On Thursday night, rock fans in Central Florida took a break from hurricane preparations to enjoy three of the best acts in the alternative scene. For the second-to-last show of Beck and Cage the Elephant’s co-headlining Night Running Tour, the bands treated the crowd at Tampa’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre to eclectic performances, along with outstanding opening sets by Spoon and Sunflower Bean.
Kicking off the night while most Tampa residents were still stuck in rush-hour traffic, Sunflower Bean played a mostly upbeat set of jangly rock. They opened with “King of the Dudes,” the heaviest song on the band’s new EP, showcasing the band’s new harder edge, though most of the set featured the New York quartet’s traditional jangle pop sound. The beautifully melodic “Easier Said” was a highlight of the set, singer/bassist Julia Cumming singing in complex harmony with the rest of the band, as was the closing number “Come For Me,” sending the band off on a rocking note.
Austin’s indie rockers Spoon then followed with a set that showed the band’s unique hybrid of infectious pop hooks, complex melodies, experimental soundscapes, and jagged distorted guitar riffs. Opening with the funky “Do I Have to Talk You Into It,” frontman Britt Daniel crooned over Ben Trokan’s bouncing groove. The band then launched into one of its most experimental songs, “My Mathematical Mind,” with Alex Fischel and Geraldo Larios laying down dueling keyboard lines that snaked and convulsed throughout the amphitheater. Daniel is a great showman, playing snarling guitar licks with a flair and leading the crowd to sing along with crowd-pleasers like “Don’t You Evah” and “Do You.” With the piano-based “The Way We Get By,” the band altered the rhythm, starting and stopping it early before diving into the shuffle midway through. The pounding rhythms of “Got Nuffin’” showed Spoon at its heaviest while also letting Daniel and Larios trade fuzzed-out guitar licks. The band brought a disco-funk flair to the bass-and-falsetto hit “I Turn My Camera On.” After working through a deep set of upbeat rock that contrasted melodic hooks with spacey jams, Spoon closed its set with the thumping rocker “The Rent I Pay,” a perfect example of the band’s knack for turning a simplistic riff into a hook-filled earwig.
Alternative rock doesn’t get much more bombastic than a Cage the Elephant performance. The Kentucky rockers tore through a fiery set full of radio hits. Singer Matt Shultz unleashed his unique blend of charisma, testosterone, and oddity. Shultz sprinted across the stage, flailed, danced, posed, and went through frequent costume changes all while singing. Beginning wearing a velvet robe and a veil, Shultz stripped off layers of clothing throughout the performance, sometimes to comedic effect. Throughout the set, the band treated the crowd to its cocktail of retro riffs, punk attitude, melodic sing-along choruses, and big, bruising beats.
Through pyrotechnics, Shultz’s spasmodic dance moves, and chunky rhythms, the band led the crowd through hit songs like “Trouble” and the acoustic ballad “Cigarette Daydreams.” Cage the Elephant is at its best when going with big dynamics: soft to loud, tempo shifts, discordant layers, and Shultz’s dramatic stage presence. “Cold Cold Cold” thrilled with its soft verses exploding into the big, powerful choruses, while “It’s Just Forever” wowed the crowd with its abrupt shifts from fast thumper to a slow, heavy drawl. After the performance, the rest of the band headed backstage while Shultz worked his way through the crowd, crowd surfing, shaking hands, and posing for photos with fans.
If Cage the Elephant is the most bombastic act in alternative music, Beck may be the most eclectic. With a full backing band, the artistic chameleon brought a party to Tampa, laying down a mix of dance pop, rock songs, and the odd musical hybrids for with he has become known. Beck took the stage by himself, playing a few licks on acoustic guitar before the band joined him onstage and the song transitioned into the name-making hit “Loser.” Beck played guitar on many songs while taking advantage of lack of axe on others to show off his own dance moves, rather subdued in comparison to Shultz. The pulsing thump of “Wow” and “Que Onda Guero” showed Beck’s hip-hop influences, with Beck singing in a staccato rap over danceable grooves. The guitar-based rock songs “Devil’s Haircut” and “E-Pro,” which closed out the regular set, showed Beck’s ear for infectious riffs, played heavier live than on the album cuts. The band’s performance of “Mixed Bizness” was gonzo funk at its best, with Beck alternating between baritone and falsetto while the band grooved through wah-pedal-heavy rhythms.
Beck interrupted the party a couple times to slow things down. First, he played a solo acoustic version of “Debra,” improvising goofy lyrics and working in a medley of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret.” Later, in a more serious performance, Beck played a solo acoustic version of the heart-wrenching ballad “Lost Cause.” Though Beck started in the folk scene and has a lot of great acoustic songs, he is at his best when splicing together disparate genre influences. “Saw Lightning” combined twangy slide guitar with a thumping bass while “Gamma Ray” showed Beck’s version of surf rock.
For the encore, Beck returned to the stage with an extended jam of the jazz-meets-rap hit “Where It’s At.” He then invited members of Spoon and Cage the Elephant onstage, with Britt Daniel singing lead vocals on a cover of Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” and Shultz and Beck sharing vocal duties for Cage the Elephant’s “Night Running,” a song the band had recorded with Beck. Members of Sunflower Bean then joined the stage and, the stage now full, Beck and company ended the night with a dance-floor romp reprise of “Where It’s At,” with the performers onstage seeming to have as fun as the paying customers.
