Innovative, idiosyncratic, influential and eccentric are just some of the words used to describe the Beta Band over the course of their baffling seven-year career. Name checked by the likes of Radiohead and Coldplay, fawned over by critics and adored by their loyal fanbase, it remains a mystery just why they’ve never managed to sell that many records and consequently bow out owing their label EMI over £1 million.
From the off, their dazzling blend of psychedelic, folky hip-hop with prog-tinged tendencies defied categorization, marking them out as ambitious sonic crusaders. Their uniqueness may well have counted against them. A post-Britpop phenomenon they could never be neatly pigeonholed into a scene or a sound. Their own honesty/destructiveness also counted against them - describing their debut album as “f*cking awful” and “the worst record of the year” probably didn’t help. The title of their recent and last album "Heroes To Zeroes" now seems oddly prophetic, had they already decided on an exit strategy when they wrote it?
Strangely for a farewell gig, it just feels like any other gig in the Empire, but then it’s always taken the Beta Band a while to get going. This is compounded by the band’s presentation, scrapping the usual bizarre clothing techniques – crocodiles and astronauts – for a shirt and tie look stolen from a Telesales conference.
Kicking-off with the stoned ambivalence of "Squares", quickly followed by a rather staccato version of "Space", the omens are not good for us to say goodbye. But just as it looks like this two hour ‘greatest hits’ set is going to turn into a plodding disaster, lead Beta Steve Mason launches into a rare and affectionate speech about “the Bush being our spiritual home”. Suddenly, the vibe changes, "Assessment" kicks in with its chiming razor guitars, the crowd is lifted and the mood turns celebratory.
With the sprawling machine tightened-up we’re treated to a wonderfully climatic "Dry The Rain", an epic "She’s The One" and a ferocious "Out-Side" complete with barking dogs. A moment of heightened poignancy is reached on "Simple" as Mason spits out the lyrics “I tried to do my own thing/But the trouble with your own thing/Is you end up on your own.”
They close with what the Beta Band have always done best, the rhythmic instrumental from the "Three EPs", "B+A" climaxing with the four members pounding the death out of the two drumkits.
It’s a sad footnote that in a mainstream sense, the Beta’s will be most famously remembered as the band adored by John Cusack in the film ‘High Fidelity’. But for their devoted fans they’ve left an occasionally contrary, but adored legacy that will ensure their place in history.
