There's something so special and beautiful about the potential of the guitar that it could take forever to describes the way it sounds and makes the player and listener feel.

For rock and roll hall of fame guitarist Jeff Beck, who just turned 66, mining that potential for the past 40-50 some years has certainly put him among the elite selection of guitarists. But like the guitar's endless adjectives, Jeff Beck can't be fully explained in just a few words. There's passion, pure grit and a desire to keep innovating the instrument since his youthful days in The Yardbirds.

Last night at the Harley Davidson stage, Beck and his skilled band unleashed his talent and used the chance to celebrate his birthday with a passionate and driving guitar whirlwind of a musical storm -- the best way he knows how.

Beck didn't waste any time showcasing his instrument of choice, throwing the crowd amongst a sea of swaying, fiery and moody guitar riffs and showing that, even at his age, he's still hard at work finding new ways to bring his guitar to life.

Mixing up songs from past glories and fan favorites with new songs from his latest release, "Emotion and Commotion," the guitar legend offered a fulfilling glimpse into his storied life. Just like the his larger-than-life story, the emotions he and his band created with their edgy and sweet rock and and blues explosion could aptly be described by many adjectives. There were a number of songs bubbling joyfully with fluid energy that ebbed from his fingers and others that seemed to stop time with a wondering-in-the-middle-of-the-night slow burning blues rock feel that kept onlookers on cloud nine.

While Beck never stepped to the microphone to sing (a few songs his band mates stepped in with vocals), his guitar filled the duty quite aptly with joyful and playful guitar riffs intermixing with more. His band mates were able to kept pace and provide a perfect background to Beck's guitar playing. They offered some especially golden nuggets in the set including a moving rendition of the Beatles "A Day in the Life" and a fitting guitarist tribute in the encore to Les Paul.

When all is said and done, words don't quite do the man justice; Beck has to be felt first-hand to get the full experience. For those who went they certainly went home more than happy to witness a guitar legend show off the potential he's discovered with a guitar.

Other sights from Summerfest Day 2:

For this reviewer, yesterday was a day full of local and Midwest bands. There was quite the diversity of rock, blues and even jazz. I didn't plan on seeing Midwest fusion jazz band Hoodoo but my taking a chance paid off as they provided an energetic and endurance racing jazz music. The others I saw all hail from Milwaukee - Super Custom Deluxe, At Latl, Surgeons in Heat and the Greg Koch Trio. Super Custom Deluxe provided some fun blues rock and roll and weren't afraid to wear their influence on their sleeves- even throwing in a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" and a shout out to Beck in a cover of his song "Going Down."

• At Latl provided their refreshing take on alternative indie rock with with some great tunes that reminded me a bit of a band like Spoon. They benefited from two lead singers that helped keep their sound very intriguing.
• Speaking of intriguing, Surgeons in Heat certainly was and more as they jumped around comfortably in different genres (rock and soul in particular), with their lead singer able to mold his voice to fit the particular song and keep his passionate delivery high regardless of style. Their set included a cover of The Figs.
• While I got over quickly to the Harley stage to secure a good seat for Jeff Beck, I was more than impressed by Milwaukee's own guitar "legend" Greg Kochand the rest of his sublimely talented musicians (aka the Greg Koch Trio) He showed off his skills on vocals and guitar with some of his own ground shaking guitar work and offered a blend of rock, blues and country that's gotten him noticed. He definitely read a page or two from Jeff Beck's book of how to use a guitar and was having a fun time with the large crowd.