In a genre-bending, era-hopping performance, Beck brought his lo-fi style to the Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, February 22, 2025.
“We just came from New York City, 20 below. Thank you for embracing us in your ever-loving arms,” the California singer-songwriter told the audience in front of the Home Plate stage.
“We’d like to mix a little business with leather right now, c’mon weirdos.”
Beck’s quirky energy and offbeat fashion, complete with smudged dollar-store sunglasses, felt like a character straight out of Napoleon Dynamite as he launched into sharp, Travolta-worthy finger-pointing moves straight from Saturday Night Fever.
We were half expecting Beck to encourage the audience to “Vote for Pedro” or to unveil that he had just caught the audience a “delicious bass.”
With Beck’s diverse talent and artistry spilling out, his performance included a comedic flair throughout. With a name drop for JCPenney, the hilarity reached climax during his performance of “Debra” from his seventh studio album, 1999’s Midnite Vultures.
“We’re going to sing something for the lovers here tonight,” he said.
“Do you guys like slow jams? We’re going to slow it down a little bit. This is about a girl I met in Glendale, California.”
Beck added in the middle of the tune: “I was in love with this girl, so I thought I would pick her up after she got off work, but I made a little stop on the way. To pick her up something nice and take care of my girl. You know where I stopped? I stopped at the Bed, Bath and Beyond.”
Drawing laughs from the crowd, Beck continued about buying his girlfriend potpourri, scented candles, cucumber-aloe vera-apricot exfoliating cream and some bath salts.
“I gathered them all up and put them in a cornucopia and I stashed it in the back of my hatchback,” he said.
“I drove down to the shopping mall, where she was working… I could tell she was tired because she’d been working double shifts all week. I looked deep in her eyes and said, ‘Lady, step inside my Hyundai.’”
Beck added: “I’ll take you up to Scottsdale, gonna take you for a real good meal.’ I’m talking about chicken shawarma, people. ‘Babaganoosh for my baby’,” he sang.
Beck treated the Arizona audience with an array of his songs from over his 30-plus-year musical career, closing out his performance with hits like “Loser”, “Where It’s At” and “E-Pro”.
Check out these photos from Beck’s entertaining set, captured by photographer Roger Ho:
For more on Beck, visit https://www.beck.com/.