I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boombox (Across the Narrows, Keyspan Park, Day 2) [EDIT]

More photos (too many, really) at my Flickr account.

*

Is Beck a New Yorker, now?  Boy don’t dance.

It was the second day of the militarily-run Across-the-Narrows concerts, and I slagged off a bit, only showing up for three-and-a-third bands.  Couldn’t head down to Coney Island until I was sure my Rams were losers, baby.

Break out the wet noodle:  I’ve never seen Beck, before.  Won’t make that mistake again, though.  I left mui impressed.

While Mr. Hansen (who called himself “the Artist Currently Known as Beck... I’ll let you know when I change my name”) shook nary a tailfeather – he ‘splained that dancing was a younger man’s game (“That’s the problem, actually... I danced a little too hard...”) – he delegated:  Some jumpsuited, mirror-shaded spaz was put in charge of “body movements” (and percussion), and he breakdanced, roboted and shadowboxed his way into the audience’s heart.  Another member of Beck’s seven-man outfit didn’t play an instrument, either:  A video-jockey controlled the rear-stage projection with two turntables and an iMac, using the wheels to layer and speed up the images.

I’m not sure how much of the show was same ol’ same ol’, but there was enough energy and creativity evident to instill the possibility that anything could happen at any time... and that’s exactly what I want from a show.

Musically it was tight, but the specter of playback loomed large on a couple songs – something Beck and Robot Boy made fun of by pantomiming a dueling banjo contest during “Sex Laws” (but couldn’t someone play the slide intro to “Loser” live?).  Tight, but loose:  Beck seemed to change plays at the line, telling his band to stop, and redirecting the beat.  “Devil’s Haircut” exploded into an extended burst of percussion near the end;  “Nicotine & Gravy” medleyed into “Hell Yes.”

...a bit unfortunate, because my favorite Beck CD is Midnite Vultures, and I really wanted to hear more bass-heavy funk stuff.  And marimba.  “Broken Train” is the greatest song ever, sometimes, and it never made an appearance last night.

Surprisingly, some Sea Change stuff did, and that the slower songs were the highlight of the show proved a testament to the man’s showcraft.  On an early song (can’t recall which) Beck went to solo pump-organ; his band didn’t leave the stage, but gathered to stomp and clap the beat for its second half.  Lovely.  During a long solo acoustic set – “This is the part of the show where I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Hansen said, before doing the Korgis cover from the Eternal Sunshine soundtrack – the band performed a set-piece that suggested Beck was doing research at his recent gig in a Mexican restaurant:

Before the show, I spotted a wooden table with several glasses of water on it, and started looking forward to a crystal-glass solo.  Instead, stagehands moved the table to the center of the stage, where the band sat down and took its dinner break while Beck strummed.  Robot Boy acted as waiter, the rest mimed dinner conversation and stuffed their faces.  Then, when the frontman started into “Lost Cause,” the setting turned into an instrument.  Bowls, glasses, silverware, even fruit – Beck wandered over to play an apple – became a raucous rhythm section; an overhead camera caught the action, and VJ Whoozawhatsit kaleidoscoped it on the rear screen to great effect.  It felt completely natural, comfortable, revelatory.

His set was far too short, and this was part of the Narrows deal:  Every band that had an encore during the two days (basically, the last two bands, each day) were allowed a single song; Beck’s set ended at exactly 10:10, after “E-Pro’s” na-na-na’ing faded away.

*

I just don’t care for Belle & Sebastian.  Having only listened to a single CD, and having weathered their twee Storytelling soundtrack, I really didn’t want to hear any more.  Always thought the band’s name sounded like a store that’d sell scented candles.

I was a bit surprised at the set-up, knowing nothing really about the band:  There are seven people in the group, and they further augmented themselves with a string quartet (which appeared on two songs, and was buried at the back of the stage), recorders, and guest-whistlers.  There were a couple nice moments:  Frontman Stuart Murdoch turned “Boy with the Arab Strap” into an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday” for their keyboardist (“The last member of the band to turn thirty”), and also – how unlikely – professed a love for the Walter Hill classic The Warriors while belting a couple whiffle balls out at the crowd with a baseball bat.

B&S did have a lot of fans there – Sunday’s concert was actually more crowded than Saturday – and the only thing anyone booed was the lead singer’s Mets T-shirt.

*

The Polyphonic Spree is what happy sounds like.  I’ve seen them twice before, and I’ll see ‘em again.  Their set was actually a bit flat, featuring a few new songs (a pair from the Thumbsucker soundtrack – it was soundtrack day, apparently) that lacked their usual bombast.  It could have been that their sun god was setting, during their performance (the band enthusiastically waved goodbye, as the light faded); it could have been that the folks crowding the stage to see B&S weren’t up for the Spree’s gleeful B.S.

It really is best to see these folks in a roomful of fans; they’re best when preaching to the converted.

Odd notes:  They came out in sky blue robes, each with a jagged, horizontal line across the front; when they stood side-by-side to take their final bow, they formed what looked like a long electrical wave... but for most of the set, it looked like everyone was dressing as Charlie Brown.

I was thrilled to have my camera there for a Spree set, but all did not go well.  For one thing, the Theremin was set up right between me and their dervishish choir (I keep forgetting which one of the choir members I’ve fallen in love with, so... any of you:  Call me).  So even though the Theremin is an instrument that doesn’t have any physical substance, the camera kept shifting focus to the base of the thing.  On those rare occasions the Theremin player got out of the way, I took lots of pictures in which “moog” is featured prominently.  Oh, well.  They’ll be back, and I’ll be there, too, looking for more happy.

*

Only caught three Raveonettes songs, but saw them recently.  The completist in me regrets missing the earlier acts, but I’m not particularly heartbroken.

For more recaps/photos check out Fake Century, OneLouder, the Voice's Status Ain't Hood, and the comments section at Brooklyn Vegan. 

tags: concert photos  belle and sebastian  polyphonic spree  concert reviews  across the narrows  beck  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    reddit