There was a time, circa Midnite Vultures, when every Beck song seemed to be aiming at Prince pastiche. That time was 1999, which is an appropriate time for such endeavors, all things considered. Yet Beck had never actually covered Prince’s “1999” until last week’s Montreal International Jazz Fest. Sean Lennon, whose band the Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger is opening for Beck on tour this summer, played cowbell. Watch fan-made video below; “1999” begins about halfway through, after “E-Pro.”

In other Beck news, Billboard reports that he “opened for himself” last weekend in Detroit after Lennon’s band had trouble crossing the border back from Canada. Beck and his began the night with a 10-song set derived mostly from Morning Phase and Sea Change, then came back for an upbeat 16-song performance described as a “de facto greatest hits set.”

[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images from Firefly Music Festival.]