Jeff Beck at the State Theater by Scott Lyson I must admit that I don’t possess extensive knowledge of Jeff Beck’s catalogue. Shameful, I know. My first live experience with Beck was Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festival of 2007. He definitely displayed some wicked guitar technique, but the 50 minutes of instrumentals didn’t quite connect. By the time the Crossroads festival 2010 came along, I was completely sucked into...

Bob Dylan in Cedar Falls, IA by Scott Lyson If you’re read any of the reviews or comments from last night’s Dylan concert in Iowa, you might think that the 10-hours I spent driving yesterday were well worth the trip. That may be. There were a few fantastic performances from Dylan, however the venue was atrocious and spoiled the night. The last time I saw Dylan was at the Xcel Energy Center back in 2006. Center section, as I was...

Eric Clapton – Clapton by Scott Lyson I first heard “Clapton” as it was played for the very first time (as an album) in Chicago the night before the Crossroads Guitar Festival back in June of this year. My traveling companions and I walked in moments after the album started, but was sucked in to the atmosphere immediately. The Lil’ Son Jackson tune “Travelin’ Alone” gets things rolling very quickly....

Santana and Steve Winwood 6/30/10 Xcel Energy Center by Scott Lyson Santana knows how to pick opening acts. I’m not a huge fan of Santana’s but when he came to town two years ago, I made sure to grab a ticket as the Derek Trucks Band would be opening. At that performance at the Xcel, Santana delivered an okay show, not really inspiring me to check out any of his albums, save for the song “Incident at Neshabur.” Derek...

She & Him (6/5/10 First Avenue, Minneapolis) by Scott Lyson June has arrived, and so has the concert season. In the previous five months I’ve attended five gigs, with only one really leaving me quite satisfied. One of my complaints with a couple of those gigs has been the setlist. She & Him played at First Avenue two summers ago, promoting their first album Vol. 1. Now they’re back again promoting Vol. 2. I did have...