Beck has always been a bit of a ramblin' man, and nothing's changed on his new album, Guero, which is loaded with shout-outs to various modes of transportation, including: a "vegetable van" with a horn that sounds like a mariachi band, a freight train, a lifeboat "floating down a river of sleep," space ships, rental cars and "two white horses in a line" (which are taking him to his grave).

The point is, Beck loves to hit the road, which is probably why he's scheduled a string of West Coast dates for next month. And while his tour transportation is still being ironed out, he'd be wise to go with the tricked-out vegetable van. That'd be awesome.

The tour kicks off July 11 in Santa Cruz, California, and hits cities like Seattle; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Santa Barbara, California, before coming to an end with a two-night stand at the Gibson Amphitheatre near Los Angeles on July 22 and 23. Dance-punkers Le Tigre and super-fey popsters the Decemberists will open select dates.

There are only a handful of shows scheduled, because Beck is slated to play Japan's Fuji Rock Festival on July 30, but his spokesperson confirmed that a full slate of North American dates is set for September. So far, only three of those dates — September 24 in Columbus, Ohio; September 26 in Toronto; and October 1 in Hershey, Pennsylvania — have been announced, and those are all opening slots on the Rolling Stones world tour (see "Rolling Stones Announce World Tour, Unveil New Song").

In the meantime, Beck is in the midst of a European tour, and he recently wrapped production on the Mad-magazine-inspired video for "Girl," the second single off Guero (see "Beck Takes A Page Out Of Mad Magazine For 'Girl' Video"), which will hit airwaves shortly. He also plans on shooting two more videos, "Missing" and "Hell Yes," in the month of August.

Beck tour dates, according to his management:

  • 7/11 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
  • 7/12 - San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic Center
  • 7/14 - Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
  • 7/15 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
  • 7/16 - Portland, OR @ Memorial Coliseum
  • 7/18 - San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
  • 7/19 - Santa Barbara, CA @ County Bowl
  • 7/21 - Costa Mesa, CA @ Pacific Amphitheatre
  • 7/22 - Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
  • 7/23 - Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre