LIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEWS
Beck Makes White People Feel Cool
Lauren Gaetano
Thank God for dorky, oddly attractive white boys in cowboy hats who rap. Or I guess we can just thank Him for Beck. Because as of this writing, I can’t think of a single other person who does exactly that and does it half as well.
Beck took the stage at the Bank of America Pavilion with a small army of musicians and other hangers on, ready to rock or at least do the robot. I was surprised with how many people he had up there, considering he is technically a solo act. Not only that, but I wasn’t sure what it was everyone was doing. I recognized a guy at the turntables, a bassist and an extra guitarist. Everyone else was sort of milling about, playing the odd and random instrument or found object as needed. There was one dude on stage whose sole purpose was to totally and utterly freak out. He was wearing a green jumpsuit for some reason, and I think he is the only person I have ever seen get a tambourine solo on the aptly titled opener, Black Tambourine.
Beck followed with his summer hit, Girl, tracks off the hallowed Odelay, Devil’s Haircut and Where It’s At, and his breakthrough smash, Loser. And this is where I fell in love with him just a little bit. As most acts make the audience scream ten minutes for an encore of their biggest hits, if they play them at all, Beck threw them in up front. Best of all, he didn’t sound as if he was playing them out of obligation. He sounded as if he was playing them because they were damn fun to play. The crowd appreciated it, and the vibe in the pavilion was high energy and good-natured. There were so many balloons, beach balls and joints being passed around that for a moment, one might have thought they were at a Jimmy Buffet show.
After rocking the house for a bit, Beck whipped out the harmonica. And fans know what that means. It was time for Sensitive Beck. He opened the sentimental portion of the program with a simple and gorgeous rendition of Jackass, which lead right into Lost Cause and Lonesome Tears. He wrapped up with a stripped down and falsetto-free version of Debra. Though I appreciated the change up, I have to admit his exaggerated soul man delivery on Midnite Vultures is what elevates that track to the level of genius, and his more sincere approach live was my only mild disappointment of the night.
Inner demons properly vanquished, it was time to bring back the noise and the funk. He finished out the set with absolutely raucous performances of Sexx Laws, Mixed Bizness and E-Pro that had the whole crowd up and dancing. In fact, large portions of the audience were pulled up on stage to get down with their bad selves. Not one to be out done in the freaking out department, Green Jump Suit Man challenged one audience member to a dance off, whilst wearing a space helmet. And this wasn’t even the main event. It was going down on the side of the stage, like they were having a private moment in the middle of all this unmitigated funk. Imagine dropping a tab of acid and watching Breakin’ 2: Electric Bugaloo, and you might have an idea of the weirdness that was going on. And it was beautiful.
There was no encore, which of course drew some protest. But when I asked some people which song they had hoped to hear that he hadn’t played, they couldn’t think of one. All of their Beck needs were satisfied. The set was short, sweet and to the point, and it seemed a good time was had by all.
So thank God for Beck. Without him, how will white people feel cool?
More Live Performance Reviews...
