Beck March 10, Brooklyn Bowl
Beck’s latest Las Vegas concert was supposed to happen two months ago. But the singer-songwriter blew out his voice one day prior to that January 7 show at a private Brooklyn Bowl gig for CNET during CES, his doctor ordering the musician to postpone his ticketed gig at the same venue. The longer wait for his new March 10 date meant even more anticipation to see the rock icon in the flesh, Vegas’ first chance to see him since his big Album of the Year Grammy win for Morning Phase in 2015.
Right out the gate, Beck kicked things into high gear with a rambunctious version of “Devil’s Haircut,” backed by bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen’s guttural screaming of “Devil’s haircut! In my mind!” throughout the chorus. The man dancing and jumping around stage—donning a pink blazer, black pants and a fedora—didn’t seem like the same Beck who played a placid set at the Pearl in 2012; the former could’ve run laps around the latter. Two songs later, he played another high-energy gem from '96’s Odelay, the neo-psychedelic, '60s-plucked track “The New Pollution,” and the only thing that might’ve improved upon the already strong opening was that song’s horn section.
“So this is a makeup show,” Beck said, immediately acknowledging the elephant in the room. “I apologize. I lost my voice so we couldn’t do the show, but thank you for coming back. This is going to be a better show. There’s no curfew, right? Let’s see how long we want to take this.” He followed with a krautrock version of “Think I’m In Love” before delving into what he described as his “most Las Vegas song,” 1999’s kitschy “Mixed Bizness.”
Things didn’t slow down until eight songs into the set, when Beck grabbed an acoustic guitar for “Jack-Ass” and Morning Phase’s “Blackbird Chain.” He would go on to play only one other track from his somber, most recent album (“Say Goodbye”), opting for more uptempo fare such as last summer’s MGMT-like single “Dreams” and classics like “Girl,” “Sexx Laws” and “E-Pro,” Beck throwing his blazer to the floor, shimmying and bouncing about as if the show had just started, even though we were 90 minutes in.
After 20 songs and nearly two hours, Beck and company finally exited the stage, returning amid cheers and predictably diving into his career-launching hit, “Loser.” A wild version of “Where It’s At” followed, Beck introducing his bandmates to the crowd while the guys mashed in The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” and Devo’s “Whip It”—and indulged in some line dancing—before returning to the 1996 alt-rap rock hit.
When Beck first came out on stage, he made a bold claim that Thursday’s show would be better than that original January date. We’ll never know for sure, but his performance was certainly sincere. Compared to his last local outings, he was at his most charismatic—and, dare I say, at his best.
