Jeff Beck in B'ham

  • Went to see Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy at the NIA in Birmingham last night. Was going to meet up with Mel Galley who also thought that he had tickets (you might recall from 'Mel's Answers', that he cited Beck as one of his influences) but got let down at the last minute. How lucky he was! I went with a pal from work who was reviewing the show for the paper. Buddy Guy was support and his performance was really enjoyable, for a fella approaching 70, his connection with the crowd was superb. He said he wished he could play all night – after 30 minutes of Beck so did we!!
    I didn't know what to expect but in my opinion his jazz/avant guarde solos were full of technique and little else, a real let down.
    I've never left a show early in 45 years of concert going, maybe I'm getting too old but this was pure crap!

  • John, I've been saying that about El Becko's recorded output for sometime now.......I really wish he would go 'retro' and get back to basics for awhile!! If you want to stir up a hornet's nest.......go over to the Jeff Beck Appreciation Society forum at Yahoo and tell the bozos over there that you walked out on their "guitar god's" performance. They'll be screaming for your BLOOD!!!

  • Hey fella, I just went to the site and reading the 'description' on the first page, and being a member of the great British press it looks like censorship gone mad anyway!
    Thanks for taking care of business for me friend.

    Cheers John:lol:

  • John, I used to go to that forum quite often but if you have anything negative to say about Jeff or his music they immediately turn on you like a rabid dog. It's quite the 'soap opera' over there at times!

    Chuck

  • Hi Chuck, You ain't kidding about these Jeff Beck officianardos!
    Herewith a letter to the editor about the review my collegue posted in Wednesday's edition:eek:

    "Subject: Simon Penfold is an idiot.
    Importance: High

    His review of the Buddy Guy/Jeff Beck show at the NIA could give entirely the wrong impression of a gig clearly thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended, bar him. He is obviously one of those people out to make a name for himself by being controversial.
    We travelled from Hampshire just to see this gig. Buddy Guy was a bonus, but in all honesty I would have preferred 2-3 hours of Jeff since he plays live so rarely and he is pure magic every time. Our only disappointment is that he is so shy that he rarely, if at all, speaks to the audience.
    Reviews such as that given by that idiot Penfold, if read by Jeff, might influence any decision to perform again and if that happened music would be far poorer for his absence. He is a total genius and can't help the fact that he is very shy. It's a shame but it's like telling someone scared of heights to climb a mountain - if you can't, you can't and we accept him as he is. Penfold clearly wasn't familiar with Jeff's compositions, or a fan of his style of playing or he would not have claimed to be bored. We were riveted from start to finish and could listen to him for hours. He is the coolest man alive.
    Sure Buddy Guy had a great rapport with the audience - walking around in the aisles and chatting in between songs - but although he's a great player he didn't actually play much. Jeff is an absolute master of his instrument and his compositions have great emotion - to describe his performance as sterile is as far from the truth as it is possible to get. His performance was merely through his guitar and not through his voice. 2 unpaid days off work, a several hundred mile round trip getting lost going in and out of Birmingham, and a night in a hotel was worth every penny to see the master play. We've seen many a great guitar player but every time we see Jeff he blows us away. Your reviewer is talking rubbish, just to make a name for himself."

    Oh dear, oh dear!

    See what you mean
    :lol:

  • John, Jeff can break wind, record it and these morons will buy it........and tell you it's the greatest recorded work since the advent of magnetic tape!!

  • Quote from hackney

    Was going to meet up with Mel Galley who also thought
    that he had tickets but got let down at the last minute.

    ............but this was pure crap!



    hackney,
    I'll tell you what's pure - - - - .
    This is the 2nd time that you've told us about
    "Mel's Adventures in Ticket-land." :mad: :mad:
    (The recent "Whitesnake " concert was the first.)

    If you weren't a personal friend, or if this was only told to you,
    I wouldn't believe that this disgraceful situation was true.
    Mel Galley needs to buy a ticket to a Whitesnake concert?
    Does the Queen have to buy a ticket for the Royal Command Performance, too?



    Suggest to Mel that he have a t-shirt made up that says:


    Damn it, because I'm

    __________MEL_________
    _______(Trapeze)_______
    _____(Whitesnake)______
    _____(Phenomena)______
    _____GALLEY______


    THAT'S WHY.



    (Hopefully, the dopey ticket-takers can read.)
    Grace

    axmuremoticon.gif

  • Guys like the ones mentioned on the Jeff Beck board are musical nazi's. The Queen board has people like that, plus a great deal of thirteen year olds who are convinced they know more about Queen than me. In fact, some have yet to even buy all the albums!

    It seems the bigger the act, the more moron's there are. I'm just glad the ghpg family is a bunch of intelligent beings, who are up for a discussion of an artists music. Otherwise we could all be sat here saying "Hey Ken, Are You Home" from I&P was Glenn's finest work, because nobody dare say otherwise!

    JG

  • Hi James , it's good to have an opinion isn't it!
    It was interesting that Jeff Beck only did 3 shows in Britain – the Brum one was two thirds full – clearly his vast army of devotees weren't that keen to put their money where there mouth is . . .

    We all know what the guy is capable of, and his status as a leading rock guitarist is not in doubt, but what we witnessed was of interest to a very limited audience in my opinion.

  • Hello Grace, couldn't agree more! Although this last time, it was a nother pal of Mel's that said he had tickets but when it came to it he never bought them.
    But the t-shirt idea is a good one and I'm sure Mel will pee himself when I tell him:lol:

    John

  • Quote from James Gaden

    Otherwise we could all be sat here saying "Hey Ken, Are You Home"
    from I&P was Glenn's finest work



    :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

    That is....SO FUNNY....James.
    Ah yes, the lyrics, the melody, the orchestration, the production values.
    Truly a magnificent piece of.........what was that, anyway?:huh:
    An answering machine message gone horribly wrong?

    I've posted many times that I don't have a favorite GH album.
    I like them all....NOT......because I'm a GH robot, but because
    Glenn gives each song his best shot, wherever he's "at" at that time.
    Of course, it becomes difficult to criticise anything from Glenn,
    because he can sing so much, so well.
    Anybody need to hear my "Ave Maria" in Latin, opinion AGAIN?

    PS....and if Jeff Beck is so fragile (or dare I say it -"Frail")
    that he can't take an honest, sincere appraisal from intelligent fans,
    then maybe he should stop touring, and only play in an "ivory tower"
    recording studio setting, and not have to face the harsh, real world
    of live concerts, followed by newspaper /magazine /web site reviews.

    Message to hackney:
    I hope that Mel clears up that gastro-intestinal tract problem soon :eek:
    and then gets to the t-shirt company - fast.

    Seriously, I'm sure that DC had no idea that his buddy was treated so shabbily.
    A visit backstage, an announcement and introduction from the stage,
    and an invitation to sing along on some of Mel's WS era's songs,
    would have been enjoyed by all.......especially by the knowledgeable
    Whitesnake audience.

    And tell Mel to carry an ax.:axe:

    axmuremoticon.gif

  • Hi there,

    I saw Jamiroquai and Jeff Beck yesterday at the North Sea Jazz festival in Holland. Both where great. First time I saw Beck live, but what a tone... He played a lot of stuff from my favourite Guitar Shop album. In the encore he jammed with Stanley Clarke which was pretty cool as well.

    cheers!

    - Fedor

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