With a brief warm-up tour of the radio festival circuit now complete, Beck [ tickets ]'s camp has mapped out the artist's North American concert itinerary for early 2000. Beck will be supporting his fourth major-label CD, the funk-infused "Midnite Vultures" (Geffen), which was released last month.

The North American tour will open on Jan. 25 in Austin, Texas, and will hit 12 cities by Feb. 14. According to his official website, more North American concerts will take place after Beck completes a series of European concerts scheduled for March. Tickets go on sale Saturday (12/18) in most markets.

Though ''Midnite Vultures'' generally has been a hit with critics, it is currently No. 69 on the Billboard 200 album chart and hasn't risen higher than No. 34. ''Midnite Vultures'' was released only after Beck [ tickets ], Geffen Records, and Bong Load came to terms on a restructured contract.

In other Beck-related news, Emusic.com has signed an exclusive digital distribution agreement with Bong Load Custom Records, the Los Angeles-based label that released Beck's breakout single ''Loser'' and still releases Beck's albums on vinyl. Under the agreement, portions of the Bong Load catalog will be available for download, including a rare out-of-print track 1994 from Beck titled ''Steve Threw Up,'' via Emusic's website.