Review of concert from 2002-07-25: Caserta, Italy, Belevedere San Leucio - with Imposters
Corriere Del Mezzogiorno, 2002-07-27
- Aldo Caggiano (translation by J. Pennington)

 

Stirring Concert at the Belvedere

Costello: Outstanding at St. Leucio

There wasn't a huge crowd at the Belvedere St. Leucio -- maybe because of the modest publicity given to the event -- to applaud the "rediscovered" British rocker Elvis Costello, one of the most appealing entries in this year's Leuciana Festival. That's a real shame, because the fortunate few were part of a thrilling concert. Costello was in top form, confirming his status as one of the "magnificents" of pop-rock, even though in the last few years (with the exception of the excellent new album "When I Was Cruel") he has devoted himself to very different kinds of music.

The evening unfolded under a constant threat of rain, which forced the opening act -- the violinist Lino Cannavaciuolo -- to begin his excellent performance later than scheduled. Costello himself had to interrupt his show at one point to prevent the members of his band, The Imposters, from being subject to possible electric shock in the wet conditions. (This despite the fact that the organizers of the event had assured that the band would be protected in the event of bad weather).

In his two-hour concert, Declan McManus (the real name of the British artist) established an emotional and musical connection between his earliest and most recent albums. The songs of "When I Was Cruel" alternated with those of his debut album "My Aim Is True" -- "Watching The Detectives," "Mystery Dance," and of course "Alison" (in a touching acoustic version). The live performance of the title work from his latest album, built around a fragment of the 1965 Mina song "Un Bacio Non E Troppo," was particularly effective.

Appearing a bit distant at the outset, Costello didn't hold back once the hazard of the rain had passed. He urged on the audience, inviting them to get on their feet and let themselves go to songs such as "Man Out Of Time" and "Temptation." Between an homage to Il Bel Paese (i.e. Italy) -- Costello sang a refrain of "All This Useless Beauty" in Italian -- and classic ballads such as "Almost Blue" and "God Give Me Strength" (a song written with Burt Bachrach that closed the show), Costello swept away any doubt about his continued ability to thrill in the language of rock and roll.

Aldo Caggiano
(translation by J. Pennington)