand comeback statement, article bookmarked.

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Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London

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Given the backlash afforded to Paul McCartney for featuring a video of Johnny Depp in his Glastonbury set – despite Depp winning his recent high-profile defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard – you might imagine it’s still a touch too soon for the sometime-Hollywood Vampires guitarist to be relaunching his music career. Yet here he is, crossing fretboards with ex-Yardbird Jeff Beck on the collaborative album that he famously missed the court ruling to tour. We can only presume that, having heard the record, Depp knew his music career was finished anyway, so what the hell.

It's hard to imagine the level of intoxication and/or self-delusion that convinces someone that a record this weak would be a grand comeback statement. It’s tough enough to find any coherent purpose to it, beyond facile Hollywood back-slappery. Three of the record’s 11 – eleven – incongruous covers, seemingly selected by lobbing darts at a Spotify genre cloud, involve Beck showcasing his sub-Dave Gilmour, cruise ship guitar work by playing the vocal lines on instrumental takes of Davy Spillane’s “Midnight Walker” and a couple of Beach Boys tunes.

When Depp gets involved things often, somehow, get worse. Dennis Wilson’s “Time” becomes a schmaltzy glower. An out-of-nowhere soul section (The Miracles’ “Ooo Baby Baby” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?”) plods by with Depp offering frail, soulless falsettos. And there should be laws against what they do to The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs”. Its lascivious menace is ground down into sexless Hollywood goth rock, which manages to be overly bombastic despite everyone involved sounding as though they’re actually living out the song’s wish to “sleep for a thousand years”.

The pair have sporadic successes. Depp’s melancholy take on The Everly Brothers’ “Let it Be Me” is genuinely touching. They emulate the ragged original of John Lennon’s “Isolation” fairly accurately. And Killing Joke’s “Death and Resurrection Show” is the album’s highlight, all meaty industrial tech-rock voiced by a post-apocalyptic mecha-Depp. Nobody’s here for any of that though. The entire album acts as superfluous jewellery box padding for Depp’s two original songs, which are of far more interest for the intrigue as to whether they might be about Heard than for their artistic merits.

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“This is a Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr” – referencing the 1930s German actor who was “cancelled” over nude scenes she hadn’t approved – is plain awful, a lacklustre soft rock anthem-by-numbers that only serves to expose Depp’s kindergarten-level songwriting skills. He fares slightly better mumble-rapping like a down-at-heels Sunset drunk over the grimy clatter of “Sad Motherf***in’ Parade”, a much belated, very sweary answer to Peter Gabriel’s “Digging in the Dirt” from 1992. “If I had a dime it wouldn’t reach your hand,” Depp mutters darkly at an unnamed “bad luck b****”, admitting: “I’m raggedy I know, but I have no stain”. Twitter will make of that what Twitter will, but it would also be advised to seek significance in the barely conscious jazz bar cover of Janis Ian’s “Stars”. “People lust for fame,” Depp dribbles, half-heartedly, “Some of them are crowned, some of them are downed, some are lost and never found.” If Depp’s to be rediscovered, though, it sounds like it’ll be in movies.

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Jeff Beck announces mammoth list of US tour dates, including a string of shows with Ann Wilson and ZZ Top

The shows follow the release of Beck’s collaborative album with Johnny Depp, 18, and kick off in Texas on September 23

British guitar legend Jeff Beck has announced a 27-date US tour, beginning September 23 at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater, in Del Valle, Texas.

The first six shows will see Beck share a bill with ZZ Top and, for selected dates, former Heart vocalist Ann Wilson , on a brief jaunt across Texas, Tennessee and Alabama.

Beck will then undertake a solo run beginning October 1 in Atlanta, GA at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre, through to November 12 at the Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.

Reportedly, the bulk of the tour’s setlist is going to focus on Beck’s recent album, 18 (a collaborative project with Johnny Depp), which has given the guitar legend his first top 10 album entry on the Billboard chart.

However, we’re told the guitarist is also promising to pay tribute to friends and influences, alongside some older material, with his interpretations of Mahavishnu Orchestra’s You Know You Know and The Beatles’ A Day in the Life , plus Brush with the Blues all set to make appearances.

Speaking of appearances, we wonder if Depp will be showing up for any of the dates. Depp previously joined Beck onstage for a number of shows, including a gig in the UK city of Sheffield.

Meanwhile, Beck’s revealed another star collaboration – a guest spot on Ozzy Osbourne track Patient Number 9 , back in June.

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Check out the full list of tour dates below.

Jeff Beck U.S. Tour Dates

September 23 – Del Valle, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater (with ZZ Top/Ann Wilson)
September 24 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion (with ZZ Top/Ann Wilson)
September 25 – The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (w/ZZ Top/Ann Wilson)
September 27 – Franklin, TN @ First Bank Amphitheater (w/ZZ Top)
September 29 – Pelham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre (w/ZZ Top)
September 30 – Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf Amphitheater (w/ZZ Top)
October 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
October 4 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
October 6 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
October 7&8 – Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
October 10 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Center for the Arts
October 13 – Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center
October 14&15 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
October 17 – Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall
October 19 – Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center
October 20 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center
October 22 – Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace Theater
October 23 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
November 1 – Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
November 2 – Temecula, CA@ Pechanga Resort & Casino
November 4 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Concert Theater
November 5 – Thousand Oaks, CA @ Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks
November 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre
November 8 – Anaheim, CA @ City National Grove of Anaheim
November 9 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic
November 10 – Sacramento, CA @ Hard Rock Live
November 12 – Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort

*All dates subject to change, more dates TBA

For tickets and information, head to Jeff Beck’s official site .

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Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar , Guitarist , Guitar World , MusicRadar , NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound . In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk , which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.

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JEFF BECK Announces Fall 2022 U.S. Tour

Jeff Beck will tour the U.S. this fall in support of the newly released, highly anticipated musical collaboration with Johnny Depp , "18" . The tour will kick off on September 23 in Del Valle, Texas, where Beck will share the bill for the first six shows with longtime musical friends ZZ TOP . Beck will then continue on for his headline dates in Atlanta on October 1 continuing up the East Coast, hitting D.C., Boston and the New York area before heading west with several Midwest stops before heading to the West Coast. Currently, the tour will wind up in Reno, Nevada on November 12.

Pre-sale tickets will be available on tomorrow (Tuesday, August 16) at 10 a.m. local time (password: beck18) with public on-sale Friday, August 19. VIP packages also available. Full itinerary is below with all dates subject to change and more dates to be announced.

The tour will focus on the new album as well as explore Beck 's legendary career through instrumentals like "You Know You Know" , "A Day In The Life" and "Brush With The Blues" . The tour will include Beck 's current band: bassist Rhonda Smith , drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Robert Stevenson .

Tour dates:

Sep. 23 - Del Valle, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater (with ZZ TOP / Ann Wilson) Sep. 24 - Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion (with ZZ Top + Ann Wilson) Sep. 25 - The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with ZZ TOP + Ann Wilson) Sep. 27 - Franklin, TN @ First Bank Amphitheater (with ZZ TOP) Sep. 29 - Pelham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre (with ZZ TOP) Sep. 30 - Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf Amphitheater (with ZZ TOP) Oct. 01 - Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre Oct. 04 - Washington, DC @ The Anthem Oct. 06 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway Oct. 07 - Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre Oct. 08 - Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre Oct. 10 - Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Center for the Arts Oct. 13 - Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center Oct. 14 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount Oct. 15 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount Oct. 17 - Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall Oct. 19 - Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center Oct. 20 - Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center Oct. 22 - Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace Theater Oct. 23 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre Nov. 01 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre Nov. 02 - Temecula, CA@ Pechanga Resort & Casino Nov. 04 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Concert Theater Nov. 05 - Thousand Oaks, CA @ Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks Nov. 06 - Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre Nov. 08 - Anaheim, CA @ City National Grove of Anaheim Nov. 09 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic Nov. 10 - Sacramento, CA @ Hard Rock Live Nov. 12 - Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort

Having cultivated one of the most influential careers in rock history, Beck is universally acknowledged as one of the most talented and significant guitarists in the world, and has played alongside some of the greatest artists of rock, blues and jazz.

Over the course of his distinguished 50-plus-year music career, he has earned an incredible eight Grammy Awards , been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time," and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice — once as a member of THE YARDBIRDS and again as a solo artist. In the summer of 2016, the guitar virtuoso celebrated his five decades of music with an extraordinary concert at the famous Hollywood Bowl.

Beck famously replaced Eric Clapton as THE YARDBIRDS ' lead guitarist in 1965 and later went on to form THE JEFF BECK GROUP , which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. Their two albums — "Truth" (1968) and "Beck-Ola" (1969) — would become musical touchstones for hard rockers in the years to come.

The constantly evolving Beck 's next move — a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice , which released "Beck, Bogert And Appice" (1973),once again shattered people's preconceptions of what a rock guitarist was supposed to sound like.

1985's "Flash" kept Beck in the spotlight as he earned the "Best Rock Instrumental" Grammy for the song "Escape" . A second Grammy came with Jeff Beck 's "Guitar Shop" with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas , and a third for "Dirty Mind" from the "You Had It Coming" album in 2001. 2009 saw the release of the platinum-selling "Performing This Week… Live at Ronnie Scott's" , which earned a Grammy for "A Day In The Life" .

Beck 's astonishing 2010 solo album, "Emotion & Commotion" , brought about two additional Grammy Awards ; Beck was nominated in five categories before bringing home three: "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for "Hammerhead" and "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" for "Nessun Dorma" , both from "Emotion & Commotion" , and "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" for "Imagine" , his collaboration with Herbie Hancock .

His "Rock 'N' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul)" album was nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album". In 2016 he released "Loud Hailer" and in 2017 "Jeff Beck: Live At The Hollywood Bowl" was released, both to widespread critical acclaim.

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Review of Jeff Beck’s concert with Johnny Depp in Prague

This did not happen to English guitarist Jeff Beck. During his concert on Monday in Prague’s O2 universum hall, a female fan tried to run to the stage through the aisle between the seated spectators. As the security started to meet her, the girl turned and stretched herself both long and wide as she dashed back. The reason, of course, was not Beck, but his guest: American actor and guitarist Johnny Depp.

Fans were already waiting for the 59-year-old Hollywood star in front of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, where he arrived in a silver Mercedes. He returned to the Czech Republic a year after he was a guest of the Karlovy Vary media festival, and shortly after winning the watched trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The fact that Johnny Depp is going to take the stage at the O2 Universe on Monday was already hinted at when a stand with his guitars arrived backstage. While Jeff Beck’s band started playing a four-chord rock ‘n’ roll instrumental Rattle from Link Wray, known from the movie Pulp Fiction, Depp casually came in and bowed with a dash. That a significant part of the listeners, in particular, was waiting for him, was evident from the stove’s switched on mobile phones and loud shouting.

This was repeated as soon as Depp sang the first word of his recent composition This is a song for Miss Hedy Lamarr . He dedicated it to the former Austro-Hungarian actress and inventor, who in 1932 appeared naked in one of the first minutes in the film Ecstasy by the Czech director Gustav Machaté. Depp was interested in her fate, when a person defines physical beauty all his life and overshadows his personality.

Johnny Depp is an actor, so he enjoys moving on stage in Prague. Eyes hidden behind black aviator glasses, she wears a navy cap, several necklaces, a blue shirt with white polka dots and sleeves rolled up to reveal dozens of tattoos. At least five rings on the hands, ten bracelets of different colors on the wrist. As he swings across the stage, his guitar purposely perched as low on his waist as a colt was worn, he must rattle like a pirate.

Of course: the captain Jack Sparrow from the film saga Pirates of the Caribbean is his most famous role, but Depp modeled it after a musical role model, guitarist Keith Richards from the band Rolling Stones. After him, this Monday, he also took several powerful blows with his right hand on the guitar, which looked impressive, as if he was whipping the instrument.

Even before Depp made his horror film debut in 1984 A Nightmare on Elm Street , devoted himself to music. He has been returning to it for the past decade. The people of Prague already experienced it four years ago at a concert by the band Hollywood Vampires. This Monday, he kept switching between guitars, from an acoustic 12-string to a Fender Telecaster, but he was wise enough not to try to solo alongside the incomparably better Jeff Beck. He remained in the role of an accompanist, rather adding shine to the concert. And of course he sang.

The song This is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr was dedicated by Johnny Depp to the Austro-Hungarian actress and inventor known from the Czech film Extase. | Video: Jeff Beck

While the song Time from Dennis Wilson desperately didn’t suit him, he gave a passable performance where he could stick to the deep register, on the edge of the spoken word. As in the cover version Venus in fur coat from rockers Velvet Underground, during which red light hit Depp’s face, to impressive industrial Show Death and Resurrection from the repertoire of British postpunks Killing Joke. Here, Depp’s voice was mechanically distorted by the effect, which, combined with the flashing red and orange lights, gave the evening a different mood. At that moment, some female fans on the sidewalks twitched with enthusiasm and tilted their heads in euphoria.

Even though he then just held the microphone with both hands and sang, Depp was in touch the whole time. As a musician he has done no disgrace.

Jeff Beck took him into the band about a month and a half ago as a friend, so there is no reason to make excessive demands on the actor. All the more so because the old Hollywood star lends fame to the otherwise purely instrumental performance of Jeff Beck, who, unlike him, never had the mannerisms of a rock star. Except, of course, for the scene from the feature film Enlargement by Michelangelo Antonioni, where Beck struggles with a broken amplifier and even a guitar during a performance by the Yardbirds bursts out in anger .

Monday’s concert in Prague’s Vysočany was only announced a month ago. Considering the steeply rising inflation, holidays, summer festivals or events postponed from the time of the pandemic, it is a miracle that there were only a few tens of empty seats left in the hall. The performance was even moved from Fora Karlín, apparently due to more seating. Since when own both halls financial group PPF, it is easier for the organizer.

Although they will only release an album together this Friday, Jeff Beck became friends with Johnny Depp six years ago, “over guitars and cars”. It’s a boost especially for the 78-year-old Beck, one of the most respected living guitarists, but not a celebrity after all.

The winner of eight Grammy Awards and a two-time member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a rich past history dating back to the beginnings of the so-called British Invasion, as the massive success of English bands in the US around the mid-1960s was called.

That’s when Beck first drew attention to himself when he replaced guitarist Eric Clapton in the popular band The Yardbirds, mixing rock and blues. In contrast, he brought wilder riffs and sounds. With another follow-up from this form, Jimmy Pagem was one of the pioneers of hard rock, later also jazz rock, and he discovered the singer Rod Stewart with his Jeff Group.

The ballad Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers, as performed by Jeff Beck in 2007 at Ronnie Scott’s London jazz club. | Video: Eagle Rock Entertainment

But he never stagnated in terms of genre, today he is a role model for several generations of guitarists, and since the mid-70s he has been developing a technically distinctive way of playing on the solo track.

On the simply furnished stage of the O2 universa with several curtains that color the lights yellow and red, or green and purple, Beck arrives shortly after nine in the evening. Slim, energetic, in black glasses, dark blue pants, a white T-shirt like corals around his neck, he greets the audience, raises his hand with a clenched fist in the air at the first beat of the drums, and then just plays. He only thanks a few times for the whole evening. Now and then he shows or points to heaven, but there he twiddles his finger more than the audience. If the performances were broadcast on big screens, Beck would be seen smiling constantly at them.

The guitarist came to the Czech capital for the third time. The first performance of 2011 in the acoustically inadequate hall at the Prague Exhibition Center, he then visited the Mlejn cafe privately. He also took over the guitar, which was constructed for him by Peter Jurkovič and artistically modified by Stefan Milkov.

He played for the second time eight years ago on the terrace of the Equestrian Hall of the Prague Castle, where, however, the electricity went out in a few minutes. Some people boycotted this concert due to strict measures. In addition to the protection, they repeatedly seat the spectators and the generally rigid bans, the organizers were interested in, among other things, the announcement that smoking is allowed in the premises of the Prague Castle, which seemed like a provocation from the newly elected smoking president Miloš Zeman.

But both performances had the same basis: Beck’s instrumental compositions, this Monday mostly from the albums There & Back released in 1980 and the younger Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop. There were also two cover versions from the 70s, all united on the border between rock, blues and fusion. Her own composition interspersed those taken over, faster songs with sensitive ballads.

The whole evening he had the same white Fender Stratocaster guitar around his neck, the strings of which he has been playing with his fingers since the 80s, i.e. without a pick. Beck is able to distill from it an unusually dynamic variety of expressions. Apart from the quack, or wah-wah pedal effect, it doesn’t need anything else: the Forum uses the way it controls the binding, and in particular the so-called vibrato lever, which bends the pitches at speed to create vibrato.

What other guitarists rarely do and often have to fine-tune the instrument, Beck uses throughout the evening. One hand flies over the frets, the other most often sounds the strings with the thumb or forefinger, while the other fingers control the vibration lever and twist the knobs that control the volume or switch the pickups. This makes Beck’s notes sound so distinctive, combined with his phrasing and timing truly unique.

The song Venus in Furs from the Velvet Underground repertoire, as performed by Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp at O2 Universe in Prague. Photo: Lukáš Bíba | Video: Youtube/Seeendyyy

A constant, pleasant and fluid flow of emotionally charged notes pours from the guitar, whether Beck is cutting the strings towards an imagined climax or moving into pianissimo.

How many of the tools can be illustrated by four million people viewed video , as he played the old Jimi Hendrix hit Little Wing on the TV show. In Prague this Monday he also included it, although not with such an effect due to Johnny Depp’s weaker singing.

Nuanced ballads sound much better: minor creeper Because we ended up being lovers by Stevie Wonder and Covered The midnight walker , originally by Ireland’s Davy Spillane. In both, Beck’s guitar wails longingly, screams moderately, in places approaching the color of the human voice. Beck’s masculine appearance belies his body: he is an extremely sensitive player, able to work a simple melody without unnecessary embellishments, with an emphasis on emotional impact. Although formally it is still rock, the principle can be traced back to the blues.

Of course, it’s a miracle that Beck’s fingers still work. 12 years ago, he was cutting carrots at home and “fed up with their frequency”, he started cutting faster until he accidentally cut off part of his index finger. “The next second I was on my knees and howling that this was the end of me,” he recalled years ago. However, the surgeon miraculously recovered his finger, in a few months the index finger was working as before – and today the guitarist’s hands are insured, according to the British media, for 700 thousand pounds per finger.

For his performance on Monday in Prague, mutual interplay with the band is also key. Beck generously gives space to its members from the beginning, and so right away during the cover version You know you know from the repertoire of the jazz-rock Mahavishnu Orchestra, bassist Rhonda Smith is coming to the edge of the stage. The former accompanist of Prince or Beyoncé will show the so-called slapping technique of the game and a curved impressive solo with hits and breaks on the fingerboard.

Keyboardist Robert Stevenson and especially the thirty-nine-year-old German drummer in black glasses, Anika Nillesová, are new to the line-up. She studied social care and musicology, started her music career only in the last decade on YouTube and this is her first big tour with a world star. In Prague, he plays top-notch all evening, including the groove in the cover version Cloud by drummer Billy Cobham, where Beck’s guitar phrases are constantly matched by Stevenson’s keyboards.

Czechs can be sorry for only one thing – that they still haven’t experienced Jeff Beck as his former 70-year-old, now 40-year-old American ex, Jan Hammer. Their mutual jazz-rock understanding in the late 1970s was one of the creative peaks of both musicians and remains captured on several albums. Although it was probably the 100-stop tour at that time that caused Hammer to later develop an aversion to touring.

In 2017, Jan Hammer accompanied Jeff Beck in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater, they also played the song Star Cycle. | Video: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Jeff Beck was the only one who managed to lure Hammer back to the audience after dozens. Five years ago, a Czech keyboardist with him in the USA contains several songs at the Hollywood Bowl Amphitheater as Beck celebrated 50 years on stage. This Monday, Hammer’s name did not come up, to be at least remotely present here: Beck introduced his compositions You never know and especially Star Cycle, built on Hammer’s imaginative synthesizer subplot released from devices called sequencers.

Of course, it didn’t excite the audience as much as when Johnny Depp returned for an encore, an instrumental cover version A day in the life by the Beatles – for its interpretation Beck received a Grammy some time ago. However, hearing the English guitarist with Hammer is the only thing guitarist fans can wish for after Monday. All other wishes Jeff Beck fulfilled abundantly.

Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp (Arranged by Liver Music Agency) O2 universum, Prague, July 11.

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Jeff Beck Details Fall 2022 American Tour

HELSINKI, FINLAND - JUNE 19: Jeff Beck performs during the Helsinki Blues Festival at Kaisaniemen Puisto on June 19, 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by Venla Shalin/Redferns)

Jeff Beck is coming to America. The legendary guitar hero has mapped out an extensive U.S. tour that launches September 23 in Del Valle, TX, winding its way across the country before wrapping up in Reno, NV, on November 12 (although even more shows are expected). The first three dates of the tour feature ZZ Top and Ann Wilson of Heart, with the following three shows in Tennessee and Alabama with ZZ Top. See the full itinerary below.

The tour will focus on Beck's new new album with Johnny Depp, 18 , as well as explore his iconic career via famous instrumentals like "You Know You Know" and "Brush with the Blues." The jaunt will feature Beck's current band: bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Robert Stevenson.

Pre-sale tickets will be available on tomorrow, Tuesday August 16 at 10am local time (password: beck18) with public on sale Friday, August 19. VIP packages also available. Full itinerary is below with all dates subject to change and more dates to be announced. Get tickets here .

Jeff Beck Fall 2022 U.S. Tour Sept. 23 - Del Valle, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater (with ZZ Top / Ann Wilson) Sept. 24 - Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion (with ZZ Top / Ann Wilson) Sept. 25 - The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with ZZ Top / Ann Wilson) Sept. 27 - Franklin, TN @ First Bank Amphitheater (with ZZ Top) Sept. 29 - Pelham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre (with ZZ Top) Sept. 30 - Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf Amphitheater (with ZZ Top) Oct. 1 - Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre Oct. 4 - Washington, DC @ The Anthem Oct. 6 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway Oct. 7 & 8 - Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre Oct. 10 - Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Center for the Arts Oct. 13 - Kingston, NY @ Ulster Performing Arts Center Oct. 14 & 15 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount Oct. 17 - Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall Oct. 19 - Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music Center Oct. 20 - Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center Oct. 22 - Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace Theater Oct. 23 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre Nov. 1 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre Nov. 2 - Temecula, CA@ Pechanga Resort & Casino Nov. 4 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl Concert Theater Nov. 5 - Thousand Oaks, CA @ Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks Nov. 6 - Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre Nov. 8 - Anaheim, CA @ City National Grove of Anaheim Nov. 9 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic Nov. 10 - Sacramento, CA @ Hard Rock Live Nov. 12 - Reno, NV @ Grand Theatre, Grand Sierra Resort

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Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall an extraordinary and sublime evening

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Review & Photography by Manny Manson for MPM

The back stage entry was surrounded by a throng of adoring fans as I made my way to the box office. Word had leaked out that Jeff Becks tour had a very special guest, with tonight being the penultimate date on the tour its no secret that ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’, riding high on his recent victory on the high seas of a Virginia court room, has been doing a turn during the show. Having struck up a friendship a few years back, it’s well known that they have been working together, in fact a rework of John Lennon’s ‘Isolation’ had been released in 2020 as the time seemed fitting with everyone locked down due to the pandemic. The collaborative album is set for release in June of this year.

The Symphony Hall is an impressive venue, the set-up on the stage looked tiny in comparison to the ceiling height. A simple black back drop and the obligatory black drapes over the main turn’s kit meant the opening act were pushed to the stage front. This being bigger than a lot of stages I’ve been to recently.

At the stroke of 19:30 the lights dimmed and three guys sauntered onto the stage, took up their positions as Sharon Corr wafted effortlessly from stage right, dressed in black she made her way to the microphone a thundering drum beat struck up as we start the night off with a Corrs classic, ‘Radio’ from 1999. Delivering a sublimely smooth vocal she picks up the violin and proceeds to glide around the stage as she plays.

A quick visit to the microphone once more to finish the song and she’s off to the piano. Being a great multi-instrumentalist and the musical backbone to the family band, it’s evident that she’s happy with either singing or playing.

We sweep swiftly into the title track of her latest album ‘The Fool and The Scorpion’ again another rhythmical beat and hypnotic vocals fill the great Symphony hall, as the respectful crowd seemingly hang on every word. Still sat at the piano she mentions they had a great curry last night; the local news is full of the fact that Mr Depp treated the touring party to a slap-up feed in a local Indian restaurant. Rumour has it that it cost 5 figures, £50,000 being banded around wildly. A figure that I hope has been plucked out of the ether, although with the wild parking costs and the vehicle low emission tax for entering the city, it may not be too far off the truth.

She follows with a tribute to Steve Bronski who sadly passed away in an alleged house fire at the age of 61, back in December 2021. The familiar sound flows from the piano as Sharron plays the beginning of ‘Small-town Boy’ a favourite of many ‘Bronski Beat’ fans and familiar to those of us over a certain age. With a respectful guitar solo by Alfonso Samos Luna, a highlight of the song, and Sharon’s haunting vocal, fitting the song perfectly, the crowd cheer and applaud this fine tune.

Almost choking as she takes a drink, she tells us its lemon tea and not vodka although she wishes it was, they go into ‘Only You’, the last song on her new album. Again, the piano introduces the song as she ‘tickles the ivories’ a gentle nod brings the rest of the band in. Her voice is just ridiculously smooth and lamentable as she purrs through this gentle ballad with an ethereal ease.

With my attention slightly distracted by people returning to their seats, I miss what Sharon said next, I think she said the next one is the new single from album, any ways its ‘Under a Daylight Moon’ again seated at the piano her smooth delicate voice laments as she twists and turns her arms as a gesture to the soft words delivered, a gentle beat from the drums accompanies her. As she goes in to a round of La La Laa’s she strikes up the piano for this soft gentle fairy tale.

Mistaking the set lists she says she can’t read it as she’s not got her glasses, we get ‘My Beautiful’ again from ‘Fool’. Another song starting off on the piano as she delivers a beautifully controlled vocal. This restrained song shows her song writing abilities as the guitar caresses and the backbeat push this song along gently. This is followed up with what Sharon called her Hang over song. ‘Running on Rooftops’ which starts off with a thumping bassline, I think Mat Hector is giving the drums a bit extra as Sharon is running on rooftops. A slightly more upbeat tune with delicate layers soothes as this tune ends.

Sharon thanks everyone and says that we are in for a great night. “Jeff Beck is the greatest guitarist out there and a really nice guy”. “Johnny got the right result and is playing great on the tour”, At the mention of his name there is an ear-splitting scream from the nose bleeds. I guess we have some Johnny fans in who got the seats closer to god.

Walking to her Violin Sharon says “we need to do a quick tune; one cannot have an out of tune violin”.

To finish the night off we have the Ceoltóirí Chualann interpretation of ‘Mná na hÉireann’, or Women of Ireland, written by the Ulster Poet Paeder Ó Doirnín. Often seen as a rebel song as it tells of mother Ireland being abused by England and her wanting the Irish men to stand up to it all. Kate Bush covered it back in ’96 on her album Common Ground.

Starting off on the violin, its haunting sound pathing the way to this great tune, the rest of the band join in giving it a solid presence as Luna walks to the stage front and takes over from the violin with a warm fat solo on his Fender Telecaster. The song builds as Sharon and Luna duet, facing each other centre stage. With a controlled violin and fading bass this traditional Irish song is put to bed.

Sharron takes the time to introduce the band, “Alfonso Samos Luna on guitar”, “Alex Morell on bass guitar” and snazzy head gear, “and on the drums, suit wearing Mat Hector”. And then its goodbyes all round and as they exit the stage Sharon says “see you next time”.

It’s not often you get a support of that quality. A simply stunning set with a vocal delivery that’s second to none.

With the usual scurry of activity, the set is cleared for the main ‘turn’. Looking around the audience, it’s clear that we have a certain type of ‘fan’ in tonight. I am without brother Waldorf yet again so I sit quietly as I check through my notes. No pressure hey?

On time, the lights dim and the band walk on, followed by the man himself. The now trademark white Strat is hanging from his neck as he walks to the stage front and dons his aviators, posing briefly like Fonzie from happy days, he smiles at the cheers and walks back to his amp. With a nod to no one in particular he strikes up into the psychedelic fuzz box distorted riffs of ‘Star Cycle’ this 60’s inspired piece from the 80’s album ‘There and Back’. Full of swells and screams, the thundering back line deliver a hard-hitting support for Beck to acrobat around, with sounds copied by many, Including the likes of Satriani, the song delivers the sonic overload that the fans are wanting.

This flows into the Mahavishnu Orchestras ‘You Know You Know’ this appeared on 1985’s album ‘Flash’ but was originally penned by John McLaughlin back in 1971 (McLaughlin being given the moniker ‘Mahavishnu’ by his then spiritual guru ‘Sri Chinmoy’. Maha meaning great and Vishnu being the name of the Hindu deity). This fusion of rock and jazz inspired licks is full of some searing finger work, His guitar pointing skywards as he repeated teases the neck. A Slamming bassline see’s Rhonda Smith in sunglasses hits the stage front with a slammin’ display of bass slap and pop as she gives it the beans. Beck introduces us to German prodigy Anika Nilles on the drums as she gets to give the kit a workout, with sticks a blur, she crashes and thumps her way around the kit much to the crowd’s delight.

The Billy Cobham number ‘Stratus’ is up next, as was Cobham’s way it starts with a crushing drum riff as the scorching guitar winds up and rips in. This is a great tune from the 1973 album ‘Spectrum’ it featured the then little-known guitarist Tommy Bolin of Zephyr and the James Gang. Beck standing in front of the drums delivers scorching lick after scorching lick, as the rolling drumbeat crashes along, the bass providing its heartbeat as it powers along, the crescendo of a finish brings huge applause from the hall.

Saying “we got three chords in this song lookout” as Beck fires out the opening salvo of Dah Dah Dings, instantly recognisable as the music to the ‘Confused.com advert on TV, we get pushed back in our seats with the ferocity of Becks cover of Link Wray’s ‘Rumble’.

The simplest of three chords are delivered on a salvo of whammy bar and picked harmonics. As the guitar screams in a helium filled shrillness, he brings the song to an end and slides effortlessly into ‘Nadia’. This Nitin Sawhney piece is full of eastern flavoured jazz licks, punctuated with tremolo wobbles and volume swells as Beck gives it the full sonic attack and guitar improvised sitar sounds. ‘Midnight Walker’ with its high-pitched attack continues, as the band effortlessly, deliver a hard hitting backbeat as Beck’s sonic attack, slow and purposeful screams out full of menace, the answer and return with Vanessa Freebairn-Smith on the cello brings an Irish lilt that firmly grounds this haunting piece, as, with a subtle tremolo the song is brought to a controlled close.

The thudding bassline of ‘Hammerhead’ slams out as orange lights, Kris-Krossed, beam like lasers from the dark red backdrop. Beck goes into overload, as the drums crash around him, he drives his hot-rodded Strat hard as it screams and cries at his very touch. Looking towards Vanessa on the Cello he fires off a salvo of cosmic shrieks from his guitar before crossing to Rhonda on the bass. With fingers working overtime, he delivers yet another sonic barrage. With one arm in the air, seemingly cooling his fingers from their repetitive stroking of the embers in the fire that was his guitar, A crushing descending run up the neck marks the end of that little foray.

With a whisper from Bass player Rhonda, a position vacated by long time bassist Tal Wilkenfield, Beck gets the memo of what’s next, ‘Caroline, No’ the Brian Wilson cover, not that it matters. When you are gifted with a talent like him, he could play the phone book and keep you riveted to his every note. As green lights engulf the set the slow laid-back vibe is suddenly killed with a howling scream from Becks guitar, He has a demon trapped in there and with his skill he quickly quietens it down before it tries again as the song fades the crowd respond with more cheers and applause, Beck stands with arms outstretched in thanks to the kind response.

Da Da, Da Da throbbing bassline of ‘Big Block’ from Becks Guitar shop, follows on as Beck fires a steady round of staccato riffs over the top. The Cello sits comfortably as Beck motions to the side desk. With car horn sounds from his fingers he stands slightly stooped as he watches his fingers run amok over the frets on the guitar neck. The metronomic drum beat guiding the song along as it builds to a flurry of fast fingers, each perfectly spaced as he squeezes out notes not normally heard from a guitar. With a crescendo of cymbal and drum crashes from Anika the song finishes to tumultuous cheers from around the hall.

A guitar strikes up yet again, its sound full of tremolo driven highs and lows, as it does so Beck makes motions towards the band, a mic stand has magically appeared as ‘Jack Sparrow’ saunters onto the stage, dressed in a grey and white check jacket, acoustic guitar hanging as he slowly strums along. The hall has erupted in screams from the nosebleeds, the Johnny Depp fans are making sure he knows they’re in the house tonight.

They go into the co-written track ‘Heddy Lamar’. With his eyes hidden behind white framed aviators, Depp delivers a fine vocal despite the disruptions from above. Stroking his 12 string he sings into the mic, no doubt his eyes are darting around the room behind the glasses. Moving to the side he makes the floor Beck’s as, standing well back, he delivers the songs tasteful solo. With his hand now on the mic Depp finishes the lyric then moves to stand in front of Anika on the drums, her face lights up as no doubt he is pulling faces at her. Beck and the band bring the song down to a finish, Beck and Depp play hug before Depp removes his jacket and changes guitar.

Their single release of John Lennon’s ‘Isolation’ is up next. Depp has a telecaster hanging at his knees as this Pandemic release rocks out. Depp looks on as Beck flies around the neck of his guitar. Depp’s voice is deceptively good as the song continues the crowd cheer on from the nose bleeds, a cry of “I Love You” is heard right as the song ends.

The Dennis Wilson cover ‘Time’ is next. Depp, minus his glasses and with both hands on the microphone delivers a slow, deliberate lyric. A great test for his voice, which stands up to the challenge. Beck cuts in with a moaning guitar, full of restraint, it gives way to Depp once more, as, eyes closed, he continues to lament before the drums crash and the song lifts off, Depp, eventually, softly finishes the track and moves away from the mic and changes guitar yet again.

A fruity funky riff fires up as the band go into Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’. Depp has a burnt battered looking Strat in his hands now, it looks like it’s been made from the timbers of the Black Pearl such is its look, I think there are flames etched on it. Beck adds a delicious guitar to this number as Depp delivers the words to this great Marvin Gaye song.

A guitar-less Depp takes the mic for the next one. His face is beaming, he’s in his happy place, a huge weight having been lifted from his shoulders. He delivers the words to the Everley Brothers cover ‘Let It Be Me’. Standing back he gives Beck the floor once again as he delivers a sublime treat on the guitar. I’ve listened to a few YouTube videos of this song and they don’t do Depp the justice he deserves as he delivers this song with control and purpose. Moving out of the way yet again as Beck takes the stage with a solo that’s controlled but doesn’t take away from the songs message. With his hands behind his back, Depp finishes the song looking at the floor. The crowd love it as they cheer and scream. At times I’m not sure if it’s for the music or Jack Sparrow?

‘Little Wing’ follows but not before Depp raises his drink to the fans who scream back in reply. As he saunters up to the mic full of pirate swagger, his aura is overwhelming, I have to admit to having a fleeting bromance moment at seeing this Hollywood icon up close, the screams bring me around sharpish as I smirk at myself, tsk silly boy I muse out loud. With Blonde Strat hanging from his neck he delivers the lyric to this Hendrix classic, before swaggering around the stage as Beck delivers a stunning solo, each note crunchy in clarity as the song is brought to an end. They both change guitars for the final song in Depp’s set.

With such a great set it was always going to be hard to pick a favourite, and I’m sorry to all you die hard Beck fanatics out there but Killing Jokes ‘The Death and Resurrection Show’ takes top honours for me. With Depp’s voice full of mechanical distortion, a set of red and oranges and with strobes flashing non-stop and a menacing back line of industrial rock. Depp strikes his silver Duesenberg guitar as he delivers his vocal, Beck points to the sky as this song grinds into your very soul. Having photographed Killing Joke earlier this year, Depp is killing it, Becks little squeaks and pops in the background lift this tune from just another cover. Lights flash and strobe as this song builds, full of Becks tricks as Depp delivers the final lyric and walks to the side as Beck jams out to finish the song. Depp turns and walks off the stage.

A swift exit made; Beck is straight into the Syreeta cover ‘Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers’. The drums are hard hitting as Beck delivers pinched harmonic after volume swell after trem’ flutter. Rhonda Smith takes the floor with a great bass riff showing her worth, this has Beck smiling as he picks the song back up, strumming like a mad man his white Strat screaming for all its worth as his fingers, right down in the dirty end, scream out as he brings the set to a close with repeated delicious cries of attention, ending in a low growl which is taken over by applause and cheers from the crowd, smiling and a thank you, he and the band leave the stage.

With the usual cheers and cries of more from the hall, Beck returns to the stage. With the Cello and Robert Adam Stevenson on Keys, for accompaniment, he delivers a respectful rendition of Benjamin Britten’s ‘Corpus Christi Carol. Becks guitar pops around the melody as it drops into the last song of the night. An instrumental version of the Beatles, ‘A Day in The Life’. As the song is underway, Johnny Depp saunters back on stage Just as Beck is delivering the melody, the cello grinds away giving this Sgt Pepper’s classic the traditional Beatles sound.

It takes on a darker, rockier sound as the guitar howl is somewhat reminiscent of the 1972 track ‘Frankenstein’ by the Edgar Winter group. Becks flicked trem’ brings us back on track as this instrumental weaves through various styles without losing its way. The crowd clap and cheer through-out as the song finishes to some serious string damage.

The crowd are on their feet cheering as Beck and Depp hug centre stage, holding his hand

Beck acknowledges Depp. Waving Depp leaves the stage stopping briefly to shake hands with a lucky person on the front row. Beck takes the adulation before he too leaves the stage.

Tonight, has been a stunning night of guitar wizardry and musician ship. Beck has always had top class players on stage with him, and with tonight’s new line up he hasn’t made any exceptions. Despite be 77yrs of age, his agility with the guitar has been nothing short of mind blowing, Vai, Gilbert and Satriani all take their hat off to Beck, he is simply the best on the planet when it comes to experimental sonic acrobatics on the guitar, period! Tonight, we had a masterclass from the genius himself.

The band were, Rhonda Smith on bass guitar, Anika Nilles on drums, Vanessa Freebairn-Smith on cello and Robert Adam Stevenson on drums, Oh and special guest Mr Johnny Depp.

Despite what people have said about Jack Sparrow, I personally think the addition of Johnny Depp as special guest was a genius way of getting his work out to the masses. With a collaborative album out in June what better way to advertise it. A great night of live music once again. Put me down for the Beck, Depp tour of the new album, I’ll be there. Stunning!

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Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp: 18 review – a dull display of colossal self-pity

The perfunctory covers on this collaborative album serve to show just how bad Depp’s own songwriting is, as he rants about how awful it is to be him

I t’s perfectly possible to separate the art from the artist. Jimmy Page’s behaviour does not render the Led Zeppelin catalogue unlistenable; cinemas are now showing a film celebrating the life of Elvis, which rather glosses over the fact that Priscilla Beaulieu became his girlfriend when she was 14, but the music still sounds spectacular.

Jeff Beck’s collaboration with Johnny Depp , though, is an odd case. Partly because while a British court decided Depp had beaten his now ex-wife , Amber Heard , he then won his case on the same issue in a US court, so people can (and have) taken diametrically opposing stances on his actions. And partly because this record follows so closely on the heels of that second case, with social media still alive with vituperative comment on it, 18 is an uncomfortable listen, frequently giving the sense of Depp taking revenge.

Ordinarily, a new Jeff Beck album would pass without much comment in most quarters. It’s the presence of Depp that makes it noteworthy. And while the fact that it’s been planned for three years protects Beck from any accusations of cashing in on headlines to generate sales, the presence of Depp loyalists coming to view their hero playing alongside Beck at his recent shows suggests that 18 will reach a wider audience than any Beck record for some time. What will they get? Instrumental guitar pieces, of course – perfectly pleasant but wholly unnecessary versions of Davy Spillane’s Midnight Walker, and Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) and Caroline, No, from the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds – which sound custom made for montages of gulls swooping above cliffs on the Travel Channel, no matter how gorgeously pellucid Beck’s playing is. They’ll get some serviceable covers sung by Depp – the Miracles’ Ooo Baby Baby (his best performance, in an unlikely falsetto), Dennis Wilson’s Time, the Everly Brothers’ Let It Be Me, and an entirely redundant version of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On.

And they will get a handful of tracks that are plainly meant to play to Depp’s image, and his own self-perception, including two he wrote. Those two – unsurprisingly, given the quality of the other compositions – are the weakest musically, if the most revealing lyrically. Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade is little more than a minimal bass riff with Beck’s guitar squealing away on top and Depp snarling a barely coherent rant: “You’re sitting there like a dog with a seven-year itch / You keep serving up fast to make a barrel of fish.” All of which is punctuated by a downpitched voice intoning “Big time … motherfucker” as a percussive accompaniment. It’s juvenile and asinine and just not very good.

This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr is better musically – its standard post-Beatles piano ballad structure is disrupted by the drums (played by Depp) beating a military tattoo for its first 90 seconds, rather than going straight for the mid-paced plod. Beck’s closing solo, too, is the best on the record. But the lyrics. Oh dear. Actor and inventor Lamarr, one supposes, is being used as a cipher for Depp: misunderstood, abused, unfairly traduced: “Erased by the same world that made her a star / Spun out of beauty, trapped by its web.” Of course, Lamarr went into seclusion rather than making an album to win public sympathy.

The remaining covers are equally pointed. John Lennon’s Isolation and Janis Ian’s Stars both lay on the pity-poor-me shtick, though the latter might be the best track on 18, partly because Janis Ian is a much more nuanced writer about the vicissitudes of fame than Johnny Depp , and partly because Depp’s vocal performance – an unmannered, gentle baritone – suits the material.

And then there are the two horrorshows – versions of Killing Joke’s The Death and Resurrection Show and the Velvet Underground’s Venus in Furs. The former simply lacks the menace and terror that are Killing Joke’s stock in trade – it’s like cosplay, so clearly about projecting danger, which is an odd thing to want to project given that Depp’s legal travails have concerned whether he really is dangerous. Venus in Furs is an odd choice for the same reason – why now, of all times, would he choose to perform a song about sado-masochism? It is disastrously recast as goth metal, losing all the creeping dread of the original. Where Lou Reed really did come across as tired and weary, Depp just sounds like a bored robot.

It’s to Beck’s credit that alone among the guitar heroes of the 1960s UK R&B boom, he has not retreated into coffee-table blues. His career is replete with startling changes of direction, and unusual collaborators, which probably accounts for him being revered by musicians, but never really achieving stardom to match his skill. But 18 is a peculiar and hugely uneven record. And it would be a peculiar and hugely uneven record even if Depp had never been near a courtroom in his life.

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“Jeff was just something other, you know?”: Mark Knopfler says he had begun planning to record an album with Jeff Beck shortly before Beck's death

Saluting the late guitar hero's “beautiful” contribution to his all-star 2024 re-recording of Going Home (Theme From Local Hero), the Dire Straits man expressed regret that the plan never came to fruition

One of 2024's biggest guitar-related stories to date is undoubtedly Mark Knopfler's high-profile re-recording of Going Home (Theme From Local Hero) .

To raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America, Knopfler re-recorded the classic song with arguably the most formidable lineup of guitar heroes ever assembled.

Listing all of the players involved would take all day – Slash, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Sheryl Crow, Tony Iommi, and Brian May are just a few of the names, to give you an idea – but perhaps the most notable of all was the late Jeff Beck, whose memorable contribution is widely acknowledged to be his final ever recording.

In a newly-published interview with Guitar Player , Knopfler saluted the late electric guitar king's “beautiful” playing on the tune, before revealing that he also had tentative plans to make an album with Beck, who died in January 2023.

“Jeff was just something other, y’know?” the Dire Straits man told GP . “In fact, we’d just begun some talks, through management, about doing an album together. I’m really sorry we didn’t get to work together.”

As if the encyclopedic list of guitar heroes on the 2024 version of Going Home wasn't enough, the track also features the Who’s Roger Daltrey on harmonica, and both Ringo Starr and his son Zak Starkey on drums.

It was Daltrey's longtime involvement with, and patronage of, the Teenage Cancer Trust, that led Knopfler to Pete Townshend, who was the first guitarist to contribute to the song.

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“It started, quite appropriately enough, with Pete Townshend, because we’ve known Roger’s association with the charity for so long, and Pete’s as well,” Knopfler explained to GP . “So, Pete came through the door first at my place, armed with a guitar and an amp, and we plugged it in and Pete played a chord. And we were happening, because when Pete plays a chord, it stays played.”

To read the full Guitar Player interview with Knopfler, pick up the latest issue of the mag at Magazines Direct .

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player . Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded . Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.

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When composing the score for Netflix’s “ Unfrosted ,” Christophe Beck had a simple request from the film’s writer, director and star Jerry Seinfeld : “For everything to be just a little bit extra,” says Beck.

Set in the 1960s, “Unfrosted” is the Pop-Tarts origin story. Seinfeld plays the Kellogg’s employee who helps the company beat its rival, Post, in the breakfast pastry race. Beck used music to emphasize the optimism of American innovation. “I found it effective to inhabit a particular character in a scene, imagine what they were feeling in that moment, and then exaggerate it to a pretty extreme effect,” he says.

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In one scene, where Edsel Kellogg (Jim Gaffigan) and Bob face up to the reality that Kellogg’s might lose the breakfast pastry race, Beck says he used the main theme as his basis, but at half tempo with a minor orchestration, and at a minor key. “That tune is still recognizably the same tune that we hear right at the beginning, but it gives the score that cohesion.”

When scoring cues for Post, Beck says he had to musically convey that the rival cereal company was the bad guy in this story — in particular, Amy Schumer’s Marjorie Post.

But, he continues, “If you watch the movie, any scene that she’s in, the music does take a little bit of a dark turn. We hear the occasional saxophone and muted trumpet with the jazzy chord that makes things lighter. Underneath it all, there is a serious approach to scoring Marjorie Post and the company as the villain of the story.”

Listen to the “Unfrosted” theme below.

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Jeff Beck Announces Brief Solo Tour

On April 8, Beck and Rod Stewart announced they will reunite on stage for their first concert in over 35 years, when they perform together on September 27 at the Hollywood Bowl. Stewart was a member of the Jeff Beck Group in the late ’60s until leaving in 1969.

In addition, Beck will perform at the September 20 concert of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival.

Tickets for Beck’s solo dates are available here . The classic rock legend turned 75 on June 24.

Beck is also a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee. Joining him at the Crossroads Festival as well as the five solo dates will be Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass, Jimmy Hall on vocals and cellist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith.

He is working on new music with a planned 2020 release.

Watch Beck join Stewart for a 2009 performance of “I Ain’t Superstitious,” which they originally recorded for Beck’s solo album, Truth , in 1968

Related: Our review of Jeff Beck at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016

Jeff Beck 2019 Tour

Sep 17 – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO Sep 18 – Brady Theater – Tulsa, OK Sep 20 – Crossroads Festival – Dallas, TX (with Eric Clapton + others) Sep 21 – Paramount Theatre – Austin, TX Sep 22 – Tobin Center for the Perf. Arts – San Antonio, TX Sep 24 – Celebrity Theatre – Phoenix, AZ Sep 27 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA (with Rod Stewart)

The Jeff Beck Group made their American debut in 1968 opening for the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore East. That performance earned them a career-making review from Robert Shelton of the New York Times, saying: “The group’s principal format is the interaction of Mr. Beck’s wild and visionary guitar against the hoarse and insistent shouting of Rod Stewart… Their dialogues were lean and laconic, the verbal Ping-Pong of a musical Pinter play. The climaxes were primal, bringing the ‘big beat’ of the English rock school forward… (with) whimsy and invention and modernist games thrown in.”

Related: Our feature on 10 great Rod Stewart collaborations

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Things to Do | Top 3 Lehigh Valley-area concerts: The Black…

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Things to do | top 3 lehigh valley-area concerts: the black crowes, roy book binder and buddy guy.

The Black Crowes perform Friday at Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem. (Ross Halfin)

The top 3 Lehigh Valley-area concerts this week come packed with some legendary artists.

First, back with their first album of new material since 2009, The Black Crowes take the stage at Wind Creek. Next, an artist who spent the better part of the ‘70s touring the US while living out of his van, Roy Book Binder brings his guitar to the stage at Godfrey Daniels.

Finally, one of the most legendary blues guitarists of all time, Buddy Guy takes his show to Penn’s Peak where crowds can see why he’s won eight Grammys to date and more accolades than most artists would know what to do with.

The Black Crowes

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Wind Creek Event Center, 77 Wind Creek Blvd., Bethlehem

How much: $59.50-$99.50

Tickets: ticketmaster.com 610-297-7414

Musical style: Blues rock, hard rock, Southern rock

Known for hits like: “Hard to Handle,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Remedy,” “Twice as Hard” and “Jealous Again.”

Meet the Band: Formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984, The Black Crowes were signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 before going on to release their debut album, “Shake Your Money Maker.” The album went to number four on the Billboard 200, and produced two number one singles. Since then, the band has released nine studio albums, sold over 30 million records, was listed on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and in 1990 “Rolling Stone” readers voted them “Best New American Band.” In January 2024 they released their first new album of material since 2009 entitled, “Happiness Bastards.”

Check them out if you like: Blues Traveler, The Cult, Allman Brothers Band, Black Keys, Aerosmith, Blind Melon, ZZ Top

Roy Book Binder

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Godfrey Daniels, 7 E. 4th St., Bethlehem

How much : $26.50-$31.50

Tickets: godfreydaniels.org/ 610-867-2390

Musical style: Blues, folk, singer-songwriter

Known for hits like: “She Did You a Favor,” “New Age Woman Blues,” “The Preacher Picked the Guitar” and “Rag Mama.”

Honors: He’s shared the stage with artists like Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Doc Watson and Ray Charles. He was a regular on Ralph Emory’s “Nashville Now” show. His album “The Good Book” took the No. 3 spot on AirPlayDirect’s Americana charts. He was one of the top three artists on Folkdj.org.

Check him out if you like: Etta Baker, Leo Kottke, Chris Smither, Pink Anderson, Blind Boy Fuller, Roy Rogers

Buddy Guy will play 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe

Where: Penn’s Peak, 325 Maury Road, Jim Thorpe

How much: $59-$66

Tickets: https://www.pennspeak.com/ 866-605-7325

Musical style: Blues, blues rock, electric blues

Known for hits like: “Feels Like Rain,” “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues,” “Mustang Sally,” “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Stone Crazy.”

Honors: An eight-time Grammy winner and recipient of the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award, Buddy Guy started playing in bands in the ‘50s, played with the legendary Muddy Waters in the ‘60s, and started a partnership with Junior Wells during the same decade. Loved by everyone from Eric Clapton to Jeff Beck, Guy is one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time. In 2012, he performed a concert at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and Dec. 8 was designated “Buddy Guy Day” by Louisiana and Mississippi officials in 2018, with a stretch of Highway 418 being designated “Buddy Guy Way” that same year.

Check him out if you like: Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Freddie Ling, T-Bone Walker, Otis Rush, Jeff Beck, B.B. King

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Kesha and Adam Lambert Headline Free WeHo Pride Concert at Outloud Fest

By Tomás Mier

Outloud Music Festival just got a bit bigger. Kesha and Adam Lambert will headline West Hollywood Pride’s free Friday night event on May 31, joining a star-studded list of performers including Kylie Minogue and Janelle Monáe.

Friday night will also include appearances from RuPaul’s Drag Race alums, including Monét x Change, and a seeming lip-sync battle performance between Season Six’s Laganja Estranja and Season 16’s Morphine Love Dion. Also performing are Niña Dioz, Jessica Betts, Venessa Michaels, and Taylor Swift Eras Tour opener Owenn.

Fans interested in attending WeHo Pride’s Friday night event can sign up for free tickets on Outloud’s website, with access officially opening on May 3 at 10 a.m. PT. Each person can register for one person per email address. Fans who purchased tickets for Outloud Fest for the rest of the weekend will receive priority access.

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The rising performer inclusion allows the festival to stay true to its mission of being “an incubator for queer talent and queer music,” said Consoletti.

The free Friday night lineup announcement comes just days after LA Pride — the Los Angeles area’s other Los Angeles-based pride event — announced that Ricky Martin will be headlining Pride in the Park event on June 8. West Hollywood’s free Friday night featured sets from Idina Menzel, Jessie Ware, and Tinashe.

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