Beck and his wacky cast of bandmates brought their inimitable brand of jamboree to the Fillmore in San Francisco last night, but the packed house could be forgiven if they didn't spend much time watching the LA beatsmith.

Instead, most eyes were trained on marionettes of his likeness and those of his bandmates playing on a tiny replica Fillmore stage right behind the band.

The band of puppets was crafted down to a level of detail that can only be described as painstaking, complete with a tiny video screen behind the mini-stage showing the same live footage of the puppets that was being shown on a screen behind the actual band.

It was a hilariously creative spectacle, with each puppet matching the wardrobe and mannerisms of their respective band member. Lucky for Beck, who described the sight as "Live in Puppetron," the crowd was chock-full of ardent, albeit slightly distracted, fans, and he delivered a fine set.

With a new, Nigel Godrich-produced album coming out in the fall, Beck stopped in the Bay Area on his way up the West Coast to play the Sasquatch Festival in Royal Gorge, Washington, this weekend. The set was dominated by tracks from 2005's Guero but includes plenty of old favorites.

The covers came off the puppet stage before the real band emerged, with the marionette band unveiled to Beck's breathrough 1993 hit "Loser."

Beck's sextet--a 10-piece if you count the puppeteers--appeared and jumped right into "Black Tambourine," one of the standout tracks on Guero that came with a verse of encouragement for the crowd: "And when the sun is down/We'll shake and rattle our bodies/To keep it warm at night/My tambourine is still shaking."

The crowd obliged, particularly on "Hot Wax," one of the better tracks of Beck's career. After a Mississippi delta blues-style intro, Beck's unique brand of anything-goes beat slop was on full display, with funky Rhodes organ riding an even funkier bass line as Beck rapped delirious verses like: "Sawdust songs of the plaid bartenders/Western Unions of the country westerns/Silver foxes looking for romance/In the chain smoke Kansas flashdance ass pants."

Then it was time for some dinner theater, with the band taking a respite during a brief Beck solo set, sitting around an actual dinner table and being served wine and salad on stage as Beck sang "One Foot in the Grave" and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."

But the jamboree vibe soon returned, with the band eschewing dinner for some utensil-driven percussion, turning "Clap Hands" into a foot-stomping, spoon-banging, table-tapping get-down.

The "Hot Wax" sequel of "Qué Onda Guero" and its surreal lyrics served as a lead-in to "Where It's At," with its the two-turntables-and-a-microphone junk hop closing out the set. The song featured a prop from the Radio Raheem era, as band members passed around a gigantic boombox.

But as punters made the customary, pre-encore scramble for their lighters and cell phones, the entertainment didn't cease. An hours-old video appeared on the screen of the puppets traipsing through San Francisco and hanging out at the Fillmore, ending with footage of the puppets climbing the stairs before appearing back on stage.

The band followed, accompanied by two people in giant bear costumes. It was unclear if they were stage hands or if the Flaming Lips stopped by to say hello in customary fashion.

The night concluded with "Go It Alone," a rocking track that served as a summation of sorts of Beck's music: fun, perfectly respectable, and consistently able to elicit a "that's a cool idea" reaction, but without a whole lot of resonance, emotional or otherwise.

But on this night, it didn't matter, because Beck had a secret weapon in his marionette twin.