Photos by: Dino Perrucci Written by: Howard Weiner

Jeff Beck, one of the world’s premier guitar virtuosos and innovators for the past six decades, dazzled a packed house at the Capitol Theatre Saturday night. Mr. Beck, who will turn seventy-one in June, looked remarkably fit. His appearance, as well as his guitar prowess, continues to defy time. Beck and his band came out to a thunderous ovation and rocked hard during the opener, “Loaded.”

Bassist, Rhonda Smith, and drummer, Jonathan Joseph, stepped out for impressive solos during the second tune, “Nine.” Smith’s graceful thumping built a bridge from jazz to funk, and Joseph’s percussion stampede filled the halls and rattled the walls. As for Beck, he was in beast mode from the get go, skillfully delivering his innovative sound, blow by blow. Beck turned the clock back to 1968 by playing “Morning Dew,” a number from Truth, the Jeff Beck Group’s debut album. Beck’s lightning chord strumming rang with apocalyptic fervor.

Lead singer, Jimmy Hall was superb on “Morning Dew,” and Sam Cooke’s, “A Change Is Gonna Come.” However, when Beck’s on stage, songs are just vehicles through which Jeff communicates in his own distinctive language. Like a Dylan grunt, or a Miles trumpet blast, the sharp sonic tone of Beck’s electric guitar can’t be mistaken for anyone else. As the show flowed, Beck was touching on all his influences: blues, jazz, rock, fusion, heavy metal. The music was filled with feeling, texture, color, ice, and heat; at times it sounded like there was a keyboard player on stage, even though there wasn’t.

Over an hour into the show, the audience erupted as Beck’s guitar roared into the Hendrix classic, “Little Wing.” The playing was heated, in fact, it may have caused a fuse to blow in the sound system, because the music came to a jarring stop. At first it seemed like the stoppage was part of the show, as if something magnificent would emerge from the silence. There was no previous indication of technical difficulty, the sound was pristine all night. But Jimmy Hall confessed he had no idea what had happened, and he joked about holding a questions and answer session with the audience.

The band left the stage for what turned out to be a brief intermission, enough time to get a brew. The musicians picked up where they left off, “Little Wing,” part two, and then they got down to the Motown with a funky version of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” The instrumental of the night was a sensational rendition of “A Day in the Life.” Beck’s fingers danced across the fret board, and bending his strings with extreme feeling, he seemingly gave the illusion of stopping time in its tracks. His guitar phrasing and ensuing manipulation of silence was hypnotic. There was a cat next to me playing air guitar all night, and every once in a while he’d tap me on the shoulder, and mouth the words, ”This guy is too good.” Those five words would be an accurate, yet rather succinct review of this show.

Returning to the stage for “Danny Boy” and “Going Down,” Beck continued to make his guitar cry and scream as he elegantly moved across the stage. He made the impossible look effortless. It was a brilliant two-hour performance, riveting all the way through. Every paying customer got more than their money’s worth. There’s nothing quite like seeing the incomparable Jeff Beck live, and catching him in the Capitol Theatre, only enhanced an unforgettable experience.

      Photos by: Dino Perrucci The Capitol Theatre Photo Gallery [gallery link="file" columns="4" ids="|"]