Beck Live! (Sans Three-Hour Washboard Solo)

As I've mentioned before, I began the year with an unofficial list of bands that I pretty much needed to make sure I saw live in case I was cut down in my prime due to an unfortunate gardening accident. It amounted to essentially three artists that I loved and also had the reputation for being stellar live acts. You've read (or, if I was to be truthful, probably didn't) the previous entries on My Morning Jacket and Sigur Rós, which knocked out two spots on that list. And a couple of weeks ago I got the opportunity to complete the list, when Beck swung into New York for a three-day stand.

Beck was one of the first "alternative" or "college rock" artists I got into as a kid. I remember hearing "Devil's Haircut" and "Where It's At" when I was about eleven years old, and just being fascinated by the sound. And then I saw clips of his cracked-out videos, which is when I realized that it was probably worth following this crazy rat bastard. So I bought a copy of Odelay and begun listening to it on a semi-consistent basis. I waited a bit before picking up Mutations, since the press for that record was that it wasn't really a "proper" follow-up to Odelay, but when I finally got around to it I was amazed. To this day, Mutations is my favorite Beck record, front-to-back. From then on I was a solid fan.

I had heard for years about the great show that Beck put on, ranging from his electric dance moves during the Odelay to Midnite Vultures eras to the tour with the Flaming Lips as his backing band to the puppet show during the Guero tour, so I was crushed when I found out that Beck was playing in Oregon the day after I left for New York. Fortunately, I looked up a concert schedule once I moved out here and found that Beck hadn't done the East Coast leg yet, and I could catch him at some point. Once again I was too late for tickets, but I was able to find a street-corner businessman who was willing to let me procure said ticket, with a slight commission.


Unfortunately, Beck was not on his game that night. This was apparently the case for the other New York shows, which followed a similar script, and according to an interview in SPIN, has been a problem this year--Beck's just not into touring any more. Beck spent half an hour before he felt any sort of real energy, and by then the concert was almost half over. That's right, a man with seven major studio albums and loads of b-sides decided to run a ninety-minute set (on all three nights). During the early part of the show, I could tell if Beck was drunk or depressed, or if the drugs had not kicked in yet--it was that noticeable.

The show began with a dissonant and rambling version of "Devil's Haircut", which while not tight at all at least held the hope that it would be a high-energy rocking show. Soon afterwards Beck busted out "Novocane", which got this guy excited, but apparently the rest of the Theater was a "singles-only" kind of crowd and didn't really appreciate that cut. In general, Beck stuck to the material from his latest, Modern Guilt, which is actually a very solid album, and those songs were probably the best of the night, surprisingly enough. Besides a shambling version of "Loser" and a couple of other mid-period songs, it was a post-Guero show for the most part, with few surprises for the most part.


Things didn't really kick in until after "Girl", which for some reason brought Beck up to speed and him getting actually engaged in the show. Then it was a whole new ballgame, and for once I wasn't checking my watch to try to calculate when I was getting out of there, or how low this show would rank on my all-time list (to be fair, I've seen very few duds, but this was going to be one of them). The problem is, I have no problem if Beck was not feeling the energy--he's got Sea Change and Mutations material to fall back on if he's feeling like the sad-sack loser persona that night, and the two great performances of "The Golden Age" and "Lost Cause" confirmed that if he went in that direction, the night would have been special.

Was I glad to see Beck? Sure, I had to see the man for myself, and not rely on other people's reviews of the tour. Was it worth the money I paid? In one sense, perhaps not, but it was worth the risk. However, if you want to judge for yourself, you'll get the chance when the DVD they were filming those three nights eventually hits stores.