The forgettable Mr Beck

The Jeff Beck concert in Brussels was a massive disappointment.

I'd been looking forward to it for months because he used to be one of my guitar heroes when I was younger, and the chance to hear him play a small venue instead of a large arena was irresistible. While his guitar work was excellent, I thought his playing was almost mechanical. There simply was no soul or passion in it. It sounded stale. He didn't look like he was having a great time with his band and he barely engaged with the audience. But who knows, maybe he was just having an off day. Perhaps some musicians are better off in the studio doing what they do best. Playing music well is one thing. Giving a good concert is quite another.

For me, the final straw was when he played Nessun dorma for his encore. It was about as effective as the James Last Orchestra doing the Bob Marley songbook. Seriously, Mr Beck, just how tacky can you get?

This wasn't the best photo of the evening , but I chose it because all the faces of the band were visible. Narada Michael Walden was on drums. Rhonda Smith played bass. They were both very good. Jason Rebello was on keyboards.

Larger.

Last week's Pendulum concert at the same venue was way better.

~ a backblip ~