One Night Only: Beck vs. The Walkmen

In my prepubescent history of concert photography I have never once been double booked. That was until the night of Beck and The Walkmen taking their own separate stages in Vancouver. So who came out on top? The master musical synthesizer or the New York rockers?

Round 1: Timbre Productions presented a concert that was definitely a highlight of the summer. Opener Band of Horses warmed up the crowd with their dreamy lyrics and harmonies met by a couple standing ovations from the crowd. One of them as an appreciation for their breakout hit "The Funeral," whose heavy guitar alongside Ben Bridwell's powerful vocals made an impact on everyone within the venue.

As they graciously left the stage the anticipation set in for Beck. Eagerly waiting by the stage with my camera in hand, he shuffled onto the stage in his black leather booties and broke out the first few chords of "Loser," the song that first put him on the map back in 1994.

Promoting his album Modern Guilt, Beck sereneded the crowd with some newbies as well as some classics such as "Guero" and the encore opener "Where It's At." By far the highlight of the concert was when all band members put their signature instruments aside and walked right up to the edge of the stage with various forms of eccentric, hip hop beat making machinery.

Rapping into the microphone attached to his prehistoric headphones, Beck sent the crowd from grooving to his folk tunes to giving him props as an out of this world rapper, proving exactly why he has been able to consistently stay within the musical spotlight for these many years.

Round 2: As Beck ended I booked it in the pouring rain to Richard's on Richards only a few blocks away to catch opening act Man Man.

Out of Philadelphia, the band is a ridiculous mix of every instrument you can think of that leads to a live circus on stage only added by their unique choices of costumes. Anyone that I asked to describe the show were only able to answer in stutters. Best to see the show for yourself I take it.

Promoting their most recent album "You & Me," New York band The Walkmen trotted onto the stage and took their marks. Vocalist Hamilton Leithauser assumed the pelvic outwards pose, back bent as far back as he could and gave it his all into that microphone.

Unfortunately, the sound throughout the night was a little off and it was obvious even members of the band were annoyed by the sound projected from their amps and mics. Regardless, even the most pristine sound would not have been able to salvage their performance. It's such an injustice when the opening band outshines the headliner. Every member of that band looked miserable throughout the entire night, except for the drummer.

The drummer was the only reason I did not walk out of that show after the first few songs. As he pounded on the drums the look of glee on his face was priceless that made it apparent he was loving every minute of being up on stage. Even though I can't say much for their live show I still recommend giving them a listen, so check them out on their Myspace.

Champion of the Night: Beck knows how it's done. Though they weren't original contenders, The Walkmen's drummer and Man Man were close runner ups.

Special thanks to Jesse Paris for camera duties during Man Man's set.