Review by Junkman
Photos by Ron Lyon (Los Angeles) & Joe Schaeffer (Las Vegas)
To celebrate and promote his 2022 album, 18, guitarist Jeff Beck, joined by actor Johnny Depp, made a Los Angeles stop on their tour at the grandiose Orpheum Theatre. The sold-out house was electric and filled with anticipation. Depp, who, despite trying to establish a music career by playing with a host of regal rockers such as Alice Cooper and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, has been in the daily press more recently for his very public divorce proceedings.
His collaboration on 18 with Beck has been well received by many, and their recordings of mostly cover songs sung by Depp, is yet another avenue that both artists, known for exploring new horizons, continue to travel. It’s a very interesting mix of worlds where two giants in their respective fields blend their talents as one. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s puzzling, and tonight the public got to hear it live.
A lively opening set by singer Max Gomez, got the evening started. His dry sense of humor, along with his acoustic guitar and harmonica, was fun for all. Hailing from Taos, New Mexico, Gomez and his bluesy, folk-pop songs like “Ball And Chain” and “Run From You,” plus the stories he told in between, were very entertaining. He was very appreciative to be where he was as well, as he looked around the Orpheum and exclaimed: “This is the most beautiful concert hall I’ve ever performed in. I’m the lucky one that gets to open for Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp.” It was then that I noticed that his voice actually reminded me of Depp’s speaking voice. Whether or not that was the deciding factor in getting the gig is anyone’s guess. But his short set was very enjoyable.
At 9:00 PM sharp, the lights dimmed and Beck and his band arrived onstage. The 78-year-old Beck is ageless. He looks exactly like he has for the last 40-50 years or so. He sported jet-black shaggy hair, sunglasses, and a white shirt with black pants and vest. He brandished his usual “weapon,” a Fender Stratocaster that he can make squeal and cry and chirp, using only his thumb, fingers, and tremolo bar, with an occasional slide. Simplicity, and uniformity, and it never ceases to amaze.
His band includes his longtime bassist Rhonda Smith, drummer Anika Nilles, keyboardist Robert Stevenson, and cellist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, all of whom would receive the spotlight, first individually, then collectively, which I thought was brilliant. It gave us, the audience, a chance to get to know them as they would be far from the point of interest for many — the “guitar aficionados” that normally attend Jeff Beck shows, alongside Johnny Depp fans.
Case in point was the opener, “Freeway Jam” from Beck’s 1975 album, Blow By Blow. Nilles played the normally medium tempo at almost double time, speeding up the number to lend her admirable chops to a classic song. It breathed new life into an old song, and as beloved it is to old-school Beck fans, I enjoyed the new take on it. Nilles is different than other drummers I have seen with Beck over the years, but she was brilliant throughout the set.
Nilles drove the song “Loose Canon” from Beck’s 2000 release, You Had It Coming, to new heights, as I watched him look towards her and occasionally smile as the song progressed. “Midnight Walker,” from 18, featured Smith and Stevenson, and gave the audience an extended dose of Beck’s brilliant use of the volume and tone knob effects on his guitar, that, combined with his masterful manipulation of his tremolo bar, have put the guitarist in a class all by himself among both contemporary and classic electric guitarists. Simply jaw-dropping is what he is.
A ride through “Big Block” from 1989’s Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop was enjoyable but brief. I noticed that a few of the songs ended quickly, as opposed to some of his past extended jams. Another brief song, a cover of the Beach Boys’ “Caroline, No” followed, and gave us yet another side of Beck’s incredible volume knob technique. The tender ballad soared and wailed, with just a hint of accompaniment from the band. Brian Wilson’s original vocals became almost an afterthought after hearing Beck’s treatment. They then switched gears for “You Know You Know” a cover of the Mahavishnu Orchestra number from 1971. Nilles channeled her best Billy Cobham style with a series of off-beat time signatures throughout the number and Smith followed with a funky, slap-bass solo of her own.
Beck used the talk box during an impressive turn on Robert Johnson’s “Me And The Devil Blues.” Beck’s guitar moaned and wailed like it was indeed “making a deal with the devil,” which Johnson supposedly did, if you believe the fabled story. A bouncy turn on “Star Cycle” from Beck’s 1980 There And Back album was resurrected, and gave many of us in the audience a flashback to our younger years. That LP was a staple of my listening when I was in college, and he pretty much stuck with the original arrangement, punctuated at times by Stevenson’s keyboard fills. “You Never Know” also from that same release, was performed with similar results.
“Brush with The Blues” from Beck’s 1999 Who Else release and the Stevie Wonder-penned “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” from Blow By Blow represented the guitarist at his best. He can take a standard blues song or soft ballad and get so much more out of them, simply by the way he manipulates his guitar through string bending, fingering and his unique talents on the tremolo bar. Both songs featured incredible runs up and down the fingerboard, and then, just as quickly, dissolved into soft squeals that became cries of emotion. At various times, he would deviate from the original arrangement to take it to a new high, and then effortlessly arrive back to the main riff. Jeff Beck is simply a master at getting the most out of what he can while making it into something all his own. Just incredible to see and hear.
After a standing ovation, he exclaimed, “It’s so complicated, I need help.” Out stepped Johnny Depp to the screams of the many female fans in the audience, as the strains of Link Wray’s classic “Rumble” courtesy of Beck’s guitar welcomed the man known as Captain Jack Sparrow to movie lovers around thew world. Dressed in a black suit with a large red X on the back and sporting a black hat and shades, Depp strapped on a low-hanging Fender Telecaster, greeted cellist Smith, and with a roar from the audience, joined Beck center stage.
He then took the microphone and sang the moody “This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr” as he strummed an acoustic guitar. The song brings to mind something Roger Waters would write. It’s flat, at times off-key vocals were the main focus from the anthem-like instrumentation, and Beck seemed to almost come in to revive it from drowning at various times. The same can be said on their take of John Lennon’s “Isolation,” which followed. The dark, lonely dirge-like arrangement and Depp’s droning vocals were literally saved by Beck’s incredible bluesy and jarring guitar stabs, as well as the band building the song to a crashing and blunt crescendo.
The lovely Dennis Wilson ballad “Time” almost suffered from Depp’s one-dimensional vocals, as Beck once again became “Johnny Depth” and provided the meat and potatoes by literally rescuing it with his musical brilliance. Depp’s vocals were then double-tracked on a take on the Velvet Underground’s “Venus In Furs,” which I thought was more in tune with what I think Depp is more suited to, musically. The song is a thought-provoking, mid-tempo number that Beck took a back seat to. He seemed to be satisfied with letting Depp take the spotlight and stood stage-right, playing the occasional fill, as the band kept the military march-like beat moving forward.
Beck headed back to center stage for a wonderful, instrumental version of the Beatles’ classic “A Day In The Life” as Depp stood on stage left, quietly strumming an acoustic guitar. Beck then thanked the crowd who stood and applauded, and the band briefly left the stage. The guitarist then returned to the stage with Depp to encore with “Corpus Christi Carol” from 2010’s Emotion And Commotion release. The song itself is a quiet combination of delta blues meets dreamy melody. I have always thought it would be perfect for a movie soundtrack.
Beck then gave a brief take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” before Depp joined in again for the set-closing “The Death and Resurrection Show,” the title a subtle metaphor for the evening in general, depending on how you look at it. While I’m a fan of Johnny Depp’s acting skills, his musicianship in this particular pairing was a bit of a mismatch. Obviously, Beck is not an actor, unless you consider his humorous brief performance appearance in the 1966 film Blow Up as “acting.”
Whatever the case may be, it was an enjoyable evening, ultimately. Seeing two superstars of separate mediums collide is thrilling to witness. Depp has been exploring many musical avenues the last few years and he’s made many friends in those circles. Hat’s off to him and especially Jeff Beck and the band for displaying their collaboration onstage, as well as on record.
~ Bonus photo gallery from Las Vegas ~
