Review of concert from 2002-09-02: Dublin, National Stadium
- with Imposters
Hot Press, 2002-09-05
- Troy Barrott
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The best hit-man in the business |
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BELOVED ENTERTAINER TRIUMPHS
ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS
NATIONAL STADIUM, DUBLIN
So, hot on the heels of a brilliant album Elvis Costello returned to
the town he lovingly refers to as his "home" to play a sold
out show in this cold boxing stadium. Witness to many bloody battles
in the past, tonight seemed like it was headed the same way as Costello
initially struggled for his sound. Even an early, spirited 'Watching
The Detectives' and a prompted audience sing-along, didn't help proceedings,
but instead of going down for the count, Costello chose to regroup backstage
and "take a five-minute break to sort out some sound problems".
Good thing he did as well, because upon returning to effectively start
the show again, Costello treated the audience to a focused, oft genius,
2 1/2 hour marathon set. Now, Costello's band were in flying form cleverly
mixing a dance-hall mood with just a dash of alt-country, without ever
distracting from the main man and his wonderful tunes.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the performance sometimes smacked of a sinister
underbelly, with Elvis, sweat-drenched and hunched over a sampler, conducting
weird and wonderful layers of electronic noise to strum over. This approach
gave wings to tracks such as 'Spooky Girlfriend' and 'When l Was Cruel'
(which sounded as vital as any of his older tunes) and provided a dense,
blue atmosphere for the beautiful and timely 'Shipbuilding'.
And so to the encore, and boy, what an encore! Costello returned to
the stage three times, the entire stadium rushing the stage to get down
to some Costello classics. 'Radio, Radio', 'Oliver's Army', the Dylan-esque
'Episodes Of Blonde', the evergreen 'Alison' ensured Elvis (and audience)
left the building in great spirits - and as cliched as it sounds, proved
that the man's aim is still true.
TROY BARROTT