Willie was the “opener” for this heavy-hitting double bill at Starlight Friday…
Which was a bit of a shame because he started at 8:00, and a lot of the crowd was still rummaging around, getting beers and food, and finding their seats, as the red headed stranger plowed through his set.
But Willie’s always a pro, and it didn’t stop the legend from delivering a solid performance that included essentials like Whiskey River, Crazy, Always on My Mind, and Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die. He seemed to grow stronger as the night went along, mixing his one-of-a-kind vocals and phrasing with that unique guitar style that ebbs and flows to its own rhythm, but still comes back to the band eventually.
As Beck would later rhetorically ask the near sold-out crowd, “Is there anyone more beloved in America than Willie Nelson?”
I can’t really think of anyone.
For that matter, have you ever heard anyone say anything bad about Willie?
He’s become so ingrained in our consciousnesses, almost to the point of absurdity. Which frankly is awesome.
He and his band rolled through more classics like Georgia on My Mind, Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground, On the Road Again, and Will the Circle Be Unbroken, as well as a few instrumentals that featured Willie’s sister, Bobbie, on the piano.
As he normally does, banter was kept to a minimum for the most part, other than when Willie introduced “a song about me and Paul. It’s called Me & Paul.” As Willie’s set concluded, he politely thanked the crowd, waved, and said goodbye; though I think everyone in the place knew he’d be back on stage at some point with Beck.
After a half hour break the sun had disappeared.
Beck took the stage, grabbed an acoustic guitar and started out with Golden Age, a slow, psychadelic-folkster off 2002’s excellent Sea Change. He followed that up with Blue Moon, another slow burner, and the most prominent single off his recent Grammy-winning Morning Phase.
But Beck is nothing if not rangy. And his set, like his discography, ranged from country to fuzzbuster to rap to funk to whiteboy soul.
That being said, there were some real highlights, like Jackass, which included the original video projected behind the band, which featured a wizard-like Willie Nelson sprinkling magical fairy dust inside a dingy mine where workers aimlessly swung pick axes in black and white.
Right after that, Beck brought on a “special guest” – Willie himself – for a duet to Jimmie Rodgers’ Waiting for a Train. It was a cool nod, but unfortunately Willie seemed a little confused and needed the words written down for him to follow along.
Other highlights included the funky Sexx Laws, which segued into the faux-soul Debra, which included a lengthy aside as Beck described his slackerish approach to the seduction of a JC Penny’s employee.
When Beck finally left the stage without playing Where It’s At, I think everyone knew what was coming in the encore. The opening slinky plink of the keyboard riff brought the house down, and Beck threw in a well-placed break-beat right before the chorus, showing off his hip-hop skills and keeping the crowd engaged. He ended the night with another massive guitar attack on E-Pro, the first single from Guero.
I understand the need to hit high points on multiple albums – I mean, Beck wouldn’t have escaped alive if he didn’t play his original hit, 1993’s (!!) Loser. Which, by the way, stands the test of time pretty damn well.
But at times the show got a little disjointed with all the genre-shifting. For example, the happy-poppy Think I’m in Love preceded a jackhammer fuzz version of Guero.
Add to that the fact that this was Beck and his band’s first show in over eight months. “Sorry for screwing up all over the place,” he said toward the end of the show.
I’d love to catch him again after a few weeks of road-hardening.
