With the Main Stage cloaked in a cool shade of black, the king of ‘90s cool came waltzing out and began singing a coolly slowed-down “Black Tambourine.” It seemed a moment of accomplishment for Mr. Beck Hansen, who has now given us 11 albums in 20 years. He’s never lost that sense of eccentric cool about him, and it’s helped establish him as a true icon of his generation.
His set did not disappoint his fans, as he played hits from almost every album he ever made. Many of the tunes were rearranged, but only slightly, in their tempo and style. Songs such as “Devils Haircut,” however, were produced to almost identically match that of their original recordings, as Beck’s backup singers growled behind him, also duplicating the sounds heard on the Odelay track.
“Loser” was terrific, and the long pause that was held after Beck sang ‘cut it…’ ended with some of the sexiest Old West guitar we’ve ever heard from him. He truly gave a highly entertaining performance to signify the end of Sasquatch! ’12, appropriately saving “Where It’s At” for the almost end. Fans danced away as he finished, doing all they could to savor the sweet music Beck and all the great bands before him had provided in yet another phenomenal festival weekend at The Gorge.
