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Words by Robyn Rubinstein
Beck :: Vegoose 2005
By Jeffrey V. Smith |
A friend of mine has a long-winded theory about higher brain activity at certain temperature ranges that leads him to hypothesize that "nothing truly beneficial for society has ever come from a warm climate. Except for Beck." I don't know CAT scans from actual cats, but I agree wholeheartedly that Beck is beneficial for society. Even if you don't like an uncommonly funky singer/songwriter with super-fly dancing skills who is perpetually challenging himself as an artist, then you should at least appreciate a performer with full enthusiasm for Halloween. Dressed as a boy scout troop, Beck and his band were on point from the moment they took the stage-turned-forest, resplendent with tent, owl, and deer. Their set was like a retrospective of all of Beck's work. He opened with "Loser," his number one hit from twelve years ago that sounds just as fresh as it did then. After he made the audience take the boy scout oath to always be prepared and do the right thing, he fell into step with the "something for everyone" theme of the weekend and played a sampling of all of his albums. He ran the gamut from "Devil's Haircut," "Sexx Laws," "Debra," "E-Pro," and "Que Onda Guero" to acoustic versions of "Lost Cause" and "Nobody's Fault but My Own." Since no camping experience is complete without music, an enormous boom box was brought onstage during the set and peacefully joined the other wildlife on-stage. Beck reaffirmed his scalding talent and his ability to be just weird enough to appeal to everybody. Primus was playing simultaneously on the Joker's Wild Stage, and even Les Claypool lamented that he felt bad for his audience because they were missing Beck.
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