Review of concert from 2002-10-02: Phoenix, AZ, Dodge Theatre
- with Imposters
The Arizona Republic, 2002-10-03
- Michael Senft
Elvis Costello attracts diverse crowd
Chad Rachman/AP
Elvis Costello
Michael Senft
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 3, 2002 01:29 AM
The Elvis Costello show on Wednesday night at the Dodge Theatre attracted
a diverse, albeit small crowd. And you could easily tell who the crowd
had come to see. The younger members were screaming and dancing during
opening act Phantom Planets brief set, while the older audience
members arrived later and sang along with Costellos hits.
Phantom Planet started the evening off on a high note, with an energetic
30 minutes that showed why they are heralded among the new "saviors
of rock." Singer Jacques Brauther jumped into the audience during
their closing number, while the rest of the band gathered around drummer
Jason Schwartzman (yes, the actor from Rushmore), helping him out with
assorted cymbal crashes. After their set, members of the band came out
to meet fans at the front of the stage while the roadies packed up their
equipment. Many of Phantom Planets fans left shortly after the
set, not even giving Costello a chance. Oh well, their loss.
His waistline may have advanced and his hairline receded, but Costello
still rocks like the 20-something geek who first made waves in the late
70s. He also showed that the years spent making classical music
with the Brodsky Quartet and crooning with Burt Bacharach havent
dulled his edge.
Tracks from Costellos new album, "When I Was Cruel,"
held up well compared to the more familiar older material, and his new
band, The Imposters, captured the spirit and energy of his classic backup
band, The Attractions. Of course, two-thirds of the Attractions are
in the Imposters, so that wasnt surprising. Keyboardist Steve
Nieves playing was surprising, however. When he started with Costello
in 1977, his Farfisa organ was one of the key ingredients in Costellos
sound. Nieve has expanded his sonic palette considerably over the past
25 years, and he seemed an electronics wizard onstage Wednesday. Along
with the Farfisa he leapt from a Rhodes electric piano to a heavily
processed theramin and even pulled out a melodica for some tasty solos,
especially on the final encore, "Almost Blue."
Costello was in good spirits throughout his set, and after about 45
minutes, exhorted the sitting crowd to get on their feet and rush the
stage. From that point the energy could barely be contained. He quickly
wrapped up his set with blistering versions of his classics "Watching
the Detectives," "Radio Radio" and "Pump It Up,"
saying goodnight after a brief 70 minute set.
But what the main set lacked in length was more than made up for by
the encores.
Returning with an acoustic guitar, he led the band through a set of
quieter tunes, including the standard "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
and his own somber anti-war tune "Shipbuilding," which climaxed
with a gorgeous solo from Nieve.
Saying his goodbyes the band left again, only to return for a second
encore. After a gorgeous version of "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror"
from 1989s Spike Costello and the Imposters delivered a riveting
version of the Arabic-influenced title track from "When I Was Cruel."
Of course Costello didnt forget his breakout hit, "Alison."
It came about 40 minutes into the encores after his third curtain call
and morphed into a tune by the "other" Elvis, "Suspicious
Minds."
All told, Costello returned for four curtain calls, and stretched the
show to almost 2-1/2 hours. Although he skipped several classic tracks
like "Everyday I Write the Book" and "Veronica,"
he still served up almost 30 tunes, showing why Costello is one of the
most revered songwriters since Lennon and McCartney.
Copyright 2002, azcentral.com. All rights reserved.