Pop and Jazz : ‘Fender Jam’: A Long Evening Has Its Moments

Many moments in the “Leo Fender Memorial Jam” benefit at UC Irvine’s Bren Center did the late guitar maker proud, as players of various stripes shared the music that his pioneering guitars, basses and amps made possible. But as a man who was obsessed with doing things right, Fender (who died in March) might have been appalled by the slipshod production of the event.

First the good stuff: The memorial truly hit its mark in sets by paired Telecaster masters James Burton and Albert Lee, and by surf guitar king Dick Dale. Burton and Lee traded hot solos, both incisive and lyrical, over rockabilly standards and the Western swing music Fender loved best. Though 54, Dale played his reverb-drenched set with an elemental fury that recalled the early Who. Dale was one of the first in the ‘60s to push Fender’s electric guitar into new sonic realms, and Saturday his rumbling, crashing style was an expressionistic sound painting of the California surf.

The show also boasted some finely finessed blues from Robben Ford and a surprisingly focused set of Doors-minus-three songs from Robbie Krieger.

Young god Yngwie Malmsteen smashed a guitar--which his preceding set made seem like a very good idea--while Poison’s C. C. DeVille was booed off the stage after an expletive-packed rant and ego-filled solo.

The show drew only about one-tenth of the Bren’s 5,500 capacity, and the audience thinned as the event wound up running three hours behind schedule (despite several no-shows), clocking in at more than 10 hours and ending near 2 a.m.

More than half that time was dead air: In its first 3 1/2 hours there were only two 30-minute sets, one featuring promoter Leland Jeffries’ own band. And the muddy sound mix often suggested the event was held to honor the innovator of the bass drum.