Beck with Philharmonia Australia - Live In Melbourne
Words and Photos by Scott Gelston
“When I say I’m doing a tour like this, my friends say, ‘Oh I like sad Beck’”
May 12th 2026
Settling into my seat at the Palais Theatre before the show and we’re already breathing rarefied air: 90’s JJJ icon Dave Graney is sitting opposite us, the ever-optimistic Ben Lee is in the house, and three rows ahead Neil Finn is enjoying a night off between SPLIT ENZ reunion gigs. The lights dip and Philharmonia Australia roll through a short interlude before the booming open E chord of Beck’s Martin guitar rings in The Golden Age, Beck wandering onstage mid-riff to much applause.
“Put your hands on the wheel
Let the golden age begin”
The night is heavy on cuts from his classic, and heavily orchestrated, albums Sea Change and Morning Phase, but we soon veer off towards some carefully selected covers, beginning with THE KORGIS’ excellent Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime. The Philharmonia shine on Sea Change’s emotionally charged Lonesome Tears; the ensemble building the outro, bar-by-bar, into a rich and haunting crescendo, Beck watching as the conductor pushes the musicians to the song's climax. “It’s taken me 30 years to learn to play these songs. It took these guys 3 hours today,” Beck jokes as he returns to the mic.
Tonight the highlights are numerous; Blue Moon, Ramona, Where It’s At, the band and orchestral players seamlessly delivering the backing needed for Beck’s unmistakable vocals to float almost effortlessly above the mix. At 55, Beck cuts a wonderfully fashionable figure onstage, his open button shirt, tailored suit and flop of hair adding to the spectacle of his dancing during the loved up numbers.
The Philharmonia wrap up their performance ahead of the band-only encore, which kicks off with a rocking 1-2 punch of Devils Haircut and Mixed Bizness, before the audience request of Alt-Soul tune Debra saw Beck slink, slide and sexy-strut his way around the stage. The show ends on the classic I’ve never fully appreciated until tonight; Loser. Damn, this song rips live! Beck throwing verses while the band keeps the track pulsating along.
As this core band and Beck himself depart the stage you could feel something building; quickly fans start to fill the aisles, pushing forward and congregating in front of the stage before Beck reappears, Martin in hand, and asks for all the lights except for the spotlight to go down. The night finishes with the man, his acoustic guitar, and his voice, playing one last cover; Daniel Johnston’s beautiful True Love Will Find You In The End. Love for the songs, love for the performance, love for Beck. It might not have been the romantic kind, but tonight true love found us all in the end.
