Beck with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW
Thursday May 7th
For over three decades as a working musician, crafty Californian chameleon Beck has made a regular habit of abrupt stylistic left turns, playfully hopping between folk, funk, hip-hop, pop, country, and Grammy-baiting singer-songwriter mode.
Considering his last Sydney show in 2013 presented him playing a solo acoustic set, it tracks that for Beck’s return he’s gone in the complete opposite direction and tapped dozens of members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) to add some dramatic flourish to his songs.
The irony of playing with an orchestra now that he’s hit middle age — although he looks several decades younger than 55 — is not lost on Beck, who remarks that his younger self would scoff at bands that would start out “raw” before inevitably going orchestral. “It’s the beginning of the end,” he jokes. “But here I am, thinking ‘damn, that orchestra sounds good’.”
It helps that several of Beck’s songs already feature strings, so giving the full orchestral treatment to tracks like “The Golden Age”, “Lonesome Tears”, and “Lost Cause”, all from beloved 2002 album Sea Change, only increases the potent emotional charge that these tales of heartbreak already possess.
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Although he initially asks the audience to “settle in — it’s gonna be a quiet ride” and hints the set will consist mostly of songs from the more laidback Sea Change and Morning Phase LPs (“Wave” from the latter is a standout, sounding like a less seasick version of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song”), there’s a pleasing amount of variety on display.
Brazil-influenced “Tropicalia” and upbeat Odelay favourites “The New Pollution” and “Where It’s At” ensure the mood is never in danger of slipping into morose territory, and brand-new song “Ride Lonesome”, which gets its live debut this evening, points toward Beck’s next album heading in a country-tinged direction.
The well-chosen covers also add to the mix, including two sublime Scott Walker tunes (“It’s Raining Today” and “Montague Terrace (in Blue)”), and a stunning version of The Korgis’ “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime”, which Beck owns in the same way Jeff Buckley made Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” uniquely his.
Whenever he’s not singing — and make no mistake, in a live setting it’s clear what an exceptional singer he is — Beck effortlessly charms the crowd with humorous anecdotes.
A highlight comes in the form of a God-tier name-dropping tale regarding the recording of the 1998 Mutations song “We Live Again” (Thom Yorke was in the studio at the time and unhelpfully told Beck “You’re not singing it right, mate”; Bjork disparagingly told Beck the song sounded “Disney” when he played it for her in his car).
Although the crowd could easily leave feeling more than satisfied once the SSO departs after a rousing rendition of “Where It’s At”, Beck and his three-piece band generously stick around to blitz through the winning trifecta of “Devils Haircut”, “Mixed Bizness” and Beck’s debut 1994 hit “Loser”, the latter kicking off only after Beck roams the stage playing a blistering blues riff and trying out several empty SSO seats for laughs.
More than once, Beck acknowledges that this is his first time playing the Sydney Opera House despite over a dozen visits to Australia. After a thoroughly satisfying and career-spanning set complemented by the exceptional musicians of the SSO, it hopefully won’t be his last — regardless of whatever musical guise he decides to take.
