Last time American musical polymath Beck was here touring a (mostly) solo acoustic set, he got ahead of the curve and performed a song written by ChatGPT.
“I got a copy of some AI Beck lyrics, they were more like ‘80s Bon Jovi than what I would write, but I had to do it — AI had decided that was my direction,” the 55-year-old drawls down the phone from Los Angeles.
The ersatz chorus built to an overly earnest, rock-out-with-your-cock-out denouement, arms outstretched: “I’m a Beck!!!” He committed to the bit and just managed to hold it together while the audience howled like drains. The only things missing were a fog machine, a giant fan and some blonde tips.
It was a classic judo move by Beck, getting out ahead of Artificial Intelligence to take away its power.
He finished that Palais Theatre show by quipping: “I’ll see you all back here in 2043 for a full AI show. I can’t even predict what’s going to happen.”
Thankfully, we’ve only had to wait three years, not twenty, to have Beck back down under.
He sounds happy to be heading out of all the turmoil in the USA, plus it’s stinking hot in California.
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“We’re in a massive heatwave; it’s been 95 degrees Fahrenheit for about a week, which is like 40 degrees for you guys. It’s nasty.”
In what could be described as a very Beck move, he’s effectively doing the opposite of the show he presented last time: Beck Hansen is bringing a full band over to team up with orchestras. He’s pairing with the Philharmonia Australia in Melbourne and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House.
“We started doing this about two years ago,” he says. “We did one gig as an experiment, and it went really well, so since then we’ve taken it to England and America and Canada.”
London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl have experienced the soft power of Beck’s band and an orchestra tackling songs from Sea Change, Odelay, Mutations, Morning Phase and Midnite Vultures, even his spine-tinglingly brittle then bodacious cover of The Korgis’ “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Last time we spoke about the making of Morning Phase, Beck talked about playing stuff in the studio so slow it felt almost conspiratorial.
These shows have that feel.
“It’s a nice change for me. It’s slower, so it takes you into a different musical space,” he says. “It’s not a rock show, it’s very true to the way an orchestra lives and breathes. We’re not jamming on top while they’re sawing away in the background.
“This is really honouring the players and the tone that we create together. It’s a particular sonic colour, it gives you a different emotion. There’s a different tonality and physicality than a typical rock show with a big PA.
“I go to the symphony a lot, and I always say there’s something cleansing about it. You leave feeling changed. An orchestra vibrates your cells in a different way. I’m hoping people experience that; there’s something about the nature of the sound of 80 people playing together that’s transcendent.
“All music is valid and valuable, but I’m finding a lot of people who come have never seen an orchestra live. It’s gratifying. This is a different catharsis. This is amniotic, you get swallowed into the sound.”
On songs such as “Lonesome Tears” and “Paper Tiger”, Beck has been getting lost in the moment.
“You get overtaken by the sound of an orchestra, you can’t capture that on record — we tried our best,” he chuckles.
“I have the best seat in the house, I’m right next door to them. I hear them let loose. It’s something you have to see,” he says, becoming speechless. “If you’re a fan of Sea Change, these songs translate in a totally different way with the orchestra.”
2002’s Sea Change was forged out of heartbreak and has gone on to become one of the auteur’s albums that people have connected with the most.
“I’m glad people like Sea Change. When I first put it out, it felt a little touch and go,” he admits. “It was a real turn from my earlier stuff, and it was my least-selling record; the label wasn’t happy with it. I did lose a lot of audience at the time. But you’re right, over time, people now ask about Sea Change or Midnite Vultures, they don’t ask me about Odelay so much. It was more controversial at the time [to see] if they had value or merit. People had to sit and spend time with them before they could be fully embraced.”
The cool news about these string-heavy shows is Beck and co have been stepping out with a slew of cuts they don’t always play, including “Tropicalia”, “New Pollution” and “Missing”.
“The sequencing is such that I get to play stuff that doesn’t fit in with the energy of a festival show. We can play songs like ‘Round The Bend’ or ‘Wave’ that exist in this other place a little bit outside rock music. I wanted to be able to dig in and take this opportunity. It feels like an indulgence and a luxury for me.”
In the spirit of reassuring Beck fans who want him to go crazy with the cheese whiz, the encore will see him and his band bring the tempo up with some of his proper bangers. “Exactly, we have ‘Devil’s Haircut’, ‘Where It’s At’, ‘Loser’, ‘New Pollution’ at the end.”
Revered composer David Campbell – Beck’s father – helped out with arrangements on a lot of his son’s work, most notably on the “amniotic” parts on Sea Change and Morning Phase.
Beck confirms that his dad is beaming behind the scenes at the success of the orchestra tour.
“Yeah, a lot of the orchestral work we’ve done together were deep cuts that have never been played live, so to get to play these songs properly in a concert setting has been really a rare pleasure for me. It’s quiet, it’s resonant, it’s very human.”
Keeping it in the family, Beck’s kids have been ride or die fans since a young age, too. He went through a phase when he was proudly making music for his children, such as the more disposable “Like Wow” from 2016’s Grammy Award-winning Colours.
Now they’re old enough to appreciate the more mature Beck LPs. Everybody’s gotta learn sometime.
“I was prepared for them to hate my music. I thought that’s just the way it goes, but from a very young age, they’ve been incredibly supportive. My son (Cosimo) was three years old when he said, ‘I want ‘em all, which ones came first?’”
BECK AUSTRALIA 2026
Thursday, May 7th
Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW
Friday, May 8th
Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW
Saturday, May 9th
Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW
Tuesday, May 12th
Palais Theatre, Melbourne VIC
Wednesday, May 13th
Palais Theatre, Melbourne VIC
