If you still haven’t heard, the weekend of Feb. 21-22 was unprecedented for English rock guitar icons Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Playing a pair of expansive, three-part shows at Japan’s Saitama Super Arena, the event marked the first time the two Yardbirds alumni had co-headlined a bill in their 40-plus-year careers. And while the Strat-wielding pair had jammed together more frequently in recent years – most recently at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in 2007 – the Saitama gigs also marked the first time the two legends had played a full concert set together.
The shows were the end of a road trip through Australia and Japan for Beck, his last scheduled gigs before his imminent induction into Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Accompanied by his current touring band – veteran drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, keyboardist David Sancious and 23-year-old female bass phenom Tal Wilkenfeld – Beck played fiery opening sets that showcased his unique, genre-defining instrumental fusion oeuvre, capped by the tour’s new wrinkle, a playful take on Henry Mancini’s “Peter Gunn Theme.” Typically, Jeff tweaked the set list for the second night, dropping Wired’s “Blue Wind” in favor of the hard-charging “Big Block” and the ethereal highlight, “Where Were You.”
A regular touring fixture in Japan, Clapton’s middle sets were centered around crowd-pleasing favorites that began with simmering acoustic versions of “Driftin’” and “Layla,” then turned up the electric heat with “Tell the Truth,” “Before You Accuse Me,” “Cocaine” and closing with his signature “Crossroads.” Eric mixed up his set list even more than Beck for the second night, adding an energetic version of “Key to the Highway” and the massive hits “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Wonderful Tonight.”
But the third set – with identical selections each night - was clearly the main event of the highly anticipated shows, with Beck returning to join Clapton and his band for seven blues-fired numbers that ranged from the gritty “Compared to What” to yet another reinvention of the Cream favorite “Outside Woman Blues,” along with a rousing closer of Sly and the Family Stone’s “I Want to Take You Higher,” that did just that.
Here are videos of six of the seven songs from the Beck/Clapton set on the last night of their co-headliner Saitama stand, shot by a lucky fan at the show.
“Listen Here/Compared to What”
“Here But I'm Gone”
“Outside Woman Blues”
“Brown Bird”
“Wee Wee Baby”
“I Want To Take You Higher”
Eric Clapton Band
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Doyle Bramhall II - guitar, backing vocals
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Willie Weeks - bass
Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums
Michelle John - backing vocals
Sharon White - backing vocals
Jeff Beck Band
Jeff Beck - guitar
Tal Wilkenfeld - bass
David Sancious - keyboards
Vinnie Colaiuta - drums
Feb. 21 Set Lists
Jeff Beck Band
“The Pump,” “You Never Know,” “Cause We've Ended As Lovers,” “Stratus,” “Angel,” “Led Boots,” “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” “Brush With The Blues,” Solo instrumental by Tal Wilkenfeld with Jeff Beck, “Blue Wind,” “A Day In The Life,” “Peter Gunn Theme.”
Eric Clapton Band
“Driftin'” (solo acoustic), “Layla” - unplugged version, “Motherless Child,” “Running On Faith,” “Tell The Truth,” “Little Queen Of Spades,” “Before You Accuse Me,” “Cocaine,” “Crossroads.”
Jeff Beck w/ Eric Clapton & Band
“You Need Love,” “Listen Here,” “Compared To What,” “Here But I'm Gone, “Outside Woman Blues,” “Brown Bird,” “Wee Wee Baby,” “I Want To Take You Higher.”
Feb. 22 Set Lists
Jeff Beck Band
“The Pump,” “You Never Know,” “Cause We've Ended As Lovers,” “Stratus,” “Angel,” “Led Boots,” “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” “Brush With The Blues,” Solo instrumental by Tal Wilkenfeld with Jeff Beck, “A Day In The Life,” “Big Block,” “Where Were You,” “Peter Gunn Theme.”
Eric Clapton Band
“Driftin'” (solo acoustic blues), “Layla” - unplugged version, “Motherless Child,” “Running On Faith,” “Tell The Truth,” “Key To The Highway,” “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “Cocaine,” “Crossroads.”
Jeff Beck w/Eric Clapton & Band
“You Need Love,” “Listen Here,” “Compared To What,” “Here But I'm Gone, “Outside Woman Blues,” “Brown Bird,” “Wee Wee Baby,” “I Want To Take You Higher.”
Tickets for the two-night summit meeting commemorated the special nature of the shows, as did local banner advertising.