Photos by Arnie Goodman
Guitar slingers Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy brought their respective bands back to the Capitol Theatre for a truly special night of blues-rockin’. Buddy Guy and his Damn Right Blues Band opened the show with his signature tune “Damn Right I Got The Blues,” and all bets were off after that. Guy plied the appreciative crowd with his unique mix of story-telling, showmanship and of course “bluesman-ship” as he ripped through an hour’s worth of classics. Guy did his obligatory “crowd surfing” on “Slippin’ In” as the audience rose to its feet, not wanting to miss a moment. After name checking John Lee Hooker and Marvin Gaye during the encore, Guy was off, leaving the festivities to Mr. Jeff Beck.
Beck brought his new band, including females on vocals, bass and guitar, to support his brand new album Loud Hailer. Never shy about re-inventing himself, Jeff Beck and band tore through almost two hours of what amounted to a career retrospective, ably augmented by special guest vocalist Jimmy Hall. A definite highlight was a new song “Tell Me You Love Me,” where Jeff played a funky-ass red box guitar, a gift from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Wrapping up with his brilliant instrumental take on The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life,” Beck and Co. were off, leaving the crowd buzzing with the knowledge that they had just witnessed two guitar heroes at the height of their powers.
—Paul Aaronson
Wish I’d been there!