Originally printed February 24, 2000
Last night at Hill Auditorium, Beck turned it up and made “all the people scream.”
The seminal solo artist of our generation (so far), Beck has been called loser, slacker and genius. On Thursday, he proved himself a mastermind, both theatricall and musically.
For a solid hour and 40 minutes, Beck and his skin-tight backing band delivered a rousing mix of funk, folk and rock – transcending genre and warping labels.
From the opening groove of “Mixed Bizness,” Beck and Co. (made up of a three-piece horn section, two backing singers and the typical rock outfit) tore through a mishmash of music lifted from more than four of his releases, including the latest – and greatest party album of the year – Midnite Vultures.
On stage, Beck cut a slight figure – by far the smallest member of his assembled ensemble. But stature was no indication of the man’s stamina, voice and outpouring of energy that, once rolling, nearly overwhelmed the sold-out crowd.
Surrounded by industrial sized duct work and bathed in a barrage of high speed lighting, Beck took the audience on a trip through the depths of his often unintelligible mind, stopping at destinations that included six additional tracks from Vultures, including upbeat numbers like “Milk & Honey,” “Peaches & Cream” and “Sexx Laws,” the album’s current single.
Though the first three songs of the evening seemed a bit tentative, as soon as the now familiar opening sample of “New Pollution” rang through the loudspeakers, a triumphant cheer escaped the crowd’s lips, and the Beck train was truly off and rolling.
For a few moments, though, during a mid-set acoustic portion of the show, the train nearly ground to a halt, though Beck – adding harmonica to his acoustic guitar strumming – made every effort to keep things energetic. Highlights of this section of the show included selections from last year’s “Mutations” release: “Cold Brains,” “Sing it Again” (performed with a friend named Smoky on guitar) and “Tropicali.”
The funk reared its beautiful head again with a ground shaking rendition of Odelay’s hit single and chant-along favorite, “Where it’s At.” Beck pranced from one side of the stage to another throughout the song, urging fans on by repeating the song’s chorus of “Bottle and Cans/Just Clap Your Hands.”
The bouncing hype of “Where It’s At” served as the perfect musical springboard for “Debra,” the crazy-sexy-cool soul jam that closes Beck’s new album and was the showstopper at the concert. When Beck hit the ultra-high falsetto line “I met you/At J.C. Penney/I think your nametag/ Said Jenny,” the ladies in the audience made no doubt that they wanted to “get with” the man himself.
Listening to Beck’s voice reach Smokey Robinson heights, one can’t help but wonder about its origin. To quote Charles S. Dutton from the triumphant ’90s film “Rudy,” “You’re five foot nothing, a hundred and nothing – where the hell is that falsetto coming from, young man?”
Not long after the band left the stage following the romping, horn-driven “Sexx Laws,” the cheering masses were granted a two song encore – but not before they were treated to a display of turntable wizardry from DJ Swamp. The mix-man had supplied tasteful backing effects throughout the show, but during his short solo set let his chops fly and left the crowd gaping at his dextrous mixological stylings.
Beck and his hockey-pad clad minions returned to the stage with the ear-numbing “Novocaine” and ended the evening with another ferocious “Odelay” selection, “Devil’s Haircut.” Following the final chords of the night, the band degenerated into a state of total and utter onstage anarchy with Beck leading the charge. Horn players mounted stage scenery, guitarists writhed across the floor and the mastermind himself shuffled offstage, shoulders burdened with guitar stands, set to a soundscape created by a thoroughly entertained audience.