Guitar god finds new hot rod rockers

Jeff Beck seems as though he’s out to prove he can jam with anyone. Well, maybe not Justin Bieber.

But after a Las Vegas tour date with Brian Wilson last fall, Beck plays the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday with ZZ Top.

They promise separate sets before combining forces at the end. Fans got a sneak preview in 2009, when Beck and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons played Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy” during Rock and Roll Hall of Fame festivities.

There’s a common bond that ties a British guitar god to a lil’ ol’ band from Texas, and it’s the same one which bonded Beck to the Beach Boys. Need a hint? Think about a chopped 1933 Ford known as The Eliminator in ’80s-era music videos full of poofy-haired models.

Last fall, Beck explained “a collection of hot rod magazines” which fell into his teenage hands turned into a lifelong exception.

“I just loved the chromed engines and, just, it was glamorous. How could a car be that glamorous, with white-wall tires, when you had the mundane little soapboxes that we had?”

When he finally did make his way to the States as part of the British invasion, “It unfolded like a surreal dream, really. By the time I hit Vegas, I’d seen my first Bucket T and got taken for a ride in it. The rest is history.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.