It wasn't the conventional approach to releasing new tracks when Beck put out Song Reader last year, 20 songs in the form of sheet music in a book published by McSweeney's. Even though fans couldn't listen to the collection directly, many people adapted the songs and took advantage of YouTube to share them.
Some big-name stars have now joined in on the fun by contributing at Beck's live shows. He has played in San Francisco and London, then last night he graced the stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
This was not your average show, considering David Campbell (Beck's dad) conducted the 61-piece Los Angeles Philharmonic for the event, and there were performances from Jack Black, Childish Gambino, Jarvis Cocker, Merry Clayton and John C. Riley. But that's not all. Jenny Lewis harmonized with surprise guest Anne Hathaway for the song "Last Night You Were a Dream."
Rolling Stone reviewed the event, which was not just a musical gathering:
"Between songs there were uniformly excellent spoken-word performances (or "speeches," if you prefer), generally on the themes of music and Los Angeles, by guests including comic Tig Notaro, lyricist Van Dyke Parks, filmmaker Allison Anders and her DJ daughter Tiffany Anders, academic Josh Kun, music supervisor Randall Poster and restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. Plus, animator Christian Robinson contributed a charming short film built around children's opinions on music."
And yes, Beck did actually perform a few tunes as well. He played "America, Here's My Boy" on his own with his guitar. Then he shared "Heaven's Ladder" and "Wave," where he really took advantage of the impressive Philharmonic.
The show closed with the entire ensemble joining together for "Do We? We Do." Clearly Beck has an impressive network of fellow performers and friends.
