Idiosyncratic special guests Beck and two-thirds of the Flaming
Lips were delightful treats among the smorgasbord of talented
musical artists performing at KCRW’s A Sounds Eclectic
Evening on Saturday at the Universal Amphitheater.
The highlight of the four-hour-long joy ride occurred midway
when Beck and Flaming Lips Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd surprised
and entertained the audience with a few hysterical duets.
The three, who have been touring together, dusted off Sonny and
Cher’s “I Got You Babe” and renamed it “I
Got You Beck”. Coyne ended up playing both Sonny and Cher
since Beck was sketchy with the lyrics. The two then shared the
role of Maureen Tucker (no one claimed the role of Lou Reed) in
their rendition of the Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves
the Sun.”
As Coyne departed to rousing applause, Beck brought out
singer/songwriter Beth Orton to sing “No Expectations.”
The two obviously had little, if any expectations, as Orton
mis-timed the start of the song and Mr. Eclectic himself mistakenly
played the wrong keys. Beck would goof on the keys again during the
start of “Sleepless Nights” with singer/pianist Norah
Jones. Beck finally got it right as he played John Travolta to Zero
7 vocalist Sia Furler’s Olivia Newton-John on the
“Grease” classic “You’re the One That I
Want.”
Orton, Jones and Zero 7 were marvelous in their own right as
well. The audience adored the innocence of Orton, whose delicate
yet raspy voice suited her ambient folk sound. Jones, riding on the
success of her breakthrough hit “Don’t Know Why,”
demonstrated to the audience that her mellow voice is not without
power. The brainchild of producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker,
Zero 7 proved that electronic soul does exist by fusing techno
beats with R&B vocals.
Artists who did not perform duets with Beck were just as
crowd-pleasing. Singer/songwriters Aimee Mann and Pete Yorn
provided enough lovelorn tunes to break a thousand hearts.
But the show-stopper of the night award was a tie between
underground hip-hoppers Blackalicious and Latin electronica/rock
band Kinky. The former was responsible for waking up the crowd with
rapper Gift of Gab’s “alphaberobics” on “A
to G.” His warp-speed freestyle had fans roaring in
amazement. The audience then went into party mode, courtesy of
Kinky’s energetic vibe and Latin hand drums. Kinky, as the
name suggests, was wild, with band members galloping all over the
stage during accordion interludes.
Beck said it best when he declared to the fans,
“It’s everybody’s stage tonight.”