Beck has a bunch of festival dates coming up, and he’s also getting ready for a full-on orchestral tour — one where he’ll, for instance play the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Last night, Beck stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote that tour. He gave an incredibly cool preview of how that tour will sound, and he also sat for an interview — not with Jimmy Kimmel but with torrentially charming guest-host Martin Short.
Martin Short made a full meal of his Kimmel guest-host gig, interviewing actor Sean Hayes in his old Jiminy Glick alter-ego and speaking to his Only Murders In The Building co-star Selena Gomez. Short got Beck talking about playing a leafblower onstage in the early ’90s and about the time that he and Paul McCartney weren’t allowed into a Grammy party. Beck and Selena Gomez both say they get rejected from parties all the time, which is comforting.
As for the performance, Beck sang “Paper Tiger,” from his classic 2002 breakup album Sea Change. Beck had a rock band behind him, and he also had full orchestra backing. “Paper Tiger” is the kind of song that actually benefits from that string-heavy treatment, and it sounded awesome. Suddenly, I went from thinking it was vaguely interesting for Beck to do a tour like this to wondering whether I should drive up to Wolf Trap next month. Below, check out the interview, the performance, and Beck’s tour dates.
TOUR DATES:
7/03 – Woodinville, WA @ Chateau St. Michelle Winery (with orchestra)
7/06 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl (with the Los Angeles Philharmonic)
7/10 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre (with the Berkeley Symphony)
7/23 – Lenox, MA @ Tanglewood Music Center (with the Boston Pops Orchestra)
7/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center (with the Philadelphia Orchestra)
7/27 – Vienna, VA @ Wolftrap (with the National Symphony Orchestra)
7/29-30 – New York, NY @ Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall (with the Orchestra Of St. Luke’s)
9/19-22 – Louisville, KY @ Bourbon & Beyond
9/21 – Bridgeview, IL @ Riot Fest
9/28 – St. Louis, MO @ Evolution Festival
9/29 – Huntsville, AL @ South Star Music Festival
11/17 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Corona Capital
