Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Together & Apart – four city mini-tour. Montreal, Monday February 22nd, 7:30 PM at the Bell Centre. Seating: reds, section 115, row H, seats 14 and 15. Two and a half hours, 11,500 fans.

A boys night out with Zad to see two legendary guitar virtuosos. I had seen Clapton back in May 2008 but this was the first time I saw the other Yardbird, Jeff Beck. Zad was pretty excited about the fact that his sax teacher, Roger Walls, had got the call earlier that week to play trumpet as part of Beck’s band.

While we were disappointed that the incredible Aussie bassist Tal Wilkenfeld wouldn’t be showing up, we were thrilled to see and hear bassist Rhonda Smith (formerly with the artist formerly known as prince). Smith, a Montrealer, is amazingly talented, what a great solo we were treated to. Narada Michael Walden on drums was also fantastic.

Both of these old dudes were in fine form. Jeff Beck (65 years old), with jet black hair, opened and rocked the Bell with his signature Fender Stratocaster. A particularly memorable number was the Beatle’s A day in the Life. Beck was accompanied by an impressive orchestra and a brass section which included Roger Walls – who we got to hear blow his horn for a few songs.

Eric Clapton (64 years old), silver haired, opened unplugged with Driftin’ followed by Layla. Clapton also performed a fantastic rendition of I shot the Sheriff – a song I normally hate – with a sick solo. The best part of the show was definitely the final set where the two former Yardbirds shared the stage and their talents with screaming fans of all ages. The older guys drinking coffee, the younger ones smoking reefer. Two notables were Sly’s I wanna take you higher , which closed their set, and a bluesy cover of Moon River, very different from Audrey Hepburn’s, that’s for sure!

As a big Cream fan, I was delighted with the encore (a solo encore) – Robert Johnson’s Crossroads.

Montreal setlist (from the official Clapton Site):
Jeff Beck
01. Eternity’s Breath
02. Stratus
03. Led Boots
04. Corpus Christi Carol *
05. Bass solo featuring Rhonda Smith
06. Hammerhead *
07. Mna Na Heireann *
08. Brush With The Blues
09. Big Block
10. A Day In The Life *
11. Nessun Dorma *

Eric Clapton
01. Driftin’ – acoustic
02. Layla – acoustic
03. Running On Faith – acoustic
04. I’ve Got A Rock ‘N Roll Heart – acoustic
05. Tell The Truth
06. Key To The Highway
07. I Shot The Sheriff
09. Little Queen Of Spades
10. Cocaine

Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton
01. Shake Your Moneymaker
02. Moon River
03. You Need Love
04. Outside Woman Blues
05. Little Brown Bird
06. Wee Wee Baby
07. (I Want To Take You) Higher
08. Crossroads – encore

The band:
JEFF BECK & HIS BAND
Jeff Beck – guitar
Jason Rebello – keyboards
Rhonda Smith – bass
Narada Michael Walden – drums

ERIC CLAPTON & HIS BAND
Eric Clapton – guitar / vocals
Chris Stainton – keyboards
Walt Richmond – keyboards
Willie Weeks – bass
Steve Gadd – drums
Michelle John – backing vocals
Sharon White – backing vocals
Special Guest(s)

During Jeff Beck’s set: 30 Piece Orchestra