On a night that could have been billed as "Alternative Culture Meets Agriculture", several of the newcomers on the alternative music scene came to the bible belt and kicked it. Surprisingly, the show held up well despite the socio-economic differences.
Atari Teenage Riot opened the night with their own special brand of techno music. It was a mind numbing half hour to say the least. At first I thought maybe there was a broken drum machine or something, because beats were spewing out of the speakers at a machine gun rate. Two young guys with leather jackets burst onto the stage like they were shot out of a cannon and immediately started wiggling about all over the place. I guess that's how you're supposed to dance to techno. The mosh pit ground to a complete halt almost as fast as it had started, and the kids comprising the pit sat down on the floor wherever they had been standing. When the Riot asked "Do you guys want one more song?", the answer came back a thunderous "NO!". Never ones to be dismayed, the Riot graced us with one last ditty anyway.
When the Riot finally subsided, The Cardigans took the stage. They appeared to be the anti-Riot. What was so appealing about The Cardigans was that they played with all the posturing and preening of the Riot, but with their tongues firmly planted in cheek. Their set was an equal mix of songs off of their latest album, First Band On The Moon, and their earlier American release Life. Lead singer Nina Persson had enough moxie to make up for her trying to hide behind the mike stand the entire time, and guitarist Peter Svensson was really impressive. They opened with what had to be the happiest version of Black Sabbath's "Ironman" ever played. The rural crowd wasn't very familiar with The Cardigans' tunes, but when The Cardigans ended their set with the ubiquitous "Lovefool", the audience finally began to feel at home.
Finally, it came time for the main event. Beck's band took the stage without him and began laying down a funk groove. Beck's band brought to mind the house band at the club in "Dolemite", not only because of their tight groove, but also for their fashion sensabilities. Holding the band together was the guitarist, Showboat, who played leads and rhythms with equal aplomb. Also worth mentioning was Beck's D.J., who was decked out in a full cowboy outfit, replete with a bandana covering half his face and a 10-gallon hat on top. After grooving for several minutes, Beck came pimp-walking onto the stage in a pin-striped suit and tie. Combined with the spectacle of the disco ball spinning over the stage and the colored light show, it was quite a sight to behold.
Beck started off playing songs from Odelay like the throbbing "New Pollution", the donkey love song "Jackass", and the country funk of "Hotwax" in virtual note-for-note renditions off the album. It is possible that they were playing along to a DAT on these songs, because the samples and everything off the album were perfectly synched to the beats. Beck made up for the unoriginality in arrangement by doing various 70's dances during breaks and between songs. Beck then shifted gears and played some older songs off Mellow Gold, like "Mountain Dew Rock" and "Pay No Mind". After seeing many kids there wearing "Loser" T-shirts, I wondered if Beck would even play his monster hit from several years ago. Never one to disappoint, Beck did play "Loser", but with a surprising twist. Instead of reeling off an uninspired version of it, Beck and the boys played a version they called "Robo-Loser", in which they all moved and played throughout like robots. It came off like some kind of Devo tribute, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing.
For a mid-show change of pace, the band took a break, leaving Beck alone with his acoustic guitar and harmonica. After removing his suitcoat, Beck played plaintive versions of "Asshole", "Truckdriving Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)", and "Hollow Log". When his music is stripped down to it's bare bones, the soul of his music really shines through. The crowd hushed and everyone took a seat during this set. It was like we were all suddenly transported to a folk music show.
Then, just as we grew comfortable with that setting, Beck shifted gears again. Putting down his guitar and using only his harmonica, Beck ripped off a rollicking "One Foot in the Grave". Propelled by the crowd's unison stomping and clapping, Beck delivered an inspired sermon on how "regulating...must have been invented in North Carolina".
The band then rejoined Beck to close with a 15 minute version of his alterna smash, "Where It's At". After playing it through one time by rote, they broke it down, with the DJ adding in snatches of De La Soul's old-school jam "Me, Myself, and I" for good measure. For an encore the band returned for a medley Beck termed "American Wasteland". It began with a hard-charging rendition of "Motherfucker" off Gold, and then without missing a note, Beck did a superfast recitation of the lyrics to "Devil's Haircut" to the same thrashing beat.
As the band held onto the final note of the evening, Beck took off his electric guitar and smashed it to bits on the floor. Unexpected, yes, but by now we should know enough to expect the unexpected from Beck.
