Beck engaging and effortlessly cool

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This article was published 20/08/2017 (3291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Under a cloudless summer sky, Beck took to the stage at Interstellar Rodeo at The Forks for his first performance in Winnipeg.

Severe thunderstorm watches earlier in the day threatened to put a damper on the show, but the thousands of undeterred people who packed the festival site were rewarded with a picture-perfect night for live music.

The familiar, fuzzed out riff of Devil’s Haircut was the first blast of sound before Beck (born Bek David Campbell), clad in his usual wide-brimmed hat, was visible on stage. He immediately seemed in good spirits and ready for a party.

Beck, 47, has the rare ability to skip the warming-up-the-crowd songs that are part of almost every set; regardless of the artist who’s performing it, a couple of tunes usually blow by before audience members are willing to commit fully and let themselves get enveloped in the music. But it was only the second song, Black Tambourine, when Beck requested a sing-along and very willing crowd responded loudly; and only the fourth song, Qué Onda Güero, when he had hands in the air waving ferociously.

Having never seen Beck live before, his swag-filled stage presence was a pleasant surprise. He’s not a big talker, but made an effort to say a few effortlessly cool words between songs — he did start about 15 minutes late, though, so perhaps he was just trying to make up some time by cutting out lengthy chit-chat. That, along with his stellar seven-piece band and the bright, trippy graphics that blared behind him on a giant screen, made for a very engaging show.

Beck has a massive and extremely eclectic back catalogue which includes 12 albums — with his thirteenth, Colors, to be released later this year — that range from rock to pop to electronic to folk and beyond. The mix between older and newer material for his Winnipeg performance felt intentional and satisfying, and hearing everything back to back was a stark reminder how versatile Beck is as a songwriter and composer. New single, the pop-influenced Wow, was likely the most far-removed from his other work, but still seemed right at home in the middle his set.

As a live vocalist, Beck is flawless; he’s rich and full in his lower register, powerful in his slightly gruff mid-range, floaty in his falsettos and a much better sing-rapper than a certain red-haired British man we all know.

In a moment of surprise for most, Beck revealed that part of his family hails from Winnipeg. This fact isn’t secret, but it’s certainly not a well-publicized trivia tidbit.

“I would be remiss to not take the opportunity to say that my family is from Winnipeg, actually, so I go back with Winnipeg… I don’t know, a couple centuries maybe? At this point. And I got to see a photo for the first time of my great-grandfather who drove a streetcar here in Winnipeg, I think on Broadway, and he was looking pretty cool… so this is the land from which I sprang, so it means a lot to be here tonight for you,” he explained, noting he saw his 91-year-old great-aunt earlier in the day.

“We’re going to play a couple from the last record,” he moved on, referencing his Grammy Award-winning 2014 album Morning Phase, the songs on which have a decidedly more mellow, folky vibe. “Then we’ll ramp it back up. We’ll get rowdy.”

After Say Goodbye, Heart is a Drum and Blue Moon from the aforementioned album, it was throwback time once again with Loser, his breakthrough single from the 1994 album Mellow Gold, and 2005’s Girl, both of which he powered through enthusiastically, bopping around the stage, looking like he was genuinely having the best time.

The bombastic duo of Sexx Laws — during which he “got free” enough to whip off his fitted blazer — Ghost Range (E-Pro) closed out the main set, but after a short exit, Beck returned, this time in a white blazer, to “get up close and personal” with the crowd with a one-song encore of Where It’s At, which also involved a thoroughly entertaining musical introduction of each band member.

For fans who have been waiting to see Beck in Winnipeg for more than 20 years, the artist put on a show that surely lived up to anticipation and expectation. Here’s hoping it’s not another 20 until he comes back again.

Earlier in the night another highly-anticipated band for many, Canadian alt-rock staples the Rheostatics, were introduced by Rodeo Boss and president of Six Shooter Records, Shauna de Cartier, who professed her love for the band and expressed how thoroughly the group’s 1991 album Melville has impacted her life.

De Cartier was not alone in her nostalgic love of the band as fans pushed toward the stage for their first chance to see the recently reunited act in more than a decade.

This is likely an unpopular opinion, but at times, the vocals left a bit to be desired and the instrumentation felt almost disorganized. That’s not to say it was a bad performance, however, Rheostatics are an incredibly energetic and charming group on stage, sharing memories and hopping around like it was their first show in Winnipeg 30 years ago. And the moments where everything clicked into place, including a charged rendition of California Dreamline, were magical.

Gates open today, the final day of Interstellar Rodeo, at noon and music starts at 1 p.m. Aloe Blacc and Broken Social Scene will headline the night at 7:15 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @NireRabel