| I don't think I even stayed until the
end of this show. It got a little tedious because Costello wasn't saying a damn
thing to the audience, which is unusual (turns out his voice was down for the count pretty
much as this was the shortest show he'd given on this particular tour - typical of my
rotten RockRoll luck). Nonetheless, the old bastard impressed the hell out of me
once again. No honest thoughts in this piece however because it was another one of
those dumbshit "youshouldabeenherelastWednesdaynightyoudumbfuckingloser" reviews
in the local rag. Elvis is still alive...in the building Taking to the House of Blues stage looking smart in a dark suit and tie, and wearing a white cowboy hat and a smile as broad as his music catalog, Elvis Costello appeared triumphant. As well he should have considering the response; the appreciative and approaching middle-aged sell out audience embraced the elder pub/punk/auteur as they would a returning hometown hero. Elvis Costello is getting old. And by all considered measures that’s a damn good thing. Opening the show in a virtual Hell (a stage backlit blood red against red drapery) Costello waste no time at all reviving the ghost of his "angry young man" stance that defined his early career by tearing through white hot renditions of "I Hope You’re Happy Now" and "Uncomplicated" (both from his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate). Both songs sounded remarkable and it was a bit startling to find them easily retaining their relevance some twenty years later. But as "Uncomplicated" gave way to one of it’s more well known older siblings, the raucous "Radio, Radio", relevance became a bit of a problem. What was once a defiant middle finger shot at a radio industry that seemed less interested in delivering quality music than it did maintaining controls and generating maximum revenues now seemed to be a tired "standard"; an obligatory fan favorite from an artist who has moved well beyond that certain past (several other "classic" early Costello songs, while still great tunes, suffered the same fate). And by following "Radio, Radio" up with a trio of superb songs from his exceptional new record (last years The Delivery Man, his finest since the aforementioned Blood & Chocolate) this assertion seemed to be proven beyond a doubt. The weeping, woeful "Country Darkness", the spastic "Bedlam", and the deep, dark aggravated blues of "Needle Time", along with later Delivery Man additions "The Delivery Man", "Monkey to Man", and the sweet, closing "The Scarlet Tide" turned out to be the absolute highlights of the evening. These new cuts, along with spectacular performances of more obscure songs from a few of Costello’s lesser works ("Kinder Murder", "When I Was Cruel #2"), combined to once again confirm Costello as one of the finest tunesmith’s of this generation. |