Beck Beck Beck Beck Beck...

(movies are down the bottom)

I’m not going to be able to do this any justice at all. If you weren’t there you missed out big time.

I thought I wasn't in the mood for this on Sunday. I had a weird weekend.

Monday. I left work with Dr. J after giving tickets to Dave Beard. We had a fast Burger King (chosen for geography) then headed for the Point. The Cockmaster and Wendy were already there. We met them outside, didn't wait, then met them inside again. Our tardiness got us second row fraction off centre.

I guess I have to talk about support, though I sort of want to get to the magic as soon as possible.

First: My Morning Jacket (check this link – they looked exactly like this).
These guys had big hair. It took time to see the singer’s face. He also had a very nice Flying V. I was a little sceptical, as they started to rock pretty fast, and seemed to be rocking harder than their music. But – they were very good. In terms of being a band, they were a tightly skilled professional band. They did what they were doing with honed ease. They were too good for a primary support. The singing guy had an eerie voice that worked well for me and the songs were a good first listen. They were a good band that left us all impressed, but mostly it was about the hair - damned good hair, keys excluded.

Second: The Thrills
Could our hometown Thrills follow the Kentucky boys? We were a little bit sceptical…
There was a gap of darkness. Initial Thrill impressions were of more good hair/clothes (this is important – believe me). They played nicely, mixing dreaminess with carefully weighted aggression. I preferred them after the bassist and guitarist swapped instruments. It might have been the songs played, it might have been that the shorter guitarist played with more crazy. They were good and we liked them. Alan video-taped and took photos from the side of the stage. I saw Liam as well.

Three: Beck.
A clear stage. Lots of space. Our view was working for us. I got that real life Imax feeling. I can’t even remember how it began – maybe darkness, with guys in black and the beautiful sampling noise boxes. No Justin on bass but the new guy had the Beck look. They didn’t hang around at all.

Again – I can’t even touch it. As a band they were too good. Four guys in black with light shoes. It might have been Jason Falkner on keys and noises – I’m not sure (oh, well apparantly is wasn't). They moved an awful lot, in ways that were very good. The moving was important. The jumping was all appreciated. It’s nice to see a band that care.

Beck – he did all the good things again. The Ambassador gig was Beck at play, this was beck at work. Songs were new and old. Sea Change tracks were a bed of lush intimate silence, older tracks went every direction they could. Beck sang high. Beck sang low. Beck jumped around. Beck rolled around on a vocoder. Beck used the Harmonium, the SP Noise Box, the Slide, the Electric Guitar.

The set list is in the set lists section. If you just want to know what he sang click it.

The encore was the first perfect encore I ever saw. No double encore. No pretends. They went off, everyone cheered for more, they came back on again. Clothes are important - they came back out in white, into the dark, stood at the front of the stage and turned on their suit lights. Look at the video below. One piece of music and they left for good.

The Musical Summary:::::::
This might have been the best I’ve seen. The supports were great. Beck was unbelievable, his band were the same. It was my favourite music played at the right time, delivered flawlessly, and with the million details that most bands don’t think to put in.




Over:::::::
Once the houselights came up I adopted the set list position. We were moved back for barrier dismantling. One list went out but nothing else seemed to be there. Off centre I saw the guitarist back to do something wearing a hat. Anyway, he got me the list from the keys stage. He climbed down and handed it to me. I shook his hand and tried to convey in a sentence what a great concert it had been. He seemed genuinely happy. Thanks again guitar guy...

Everyone had gone except for Dr. J and The Cockmaster, Wendy and Steve, Dave Beard and M. The gone people went to the pub (even though it’s nicer to stand around for a few minutes). We left the stage, I said hellos to the girl who’d got the other setlist. She too had a collection. Hello girl.

Outside: Dr. J told the Cockmaster specials. I got kicked in the knee. I drew things on Dr. J’s car. We ran around then all got in and drove away. Spitfires hopped a taxi with his closenesses.

Lost Dave Beard and M on College green. Picked up my vocoder and jacket from work. Went to Eddies in Donnybrook. Met up with Spitfires and his closenesses again. Had some food and got a lift home.

My phone is broken. Every now and again it comes back to me.

Anyway. That was Beck.
It was all dark at times and the lights were beautiful.
The girl beside me kept leaning in, which lent a nice atmosphere to the warm songs.
The skater boys in front of us turned out to be ok.
The girl from Boston didn’t make it to the front row.
One of the security guys really liked the show.


VIDEOS AND IMAGES:::::

I'm still really busy, but I've uploaded the Cockmaster's movies and pics.
Sadly there's no sound, though he added in the correct track on "1suitsyousirs" (I recommend).
Files are in both MPEG 1 and (the original) MPEG 4 formats.
You might need to update for the MPEG 4 clips.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STUFF (just a list of the files, click the one you want).