Jeff Beck and Joss Stone, 13th December, 2012, Mama Stone's, Exeter

All Awed Up

Seeing Joss Stone in a small local venue [her mother’s club in Exeter] is an absolute treat, and I will say more on this in a moment. But to also see Jeff Beck there – that is an overdose of icing to kill with its high octane guitar sweetness. Indeed, after the first few Beck numbers I asked the stranger standing at my side to pinch me. And he did.

Having never seen Hendrix live, and doubting I will get the chance to see Clapton and/or Page, the opportunity to see guitar-god Beck – surely he is on a par with that illustrious company – was, as Joss Stone herself put it, an incredible Christmas present. Performing at Mama Stone’s in Exeter, a capacity of 270, was a further part of the gift wrapping. I assumed that being mum’s venue, it would be a Joss Stone gig with Beck taking some cameo roles, probably playing a few of the well-known duets he has done with JS like You Put a Spell on Me [which they did]. But that was going to be enough. Bountiful in fact.

Yet it was the reverse. This was a Jeff Beck gig with Joss Stone joining for two wonderful sets. Beck arrived on his own with band and began by playing four numbers, all sublime and idiosyncratic: his is the most jazz-oriented slant of the great rock guitarists, and his ‘overdrive’ sound is mainlined straight to the aural veins in such a small venue and when you are standing directly in front of the PA. Jeff told the audience ‘I was never going to play these again’ [meaning songs], but said it was such a great band that he had to. He was so right. 

Joss Stone then joined, having walked through the crowd, and she had a simple elegance to her appearance that reflects, it seems to me, the mature place she now occupies as a vocalist. I have been consistent in my praise of her: recently, one of the few positive contributors to SuperHeavy, and producing a superb last album Soul Sessions Volume 2, reviewed here in July. We aren’t particularly good in this country at celebrating talent – the American fawning over early Joss Stone would appear to have skewed her focus and sense of self for a while, but at least they hooped and hollered about her – and on last night’s performance I would say we have a singer of genuine worth to treasure and celebrate. Beck clearly rates her, and their partnership has such an easy but also dynamic empathy.

Every Beck number and every Beck/Stone number was a highlight. In selecting the brightest beacon, I’ll go for the duet on Hendrix’s Little Wing, a song Stone confessed to only discovering and learning the night before – and for which she apologised – a fact confirmed I think by her calling it Little Wings. As I said in my previous quick posting on this gig, my photos taken on the night are all naff, but my video clips are OK and I did get a snippet of this. Beautiful.

A final comment on Jeff Beck as a performer. I have read observations like this before, but he has the most unassuming and genuinely modest persona for someone who has earned his status as a guitar great. His rapport with and obvious support for the individual talents of the band last night was a joy to observe. He is proactive in giving them moments to shine, genuinely enjoys those moments, and encourages the audience to register similar. At one point Beck introduced a John McLaughlin number [can’t recall the title] and his praise of JM with the aside that ‘he never makes the top polls’ – or words to that effect – said it all: shining a light on those around or other than him, when his own is the brightest.