Beck Channels Prince With Electrifying ‘1999’ Cover At Love Rocks NYC

Beck had the unenviable task of following Cher last night at Love Rocks NYC. The genre-bending musician rose to the occasion at the ninth annual concert to benefit God’s Love We Deliver by throwing down powerhouse performances of “Loser” and Prince’s “1999.”

It seemed many at Love Rocks were on hand to see Cher as a number of concertgoers left after her appearance. Comedian Alex Edelman noted how hard it was to take the stage after Cher while introducing Beck. The eight-time Grammy-winner immediately engaged the audience and urged them to rise to their feet and most complied.

Beck was backed by the mesmerizing house band of bassist and musical director Will Lee, percussionist Pedrito Martínez, drummer Shawn Pelton, guitarist Eric Krasno, multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell, keyboardists Jeff Babko and Michael Bearden along with the six-piece We Deliver Singers choir.

After performing his breakthrough 1994 smash “Loser,” Beck asked the crowd if it had any party left. The concert was nearing the four-hour mark at that point and Beck informed he intended to keep the party going … like it was 1999. Beck had purportedly only covered the title track from Prince’s 1982 studio twice prior according to Setlist.FM statistics. The last came at the Governor’s Ball festival in 2016.

Watch fan-shot video of Beck’s “1999” and “Loser” performances at Love Rocks NYC below:

Cher enlisted a team of dancers and members of her touring ensemble for her three-song performance with the Love Rocks NYC house band. The capacity crowd was on its feet as Cher took the stage in Elvis drag to cover Marc Cohn’s “Walking In Memphis” and then, in a Love Rocks first, pulled off costume changes for the ensuing versions of “Song For The Lonely” and “Believe.”

Both Beck and Cher stuck around to add to the evening’s “Higher Ground” finale. The concert raised over $4 million for God’s Love We Deliver and its Los Angeles-based sister organization Project Angel Food.

Setlist

Alicia Keys: Killing Me Softly, No One > Empire State Of Mind, CEO Remarks, Eric Burton: Colors, Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay, Susie Essman Remarks, Kate Hudson: Gonna Find Out, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram with Ivan Neville & Danny Clinch: Red House, Bill Murray: Love The One You’re With, Jesse Malin: She Don’t Love Me Now, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker), Amy Schumer Remarks, Mavis Staples & Michael McDonald: I’ll Take You There, Michael McDonald: What A Fool Believes, Takin’ It To The Streets, Peter Frampton: Georgia On My Mind, Do You Feel Like We Do, Peter Frampton with Trey Anastasio & Grace Bowers: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Steve Guttenberg Remarks, Grace Bowers: Soul Sacrifice, Luke Spiller: Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine, Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, Dave Stewart Eurythmics featuring Vanessa Amorosi: Here Comes The Rain, Sweet Dreams, Whoopi Goldberg Remarks, Cher: Walking In Memphis, Song For The Lonely, Believe, Alex Edelman Remarks, Beck: Loser, 1999, Trey Anastasio: Everything’s Right, Trey Anastasio with Luke Spiller: Good Times Bad Times, Executive Producers (Greg Williamson, John Varvatos & Nicole Rechter) Remarks, Finale: Higher Ground