BECK in concert at the E Center, West Valley City; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., April 26; one performance only.
Beck got down with the funk so hard Wednesday that he boogied his leather pants off. Twice.
It could have been for any number of reasons, really. One, he is so 12-year-old-boy-skinny that they wouldn't stay on. Two, he's the cruel victim of faulty waistbands and snaps, yet he still refuses to add belts to his wardrobe. Or three, it was a direct result of his jumping up in the air and landing in the splits, repeatedly, then magically sliding back up to his feet again.
Such a move would have made James Brown proud had he been in the audience. That or he would have winced noticeably.
Beck was the funk soul brother Wednesday. He may have been a little confused as to the color of his own skin, but he talked up a big game before launching into a number of repeated falsettos on the opener, "Sexx Laws." "Can you all feel my beat? Put your hands where my eyes can see. . . . "
But the lingo was appropriate — the musician led his troupe of backup singers, horn players, guitars, drums and DJ through a performance that was way more R&B than rock, though he did join his guitarists in some crunching solos while lying flat on their backs, reminiscent of a younger Van Halen (as in the Van Halen that still had David Lee Roth).
Songs like "Novacane," "Mixed Bizness" and delving into David Bowie's "Let's Dance" had the small yet energetic crowd on its feet, reacting to improvised lyrics and occasional spurts of breakdancing.
There wasn't an artist Beck felt ashamed to cover in his wild array of folk, funk and rock. "Nicotine & Gravy" featured the chorus from "Billie Jean." He spat out a line from Ozzy Osbourne's "Over the Mountain." Even Tom Petty was included in an acoustical turn.
In his most Prince-like imitation, with "Debra," the frontman turned his falsetto to the nth power, talking about a relationship and, well, cold chicken. (Really — don't ask me to explain.) By the song's middle, a large bed with leopard print and red satin sheets was lowered from the ceiling and Beck hopped on, vamping like Marvin Gaye.
Though his band seemed a bit bored through most of the high-energy show, Beck was there to give a good one, despite the somewhat low audience turnout. He succeeded, whether it was blowing on his harmonica and making like an oncoming train or doing jumping jacks and push-ups on stage.
Openers Cafe Tacuba got a warm response from the crowd with its high-energy wholly Spanish set, proving you don't have to understand a word to enjoy good music.