Beck: Rare Air

Beck
Marymoor Park, Redmond, WA
08.20.14

On a gorgeous Wednesday evening, Marymoor Park was filled with the noise of a rare animal, known throughout the musical kingdom as Beck. His attack is subtle, and he definitely has fight. Born Bek Campbell in 1970 L.A., this guy has seen the crappy side of the rainbow and all the colors between. From rat-infested shacks to couches in New York, this guy never gave up. Beck has dedicated himself to doing the thing that he most loves, and has single-handedly influenced and crafted plenty of what surrounds us in the musical world today.

Beck’s quirky lyrical style was born of indifference, that is to say, from the audience. It’s hard to imagine today that, 25 years ago, he would sit down in anywhere dive bar USA and couldn’t get the time of day. And so, in righteous fashion, he began spewing forth nonsense to see if anyone was actually paying attention to his, um, set. Well, my dear, you got your wish. It’s a beautiful life.

That brings us here, to a grassy field in the Seattle outskirts, to a great show that I will never forget. Whatever I can say here won’t give this man justice.

The Park was packed. A calm, cool, collected crowd of 30-somethings. I imagine we all grew up with the same crappy screen-printed t-shirt of the scary Mellow Gold dead horse robot thing on it, sitting around lazily in middle school gym class. Laughably, the center floor area, normally for the rowdy, dancing folk, was filled with neatly arranged white folding chairs, as if this was a ballet recital. And, while the lucky center-goers had the option of a respite, I can guarantee you that they never took it. On and on, a sea of standing heads reflected in the stage lights and up onto the hills. What a reception.

Beck began his set at 8:08, pacing for 20-something songs in the quasi-curfew land of Microsoft homes. He skipped onto the stage with a smile on his face and not a care in the world, and I felt a slight twinge inside, as if wires somewhere were being connected. He wore a black suit ensemble with a dapper hat, and he looked generally great, like he hadn’t spent a day in his life fighting time itself. He opened with Devil’s Haircut, which was a solid choice. The audience was in and the rest is history. He would play for nearly two hours and without pretension. Beck was humble, and chatty, and most importantly, happy. Some quotes of note are as follows:

“I didn’t have a band, I just had a boombox, and I just sang the song with a boombox. We’re gonna sing some songs together tonight – nobody’s judging!”

“Thanks for coming out tonight. This is probably the most picturesque show we’ve done this tour. We’re gonna play a couple songs from our new record now…”

In rambling, ad lib preacher style to some funky background jams:
“The summer isn’t over yet. If you wanna stand two feet to your left, and be comfortable for the rest of the night, say ‘Hell yes!’… If you wanna open up that window on the side of your head, say ‘Hell yes!’

Following the introduction of his band members (and Jenny Lewis) in the middle of Where It’s At, he sing-songs this nugget:
“My name is Beck, spelled B-E-C-K. That’s only 15 octaves, I can’t do 17 tonight – that’s a frequency only dogs can hear! Bottles and cans and just clap your hands, we’re going into overtime!”

Jenny Lewis joined Beck on stage for the last few songs, and they wrapped up the last track with everyone on stage doing the electric slide. They then collect each other into one grand katamari-type ball, walking awkwardly from end to end, before taking a final bow. I shuffled out to my car, sad to see the evening come to an end. But man, it was great.

Jenny Lewis opened the evening promptly at 7:00. With her magnificent aura and beautiful, captivating voice, the audience really lucked out, as these two only played a handful of dates on the west coast. Lewis has a rich history in both film and music, and has recently released her latest solo album, The Voyager. She played a sweet and varied set, including her latest single, Just One of the Guys. She joined Beck on stage for the last few songs, notably for a cover of Rod Stewart’s Do Ya Think I’m Sexy. You guys can deduce that one. She continues on tour through the UK before returning to the States in October. Catch her if you can!

Beck Set List:
Devil’s Haircut
Black Tambourine
Soul of a Man
Loser
Think I’m In Love
Blue Moon
Lost Cause
The New Pollution
Novacane
One Foot in the Grave
Hell Yes
Soldier Jane
Unforgiven
Heart Is A Drum
Wave
Waking Light
Girl
E-Pro
(Encore):
Sexx Laws
Debra
Do Ya Think I’m Sexy (Rod Stewart cover, w/ Jenny Lewis)
Where It’s At