The Beta Band - London Shepherd's Bush Empire - 23/01/02
4/5
By: Toby L
Eccentricity is always an appealing factor within the process of growing fond for a band. Obviously, when you come across a group that has great tunes as well as a strong live presence, you can get excited. However, what sets them apart from other bands that write good songs and happen to stage a solid concert? The fact is that every credible act should have their own image, their own presence and their own way of doing things. A model example of how bands should perhaps act, then? Well, judging from tonight alone, how about The Beta Band?
The madness begins as soon as you enter the grand premises of the Shepherd's Bush Empire and manage to eyeball the stage, which shall soon be graced tonight by Scotland's finest nutters. Decorated in elaborate space-themed attire and graced with three projection-screens, it's apparent that this evening is going to be a well-executed affair.
But - true to form - it has to start bizarrely in order for it to truly possess the calling-card of a Beta Band live-performance. The band has opted to let two of their friends spin discs in an on-stage DJ booth before their taking to the stage, avoiding the employment of an official tour-support. What results is a hugely concerning, though occasionally hilarious display of the classic mixed crowd-reaction.
'When I usually ask a crowd for cigarettes in Scotland, the stage gets covered in them,' sighs the long-haired one, who earlier in the evening gets a heckle from an audience-member that deems him to look like the troubled industry veteran, Jonathan King. The DJ's friend, bearing a flat farmer's cap, is happy to avoid commenting extensively, thus dodging clear of an often turbulent audience response. So, after plenty of expletives - all in a Scotch accent, of course - a handful of diverse tracks, plus a lacklustre response, there was enough proof by this point that The Beta Band's last night of their mini-UK tour had the potential to be a tough one.
Still, it's a sell-out, and - therefore - what gets experienced when the quartet finally emerge is the same variety of excitement you see at a children's birthday party when a guest-magician pulls the rabbit out of the hat; ooh, the marvel.
Frontman Steve Mason - clad in the whitest of white outfits - is especially on fine form; from an early-into-the-gig rendition of 'Human Being', which explodes into a full-throttle rock-out, his stirringly subtle, though enchanting, vocal hooks you in immediately. The accompanying visuals and inspired light-show elevate the atmosphere to levels of intensity that rival the comparative dizzy heights of Everest.
Musically, what comes across most impressive to the viewer and listener - aside from their constant instrument swap-arounds or, indeed, Mason's rapping - is the eclecticism of current new material from 'Hot Shots 2'; from the shimmering 'Squares' to the almost hypnotic 'Broke', the effect over the audience is almost silencing. However, when they return onstage following a brief encore-break and have play 'At Sharp', it is maybe the first time you realise that they are truly capable of enduring and original greatness.
Can it climax, though? Absolutely, and it's in the form of a rousing rendition of 'The House Song', which prompts a stage-invasion from dressed-up fairies, special guests and a whole manner of, basically, enthusiastic freaks. Sadly, though, you know that you just wouldn't want it to end any other way.
The show's closure sees 2,000 ecstatic, smiling faces flee the auditorium at a leisurely pace, but - just before this can occur - we're given from in front a heartfelt 'thank-you' for the support we've rewarded the Beta's over the years. No problem, guys: keep this fine display of effort up and we'll merely support you even more.
Artists in this article: The Beta Band
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