Beck brings party with him
James Vierra, Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/1/05 Section: Tempo
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Showing no hesitation to play his hits, Beck kicked off the night with '90s favorite "Loser." The crowd exploded as the opening riff ripped through the arena
Beck covered songs from several of his albums including "Mellow Gold," "Odelay," "Sea Change" and his newest album "Guero."
The set included hits, such as "Girl," "E-Pro," "Lost Cause," "The Golden Age," "Devil's Haircut," "Hotwax" and "The New Pollution."
Each song had its own personality and its own party that rode along with it.
Beck's style was loose and very free-spirited. It seemed as if he and his band had decided at the spur of the moment to get on stage and put on a show. It was just a group of people on stage having fun and enjoying the groovy music they were putting out.
There were definitely some highlights and low points to the concert. The down points were the minor technical difficulties, ranging from the microphone not being loud enough to his guitar pedal malfunctioning. However, even when something went wrong, Beck always had humor and his improv skills to bail him out.
At one point, Beck tried to play an accordion-like instrument he didn't have enough hands to play and also pump air into it at the same time. His solution was to pull a girl out of the crowd to pump the air while he played an Irish-type ballad.
The best parts were the aforementioned Napoleon Dynamite dancer who sparked the crowd to cheer louder. The props used on stage were great, including an enormous boom box that came down from the ceiling during "Where It's At."
Beck brought the funk, fun and a fury of musical fusion. Next time Beck comes around, I highly recommend going to see his show and, while there, he'll even tell you his simple secret for success: "I got two turntables and a microphone."
