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Photos by Arnie Goodman

The “Stars Align Tour” aligned itself with the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ, and did not disappoint, perhaps with one exception. With a bill such as this you might think there would be interplay at some point during the show with all or some of the headliners involved, but was not the case. That said, it did turn out to be an evening of splendid, perfectly-played music, almost as if you tuned to your favorite FM classic rock radio station for a few hours.

First up was the unannounced Deborah Bonham, who came on stage a half hour before the scheduled starting time of the concert. Strong voiced, personable, and quite the rock and roll singer, this woman (the sister of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham) earned a standing ovation at the end of her short set. Clearly, a welcome addition to the tour.

Ann Wilson proved she still has the powerful voice she’s had throughout her entire career. Within her 45-minute set there was just one Heart tune, but after all, this was not Heart. She did show she can easily belt out songs originally done by other artists, covering songs by the Who, the Eagles, Lesley Gore, Amy Winehouse, and others.

“Guitar pyrotechnics” is a term commonly used to describe the incredible guitar playing of Jeff Beck. Now at 74 years of age, he has not lost a thing from back in his heyday. Actually, this still is his heyday. With the added vocals at times from singer Jimmy Hall and a band full of incredible musicians (as always), Beck turned in a set full of material from his mid-’70s period and onward. Stunning work on stage, and never a dull moment.

Paul Rodgers closed the show, another example of how decades later the quality of performance has not changed one bit. Covering songs mostly from his days as the lead singer in Free and Bad Company, he had the audience singing along with the very familiar hits, one after the other. Later in the set, Rodgers was joined onstage by surprise guest Steven Van Zandt, who contributed backup vocals for “Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy.” Guitarist Pete Bullick then walked on stage with a Les Paul guitar once owned by legendary bluesman Hubert Sumlin to finish out the set. Closing out the show with this recognition of the blues’ history (sometimes considered the birth of rock and roll) indeed put the whole evening into a perfect alignment after all.

—Barry Fisch