Guitar legend Jeff Beck played in Peoria, threw his dinner across the room

The English guitarist Jeff Beck is considered one of rock’s best ax men. Beck, who died Tuesday at age 78, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once, but twice: first as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and secondly as a solo artist (2009). He ranked fifth on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

Among other songs, the Yardbirds are remembered for the hit “Heart Full of Soul,” with Beck’s guitar memorably mimicking a sitar.

In Peoria, Beck is recalled for a somewhat subdued performance and a heated encounter with a catfish dinner.

On Friday, June 25, 1976, Beck and the Jan Hammer Group performed as the opening act of a concert at the Glen Oak Park amphitheater. Fleetwood Mac was the headliner.

Related:From Fleetwood Mac to The Beach Boys, Glen Oak Amphitheatre rocked Peoria in the 1970s

“Most of the crowd came to see Fleetwood Mac and merely used the Jeff Beck opening to warm themselves up and finish socializing” before the main act, read a Journal Star review the next day. “Jeff Beck was something of a disappointment at first,” the story continued. “The group began to get rolling near the end of their set, however, and Beck’s flashing guitar was more than up to his usual high quality of surreal rock by the end of their performance.”