I am really enjoying your animosity towards Jeff Beck, 40.
-superboyac
It's not so much that. (Ok...maybe it is.) But I mean look... she's a superb bassist...her credentials are impeccable, so there's no need to do the débutante thing for her when she's on stage. The lady sounds and
looks the part - and she has one of those really cute
girl-stomp things going (more on that later) when this ageing ninny moves in, screws the beat,
plus adds some bad sound to something that didn't need anything else - and would have been
far better (and I'm guessing got the woman a great deal more applause) if he just allowed things to run on their own merits.
Jeff doesn't need anything to bolster his (somewhat unjustified IMO) fame or place in the history books of rock & roll. So it's not like he needs to rub himself on her for good luck like Sheryl Crow's husband (a big producer) did for his comely Sheryl when he got her paired up on stage and TV with everybody who was anybody when she decided to make a go of it. Ms. Wilkenfeld has a friggen' 'rep' for heaven's sake. She had established "
studio cred" by the bloody age of 20!
So maybe Tal is Jeff's good luck
talisman these days? Her now famous 2007 performance with an uncharacteristically considerate Jeff Beck at the Crossroads Festival did more for
Jeff's career (most people were already fairly tired of him) than it did hers. Or so I think. But I could well be wrong about all this. My long standing dislike of all things 'Jeff Beck' (the 'whys' of which are not worth going into) sometimes tends to cloud my normally more rational thought processes.
Re: the
girl-stomp thing:
Musician
ship is performance art as well as a musical ability.
A good performer invites the audience
into their world to let them see a bit of what they're experiencing. It builds audience engagement. And it's the courteous thing to do since many people (who are not musicians) are
extremely interested in that thing we do. So by letting the audience in, you educate (and in the best possible situations) provide an impetus
for them to someday become musicians themselves.
Because the truth of the matter is (as musicians) we're still pretty much a
guild - complete with it's traditions, and 'secret' lore, and rituals and regalia...a pecking order...and all that other nonsense. So "opening up the kimono" is something most audience members appreciate.
If you check out some of her other performances, you'll generally see her do a little dance or bop to give the audience and idea of where she's coming from beat-wise. Or she'll play something very fine, then the look up at the audience and shoot a quick smile that seems to say (in a non-condescending manner) "Did you catch that? Do you see what I'm trying to say with this song?"
That's pure performance. And simple courtesy to your listeners.
Add that to demonstrable musical talent and sophistication, a shy little smile that'd melt the Grinch, and the sort of looks and mannerisms that hits the average libido with all the gentleness of a baseball bat, and you have a complete
performance package. There aren't too many performing musicians who can (or can be bothered) to put it all together like that.
If I sound impressed, it's because I am.
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