While the rest of the country was at home on their couches watching Beck Hansen perform on the David Letterman show, around 150 people were getting loose with him live and in person in the tiny Backstage area of the Black Cat. Yes, the internet rumors that popped up yesterday were true. Beck, who played the Patriot Center last time he came through town, treated a small, enthusiastic and increasingly sweaty audience to a one-of-a-kind, intimate performance not likely to be seen again for quite some time. Fans queued up for hours in the Red Room waiting for the show, which cost only $12.
Beck and his band, all five of them, crowded onto the stage around 12:30 a.m. and worked their way through a spirited 19-song set, full of requests from the crowd, that spanned his whole career. Amazingly, out of all the requests being shouted, I don’t recall hearing anyone ask for “Loser.” The best part about the show? The band seemed to be having just as much fun as the crowd. At one point Beck joked, “The club owner said if we do good at this show, we can play the upstairs next time.”
Most of the songs were loose and funky, which is to be expected for a group of this stature to be playing such a tiny room with the not-ready-for-primetime sound system. But it was still the best-sounding and most enjoyable show I’ve ever seen in the Backstage. The room got increasingly hotter as the show stretched into the early morning. Beck’s band had to take off most of their costumes (including a breakdancing Napoleon) and wigs and plead for cold beer from the bar, taking a swig and passing it on to the next person whenever they got one. Crowd participation was encouraged, if not demanded. One audience member held a cowbell so the keyboardist could bang away on it.
The guy next to me told me he waited six hours to get into the Backstage. Judging by the way he was singing along and pumping his fist, he really enjoyed himself. What about you? Was anyone else lucky enough to brave the crowd and gain admittance? What did you think of the show? Partial setlist (if you know what I’m missing, leave it in the comments and I’ll update the post accordingly) and a few more pics after the jump.
All photos by Kyle Gustafson
