Recently, I attended a music festival in Tempe, Arizona to see two of my all time guitar heros who were playing in the same night: Eric Johnson and Jeff Beck. In addition, a Fender clinician by the name of Greg Koch played as part of the warm up to the main event.

I was totally blown away by Greg Koch. This guy wasn't supposed to be the main attraction but he definitely made an impression on me at least. He was doing a lot of great Blues and mixed genre stuff including one tune that was like chicken-pickin on steriods. This guy can really play and he is extremely funny. He is 1 part stand-up comic and 1 part extreme guitar player.

I was also blown away by Jeff Beck since I'd never seen him perform live before. I couldn't believe how expressive he was with his guitar. His style is very distinct and he still sounds fresh, even though he has been around since the Yardbirds.

Eric Johnson was good too, although he didn't have the same impact on me that I'd had on previous concerts. I don't know whether it was just the fact of seeing so many great players in one sitting or what, but he seemed to be having a less-than-perfect night. Hey, I think that anyone would have a tough time going on stage right before Jeff Beck. Even Greg Koch said something about it during his set, and said that he almost decided to play only chords for his whole set after finding out the Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson were there (that got a big laugh out of the audience).

-- Jim