Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck politely share stage for first time at New York's Madison Square Garden
By Blogger - Friday, February 19, 2010
Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck -- two of the holy trinity of living axe-men -- performed their first-ever full American concert together at Madison Square Garden Thursday night.(For the record, the third guitar deity is Jimmy Page.) All three played in the seminal British blues band the Yardbirds back in the '60s, with Beck having replaced Clapton in '65.
In the years since, Beck has wavered through an erratic career, ducking in and out of the limelight, while Clapton has barely left it for a second.
Their divergent careers may account for some of the difference in attitude and effort displayed by the two legends last night.
Beck, who opened with a 45-minute solo set, played as if he still had something to prove, reeling off solos informed by equal parts technical derring-do and emotional resonance.
Clapton more often held back in his set, letting the songs rule while doling out his runs with dutiful care. Only in the concert's final third did the two stars cross axes at last.
Beck's opening mirrored his changeable career, careening from funky blues to fusion jazz to grand balladry. In Jeff Buckley's "Corpus Christi," he infused his guitar with all the hurt and variety of a human voice. His instrumental version of the Beatles "A Day In The Life" recreated the song's entire panoply aided by an orchestral backup. Even a reach into opera -- a run at "Nossom Dorma" -- sounded both edgy and ravishing.
Clapton's set proved far drowsier, opening with four acoustic shuffles. Although his solos were immaculate and scholarly, they were also distanced, weighed down further by the star's indifferent backing band. Unfortunately, Clapton's group backed the tandem section, rather than Beck's more feverish players.
The two stars found common ground in the blues but largely kept out of each other's way, rarely goosing each other and therefore establishing only a polite rapport. Nowhere did Clapton show the intimacy and emotion he enjoyed in his brilliant Garden show with Steve Winwood last year. Beck put more muscle in his playing, as well more wit, especially in "Shake Your Money Maker" and a lovely take on "Moon River." Moments like that gave the show value. But as far as fulfilling a generation's life-long fantasy, let's just say it lived better in our minds.
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