Saw and heard Beck's concert here in Austin at the Moody Theater, ACL Live, 9th row on the aisle, dead center last night. Rhonda Smith(PRS Bass), Vanessa Freebairn-Smith(Cello, such an English name, isn't it?; she could have been 15% louder in the mix at times...), Jimmy Hall(vocals/really shined;great soul singing) and the one and only Vinnie Colaiuta on his Gretch Custom Set.
Jeff's Rig Rundown: 1) Fender Stratocaster, White, reverse headstock, roller nut, it looked brand new, right off the rack, so to speak. 2) The pedalboard was hidden, but the usual, a Wah, Boost and Flanger. Guitar was 'dry' most of the time. 3) Facing the audience. A 'Becktone' wide head, but the power indicator wasn't on, a tan 2x12 no name cabinet(miked), and a 4x12 marshall cabinet with it's back to the audience. 4) Backside: and looked like(from the control knobs) a Marshall 2x12 combo(miked), another Marshall 4x12 cabinet(facing the back of the stage) and on the top of it, some sort of 'small box' Marshall type head, couldn't see the brand logo. Here's 'the thing'...I only saw Beck touch the low 'E" tuning machine on the guitar ONE TIME near the beginning, and never again did he touch any of the tuners the entire set, during the Strat's well earned hard playing. No wireless, he was hard wired. His tone could, to me, be best described as "Marshally", more Marshall than Fender, but 40% Fender, maybe? Good and damn loud, gritty, but clean too...when he rolled off the guitar volume, more power amp than preamp. Bridge pickup all night long...
We knew going in that Beck was going to amaze and he did of course, but if you have any drummer amigos that think they know what hard, dynamic, explosive fusion drumming is like, let me tell you, it was a Master Class from Vinnie. From his right foot technique to the perfectly decaying crash cymbals, he was an incredible drummer. Just killing it the entire set.
At the encore, we 'rushed the stage' and I was 5 feet in front of Beck. Once in a lifetime, baby...
Here's the rest of the tour dates:
http://jeffbeck.com/tours/
