Indie-pop icon Beck hasn’t taken a break all year. He’s already played 37 shows, touring North America, then Europe, and now he’s back Stateside for the last leg of his world tour that’s in support of his latest, thirteenth studio album Colors.
The eclectic rocker returned to the states on Friday (July 6) to Detroit, Michigan’s quaint Fox Theatre. Beck and his seven-piece backing band played for nearly two hours, hitting on all the highlights of his career in the set backed by LED screens that swirled literal COLORS with a 3-D effect.
Beck dawned his dark suit and wide-brimmed hat, as he fired the set off with “Devil’s Haircut” - the singer declared a “Friday night dance party” and he certainly delivered. “Up All Night,” “New Pollution,” “Sexx Laws,” “Wow,” and “E-Pro” helped keep that groovy vibe alive. A lively rendition of “Think I’m in Love” which borrowed, snippets of the Donna Summer banger “I Feel Love,” brought a delightful twist into the set.
The energy eventually turned mellow for Beck’s solo acoustic portion of the set where he offered up heartfelt renditions of “Lazy Flies” (by request!), “Pay No Mind (Snoozer),” “Country Down” and “Say Goodbye.”
Other highlights from this magical night included a dedication of “Go It Alone” to Jack White, who co-wrote the 2005 track where he recalled “many years of good Detroit memories with (White), sitting on the porch playing banjo.”
The encore was the cherry on top, as Beck and his troupe came back to the stage to deliver the goods. Starting with an acoustic version of “Debra,” he then quickly amped the crowd back up with a cover of “Raspberry Beret” by the late icon Prince. The set came to a cheerful close with a party version of “Where It’s At,” where he included snippets of covers of “These Are The Good Times," "Miss You," "Cars," and "Once In A Lifetime;” then when into a couple of verses of “One Foot in the Grave” before pulling back into “Where It’s At.”
Whether playing in a stadium, or a small theatre like Fox, Beck still knows how to keep his fans coming back for more. Beck left the loser crown behind a long time ago. Head to his website to find out where he’ll be at next.
