"I'm afraid concerts spoil people for everyday life."
― L.M. Montgomery
In keeping with our resolution to attend more live shows, Sue and I went to see Beck in Milwaukee Tuesday night. Before the show, the only Beck album I owned was Morning Phase, which I think is absolutely brilliant songwriting ― it won three Grammys in 2015. At the concert, I decided to pick up Ride Lonesome on vinyl, his album released earlier this year. Probably overpriced as concert merch, but what the hell.
The venue was the Landmark Credit Union Live, which neither of us had been to before. It kind of reminded us of The Sylvie in Madison, only a bit larger.
Back in 1993, when I first heard "Loser," I wasn't particularly impressed and figured Beck was going to be a one-hit wonder. Fast-forward to 2014, and I can't remember when/where I first heard a track from Morning Phase, but I was super impressed and added the album to my music library.
Here's a track from the new album:
A variety of stage sets and light show effects were visually interesting ...
Then they played a string of songs in a box ...
Beck explained to the audience that he and his band often practice in a small room and wanted to give us an idea of what that's like. The moving wall projections created a pretty cool effect.
Although Beck is still considered an alternative artist, much of his
music these days consists of haunting, bluesy/country-tinged ballads.
But he can still rock when he wants to, as he demonstrated with the
final four or five songs before a relatively subdued encore.
It was a fantastic show!
Set List:
In the Night — Ride Lonesome (2026)
The Golden Age — Sea Change (2002)
Paper Tiger — Sea Change (2002)
Unforgiven — Morning Phase (2014)
For Your Love — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Bleed — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Slow Canyon — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Run Away — Ride Lonesome (2026)
The New Pollution — Odelay (1996)
Gamma Ray — Modern Guilt (2008)
Blue Moon — Morning Phase (2014)
Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime — (2004)
Say Goodbye — Morning Phase (2014)
One Foot in the Grave — One Foot in the Grave (1994)
Think I'm in Love — The Information (2006)
Girl — Guero (2005)
Farewell Ride — Guero (2005)
Nobody's Fault but My Own — Mutations (1998)
Disappearing Act — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Lost Cause — Sea Change (2002)
Tropicalia — Mutations (1998)
Ride Lonesome — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Devils Haircut — Odelay (1996)
Qué Onda Guero — Guero (2005)
Mixed Bizness — Midnite Vultures (1999)
E-Pro — Guero (2005)
Loser — Mellow Gold (1994)
Where It's At — Odelay (1996)
True Love Will Find You in the End — One Foot in the Grave (1994)
The Golden Age — Sea Change (2002)
Paper Tiger — Sea Change (2002)
Unforgiven — Morning Phase (2014)
For Your Love — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Bleed — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Slow Canyon — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Run Away — Ride Lonesome (2026)
The New Pollution — Odelay (1996)
Gamma Ray — Modern Guilt (2008)
Blue Moon — Morning Phase (2014)
Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime — (2004)
Say Goodbye — Morning Phase (2014)
One Foot in the Grave — One Foot in the Grave (1994)
Think I'm in Love — The Information (2006)
Girl — Guero (2005)
Farewell Ride — Guero (2005)
Nobody's Fault but My Own — Mutations (1998)
Disappearing Act — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Lost Cause — Sea Change (2002)
Tropicalia — Mutations (1998)
Ride Lonesome — Ride Lonesome (2026)
Devils Haircut — Odelay (1996)
Qué Onda Guero — Guero (2005)
Mixed Bizness — Midnite Vultures (1999)
E-Pro — Guero (2005)
Loser — Mellow Gold (1994)
Where It's At — Odelay (1996)
True Love Will Find You in the End — One Foot in the Grave (1994)
All images © 2026 M. McDowell & S. Ulschmid