Jeff Beck and Ann Wilson @ Artpark, Lewiston, NY 8-7-18

Currently on tour with Paul Rodgers for the Stars Align Tour, both Jeff Beck and Ann Wilson made a detour this past Tuesday as they stopped at Artpark in Lewiston, NY. Both have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Beck in 2009 and Wilson with her band Heart in 2013) so having a double bill like this was a major coup for Artpark.

Opening the show was Wilson. With her current hiatus from Heart, she has been expressing herself with her solo material and a new album called “Immortal,” which will be coming out in September. This album is attributed to recently passed musicians. For this show, she focused on playing a heavy dose of cuts from that upcoming release along with a few other covers including 3 from The Who alone. Her band consists of Andy Stoller on bass, Craig Bartock on guitar, Dan Walker on keys and Denny Fongheiser on drums. Bartock is the only leftover from the Heart days.

Wilsons started her set off with The Who’s “The Real Me.” Maybe a statement to showing the audience this is who she is and this is what I can do outside of the band Heart. Wilson has always been known for having one of the best voices in rock. Tuesday was no exception. She belted out the Heart classic “Barracuda” and The Who staple “Love Reign O’er Me” showing even at the age of 68, she shows almost no signs of slowing down at all. She took songs and arranged them to make them her own especially on the Amy Winehouse’s song “Back to Black.” Was a total different feel than the original. She called it a more “gothic” approach and I would agree. Of course, what would be an Ann Wilson set without her most famous vocal as she performed “Alone.” She slowed it down giving the song the justice it deserved. Overall, the hour set lacked Heart material but showcased Wilsons strength outside of the heart moniker, which she was aiming to achieve and did so in my opinion.

There isn’t enough superlatives and adjectives to describe the play of one Jeff Beck. Beck along with his extraordinary band came to play for the hour and half plus set. His all start worthy band consisted of drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, cellist Vanessa Freebaim-Smith, bassist Rhonda Smith and vocalist Jimmy Hall.

The band started off with a tune off Becks 2016 offering “Loud Hailer” called “Pull It.” Then a slew of interpretations of various covers were introduced to the crowd with fervent passion. The fluidity of Becks playing is masterful. He didn’t speak a word but didn’t have to. His playing did all the talking. No more evident of this was on tracks “Morning Dew” and “Big Block.” Just pure bliss in watching him perform. Hall made sporadic appearances adding vocals on a few tunes when needed. His bluesy raspy voice totally fit in what the set was dictating. Smith is a bad ass on the bass. She really held the low end down with Colaiuta to precision. An interesting piece to the puzzle was the addition of Freebaim-Smith who played along with Beck and gave a new flavor to the band’s sound.

The part that I took in watching this outfit perform that it is truly a band. What I mean is that even though Beck is considered in such an iconic status, he lets each band member play their part and showcase their talents as well. The ones who benefit from this is the audience and that’s what matters most!

Jeff Beck setlist:

Pull It

Stratus (Billy Cobham cover)

Nadia (Nitin Sawhney cover)

You Know You Know (Mahavishnu cover)

Moring Dew (Bonnie Dobson cover)

I Have to Laugh (Otis Rush cover)

Star Cycle

Lonnie on the Move (Lonnie Mack cover)

Mna’ na h-E’ireann (The Chieftains cover)

Just for Fun

Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix cover)