I went to see Beck last night with my wife at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Charlottesville, VA. It has been several years since I have been there (I think the last show I saw there was Soul Coughing in the late ninties), and a few years ago they enclosed a much larger area of it so that instead of it just being a big lawn it’s now got some basic seating and a graded floor so that you don’t have to stand on your tip-toes to see the band. It’s a really nice outdoor venue and the weather was perfect for a concert in this setting. I also enjoy that they do not overcharge on ticket fees, parking, and beer pricing at this venue. It definitely makes me want to attend concerts there more frequently.
The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
Sean Lennon & The GOASTT
The show started with the opening band, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, a group that is probably best known for being Sean Lennon’s band. They were awesome, and a really good choice to open for Beck. It’s pretty amazing how much Sean looks like and sings like his late father, John of The Beatles fame. He’s also a really good guitarist in his own right too. Their music is very 60’s psychedelic/retro for the most part (think Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd & Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles) but it had enough of its own thing going on to not make them a total throw-back band either. I was really impressed with them. Sean’s girlfriend plays bass and their vocal harmonies together were really beautiful (very Beach Boys-esque in spots). They had their record, Midnight Sun for sale (multi-colored vinyl!) so I bought it. I highly recommend you check them out.
Beck
Beck onstage – 5/20/15
I was curious to see what kind of show Beck put on since his last few efforts have been a lot mellower compared to his output in the 90’s. I was wondering how the newer material would translate in a live setting compared to his more upbeat songs. He and his band came out and did not disappoint. Beck reached deep into his catalog for the first few songs (“Devil’s Haircut”, “Loser”, “Beercan”) and was prancing around the stage rapping and hooting like a little Muppet. The show did not slow down from there and touched on a few songs from just about every album he’s put out, which is quite expansive at this point.
About three quarters into the set he slowed down the tempo some and played a few songs off of Sea Change (“Lost Cause” & “Paper Tiger”) and last year’s Grammy-winning Morning Phase (“Blue Moon” & “Waking Light”). It was pretty amazing to see him go from playing these funky, effects heavy, and sample-laden songs to simple acoustic numbers with beautiful vocal harmonies. To say that Beck is a musical chameleon is an understatement and I feel safe in saying that he is probably the closet thing that my generation will have to someone like David Bowie or Prince. I feel that I kind of grew up with Beck’s music and having been alive to follow his entire career it’s interesting to see how his music has developed and matured over the years. He’s a multi-instrumentalist who has dabbled in hip-hop, funk, blues, folk, disco, and electronica. He even released a record not in recorded format, but written entirely in sheet music for other musicians to perform and interpret in their own styles. While I will always treasure the albums that got me into his music initially in the nineties, I really feel that Beck’s songwriting leaped forward to an entirely different level when he released Sea Change in 2002. He teased us with what he could do in that style a little on 1998’s Mutations, but Sea Change is where it all really came together for the first time in regards to crafting a beautiful folk record from front to back with lots of layers, both musically and lyrically.
Beck’s backing band really elevated the overall performances as well. Long-time bassist/collaborator and band leader Justin-Meldal-Johnsen defied standard bass playing tactics with his use of over-the-top distorted melodies and funk/rock/jazz flourishes, while the other band members brought their own unique playing styles into the fold of Beck’s vast musical landscapes to bring out aspects of the recorded songs that would typically be hard to recreate in a live setting.
Beck’s encore consisted of the fan favorite “Debra” off of 1999’s Midnight Vultures and his most well known radio hit, “Where It’s At” off of Odelay, Beck’s groundbreaking record from 1996. I really wish he had played a few more deep cuts off the latter in particular, as I feel that that album is probably still his best work in regards to the sample-based production that set his music apart from all the other nineties alternative acts that were out when he first came on the scene. All in all though, it was a really well performed and paced show and I can’t fault Beck for wanting to just dip into a few songs off each record so that he could showcase his vast array of song-writing and entertainment skills. Since next year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Odelay though, I would love to see him go tour with the intention to play that album all the way through.
You can check out the full setlist from this show here.
Distilled Sounds 