Concert Reports

Beck returned to The Santa Barbara Bowl to officially kick off his first tour in four years!

 All Photos: Amanda Peacock www.PeacockPhotography.org

Very Special Thanks: Jesse Lee Weiss

Please Visit: www.Beck.com                                 www.SbBowl.com

Kicking the show off with his breakthrough hit “Loser”, from 1994’s “Mellow Gold,” Beck and band tore through an eclectic set list highlighted by a hat trick of hits from 1996’s “Odelay,” which included : “Devil’s Haircut,” “Where It’s At” and “The New Pollution.” Fresh from a warm-up gig a few days before at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, the singer chose to be backed by musicians Smokey Hormel (guitar), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (bass), Roger Manning (keyboards) and Joey Waronker (drums) on this tour.  

Look for the night to be released as a DVD as camera crew and helicopter were on hand to capture every moment of Beck’s return under the stars at the beautiful Santa Barbara Bowl.

Beck Hansen was born and raised in Los Angeles. As a teenager, Beck became immersed in traditional blues and folk. When he was 18, he moved to New York where he became part of the city's late 80's "anti-folk" scene, playing at various small clubs around the East Village and Lower East Side.

In the early 90's, he moved back to Los Angeles, and continued to write and perform music, sometimes alone and sometimes backed by various musician friends from the local music scene. He made a few home recordings, one of which was the single that initially garnered him attention: "Loser".

Recorded in 1991, "Loser" was released by Bongload Custom Recordings in 1993. An infectious slide guitar driven melody, the single's chorus of "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me," became unavoidable. Beck released Mellow God, his Geffen/DGC Records debut, in early 1994 to critical acclaim. The album included the aforementioned single as well as the live staple "Beercan", and showcased Beck's love of all things musical. Elements of folk, punk, blues, noise and hip-hop informed the varied sounds on the album. He also released two independent albums during this period: the melancholy folk-tinged "One Foot In The Grave" (K Records) and the experimental "Stereopathetic Soulmanure" (Flipside).

Beck toured extensively over the next year and a half, most notably appearing on the main stage at the 1995 Lollapalooza tour. He returned to the studio in January 1995, and emerged in the summer of 1996 with Odelay - a stunning collection of songs that took his earlier experimentation with sounds and song forms to new heights. Odelay was met with praise from the critical community, earning album of the year kudos from Rolling Stone, Spin, and Village Voice, among many others. The album also won him two Grammy's that year, for Best Alternative Performance and Best Male Vocal Performance. Also, at the time of the album's release Beck entered into a grueling tour schedule that kept him on the road with a full band, DJ, and horn section for two years - along the way gaining him a reputation as a formidable live performer.

Look for Beck on tour throughout 2012

Very Special Thanks: Jesse Lee Weiss

Please Visit: www.Beck.com                               www.SbBowl.com  

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