by Seth Rogovoy

In anticipation of seeing Beck perform at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass, on Tuesday, June 24, I’ve checked out a few recent reviews of his performances to try to get some idea of what to expect. I like to be as familiar as I can with the songs I’m going to hear ahead of time, if it’s at all possible.

According this Daily Beast report, it seems we can look forward to a heavy dose of songs from his most recent album, “Morning Phase” – which thrills me to no end, as I think it’s his all-time best – as well as the album “Sea Change,” to which it is related as a kind of sibling or close cousin, musically and thematically. And then the concert sounds like it’s going to conclude with the old-school hip-hop/folk/funk Beck who first grabbed our attention way back when.

Here’s a setlist from a recent show in Ohio. Note that it includes all-time hits “Loser,” “Black Tambourine,” and “Where It’s At”, as well as a Donna Summer medley and plenty of songs from “Morning Phase.”

A review of a recent show in Texas points to Beck bringing back his funky dance moves – that’s a bit of welcome news, as he has reportedly undergone painful back surgery in recent years – and instead of the Donna Summer medley, he performed a rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”

Here’s another setlist from an LA show where he did both the Donna Summer medley and the Michael Jackson tune, as well as the extensive exploration of the “Morning Phase”/”Sea Change” catalog plus the “hits.”

Oddly, none of these reviews goes into any great detail about the makeup of Beck’s band, other than to note that he is playing with backup, and not solo. Presumably he’s accompanied by longtime drummer Joey Waronker, and perhaps other stalwarts of his backing group like guitarist Smokey Hormel.

Sean Lennon, who has been warming up audiences for Beck with his new group, The GOASTT (The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger) — a five-piece, psych-rock band fronted by Sean Lennon and girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhland — will do so at MASS MoCA. Lennon recently noted on his own Facebook page that Beck invited him back out onstage to join him for “Where It’s At,” perhaps best known for its catchphrases “Bottles and cans, clap your hands” and “Two turntables and a microphone.”

And if you’re wondering about the connection between Beck and Sean Lennon, the two share mothers who are artists – Bibbe Hansen (Beck’s mother) was a star of the Warhol Factory, and Yoko Ono, of course, is Yoko Ono, and a key force in the avant-garde Fluxus movement. Beck spent time in Europe with his maternal grandfather, Al Hansen, who was a visual collage artist and a Fluxus pioneer – presumably Al Hansen and Yoko Ono worked together, or at least were colleagues. The artistic connection continues.