Monday, February 07, 2000
Self-assured Beck at top of his game
BY CHRIS VARIAS
Enquirer contributor
That guy with the dance fever and the out-of-control libido on stage at the sold-out Taft Theatre Friday night was a musician in full artistic bloom.
Beck's transformation over the years from awkward folkie to self-assured showman is complete. Long gone are the days of him gazing at his sneakers, strumming his acoustic guitar, uttering puzzling ditties. He now casts himself as a falsetto-singing soul child — one with a lot of freaky love to give.
His music was as simultaneously meaningless and clever as ever. But Friday it was twice as entertaining, because now he leads his soul, rock and hip-hop revue with enough shameless spirit to place him in the class with other prancing fools that only need one name like Mick and Prince.
Playing the role
Because he was playing the role, there was an underlying sarcasm to the soul-man act. Yet, when in the role he wouldn't break character. And his eight-man band (complete with DJ and three-piece brass) and two girl singers were good enough to put the music over.
So the crowd was able to enjoy a double-coded show: on one level, it was great music played well; on the other level, the whole thing was very funny.
And nothing was funnier than “Debra,” a Prince-style, chest-pounding ballad in which Beck lures a new love interest out of JC Penney and into his Hyundai.
After a couple verses the song moved into one of those “I'm-on-my-knees-beggin'-for-your-love” soul testimonials, when a queen-size bed dressed with red satin sheets descended from the ceiling. Soon Beck was kneeling on the bed, pleading harder for his girl's sweet, sweet lovin'.
The crowd responded with screams and laughs. Then, as the band kicked into double-time, Beck went wild, tossing pillows and whipping sheets, as if the spirit of Darling Nikki had overtaken him.
He parodied, but he also tossed off a slew of visionary come-ons with an effortlessness that would make any new-jack jealous. From “Nicotine & Gravy” Beck sang: “I'll feed you fruit that don't exist, I'll leave graffiti where you've never been kissed.”
Ventures outside soul
Beck's ventures outside the soul realm worked as well. “Hollywood Freaks” somehow represented and ripped apart hip-hop all at once. “Beautiful Way” was a pretty ballad that sounded like something on loan from his buddy Steve Malkmus of Pavement.
What tied the 11/2-hour performance all together was a sense that the singer was at the top of his game, whether baring his own soul or borrowing some from the R&B hit parade.
Show opener Hank Williams III, grandson of country music's greatest artist, put on a much more rocking set than his headlining show at Annie's in December, which was closer to country and a bit more charming. He apologized to the crowd a few times for the “hillbilly music,” even though it sounded like rock, with ex-Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison leading the attack.
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