Review of concert from 2002-09-24: Portland, OR, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall - with Imposters
- Arya Imig

 

Elvis Costello: Miracle Man

Elvis Costello & The Imposters
September 24, 2002
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Elvis Costello is without a doubt one of the finest artists working in music. A biting wit in his lyrics, an emotive voice, a limitless arsenal of melodies and hooks, and a willingness to experiment with all kinds of music rivaling only The Beatles ensure Costello’s place in the hearts and minds of the intelligent music fan. It also doesn’t hurt that he is an excellent performer. He has an ability to command an audience and have them follow his every move that is evident of his having grown up paying close attention to his big band conducting father, and he is one of the last great performers of the generation that grew up listening to The Beatles while they were active.

With an excellent backing band which included longtime collaborators keyboard wizard Steve Nieve, and one of the best drummers to come out of the eighties, Pete Thomas along with ex-Cracker bassist Davey Faragher replacing Bruce Thomas as well as providing some lovely harmony vocals, Costello was in fine form on a late September night in Portland.

Opening with “Miracle Man” from his caustic 25(!) year old debut album My Aim Is True, Costello set several tones for the night: He would play his old songs, he would attack his guitar with his little hands of concrete, and he would rock. Costello hit at his guitar all night with an intensity that reminded us all of his roots as a member of the punk, post punk, new wave movement he came out of. For a 25-year-old song, it sounded as fresh and exciting as could be, and that proves that Costello just might be a Miracle Man.

An excellent “Accidents Will Happen”, the album opener from Armed Forces, followed it. Costello’s modesty in the opening line “I just don’t know where to begin” was too much to bear. The one two punch of the first songs were indications that he does indeed know where to begin.

Costello caught his breath and greeted the audience, joking that it seemed like only yesterday that he’d been in Portland (Costello performed at the Roseland in May). He may also have been implying that it seems like only yesterday that he started his career- he still has the fire to stick around another twenty years or more. “We’ve been around the world since last we saw you, and we’ve learned a few new songs”, he said before playing the twenty year old “Human Hands” from his ‘82 masterpiece Imperial Bedroom. He changed part of the refrain but retained one of the more universally empathic lines in all music: “All I ever want is just to fall into your human hands” before then heading into the single from his underappreciated ‘94 album Brutal Youth, “Sulky Girl”. Coming out at the height of the so called “alternative rock” movement Brutal Youth and was a reminder of the debt younger artists owe Costello, but went unnoticed by all but the most loyal fan.

“Spooky Girlfriend” was the first song played off of his fantastic new album When I Was Cruel. The album reads like a report of all the music Costello has been into since last we heard from him: Jazz collaborations with the Charles Mingus band, pop songwriting with Burt Bacarach, and an album with the opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter, as well retaining the sensibilities he inherited from The Beatles.

“Sulky Girl” and “Spooky Girlfriend” are good examples of one of Costello’s most overlying themes: the opposite sex, and indeed, relationships in general. What are we seeking in another human being? What are they thinking? How do I get what I want out of them? What do I want? Though Dylan probably said it best: “So easy to look at, so hard to define,” (Sara, Desire, 1976) Costello is a suitable heir to the throne for master of writing sophisticated, personal - sometimes almost anti - love songs.

But he also likes to have fun. “Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s A Doll Revolution)” from When I was Cruel followed, and rocked very nicely, with a not so subtle Beatles allusion.

The rocker was followed by another cut off of Brutal Youth: “Rocking Horse Road” which was very cool to hear as I have always liked Brutal Youth and consider it to be a very overlooked album.

“45”, another song from When I Was Cruel was next, and was a solid danceable number whose momentum was cut short by what I feel was the only misstep of the night, “Radio Silence” the closer off When I Was Cruel. Sure, it’s a good song, but you can’t play the last song of an album in the middle of a concert. Costello’s mastery of performing made other slow songs excellent, but for whatever reason “Radio Silence” flopped, and the audience was growing sleepy. So, what better way to kick it up a notch then by unleashing a couple of numbers off the 1980 soul music homage Get Happy!! ? The Sam & Dave cover “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down” was introduced by Costello singing the opening verse on only guitar before being rejoined by the band for the rest of the absolutely electric song, and the fantastic barnstorming, “High Fidelity”. The Imperial Bedroom centerpiece “Man Out Of Time” followed, and was performed excellently. The country twang of “Indoor Fireworks” from the awesome ‘86 album King Of America followed, and was received warmly before a great rendition of “Still Too Soon To Know” the third track played from Brutal Youth.

“Tart”, a great song from When I Was Cruel was next, and is a good example of Costello’s wonderfully varied vocal phrasing.

Costello’s personal politic songs have always been fantastic, but he may well be underrated for his ability to write good social commentary songs. The absolutely magnificent “Shipbuilding” is one of the most moving, and subtle anti-war songs since “Blowin’ In The Wind”. Written during England’s invasion of the Falkland Islands, it’s sad that Costello will maybe always be able to pull this song out in times of war. “Diving for dear life, when we could be diving for pearls” indeed.

“Brilliant Mistake” the opening cut off of King of America, followed and was another nice treat for a loyal Costello fan.

“Alibi” from When I Was Cruel was next. An absolute tour de force Costello song, he’s written his “Idiot Wind” here, it’s as funky as “Watching The Detectives” as bitter as “I Want You” and as catchy as anything he’s ever written. And then the opening cut from Imperial Bedroom, “Beyond Belief” which was unrecognizable to me at first before I recognized it and became very excited that he would play it.

“The Other Side Of Summer” which is maybe the only redeeming quality of the schizoid ‘91 album Mighty Like A Rose, was a good rockin’ tune before heading into Radio Radio which is definitely one of the finest songs in Costello’s canon. But, what’s this? Costello and band leave the stage and we have to stomp and stomp the Schnitz seemingly forever until they return for three fantastic encores.

Consenting to our desire to see them again, they come back and Costello introduces “My Mood Swings” by encouraging us to steal the DVD of The Big Lebowski to which he contributed the song. Dust 2... from When I Was Cruel was next and was an absolutely stellar performance; this was a song where Costello had the audience hanging on his every breath. There was complete silence in the room in the closing seconds before he shut off the beat box, and applaud erupted. It can’t be said enough that Costello performs at a very high level. The title track from When I Was Cruel, “When I Was Cruel No. 2” followed. And then they left again! Cheeky monkeys.

Only to return with the wonderful “Almost Blue” from Imperial Bedroom. Like Dylan’s “Most Of The Time” and Hoagy Carmichael’s “I Get Along Without You Very Well”, it’s a song which recalls a failed relationship with a mixture of fatalism, sentimentalism, reassuring the listener that the singer is doing fine without their ex flame- sort of. When I Was Cruel’s “15 Petals” followed, a celebration of his marriage to Cait O’Riordan, one of his finest devotional songs to date. His voice straining to emulate the vocal gymnastics of eastern singers. The fantastic “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea” followed bringing the house to its feet, only to tease us once again by leaving the stage. The verses of “Episode Of Blonde” from When I Was Cruel are almost like Costello reciting beat poetry over fantastic piano lines and an energetic bass line with kinky little percussion. The lyrics slurred together, and Costello spat them out with venom, before playing Pump It Up which was sadly interrupted by band introductions in which he referred to Steve Nieve as “The Professor”. Nieve was a delight to watch as he hammered, stroked, punched his armory of keys- including a theremin. Pete Thomas has always been one of my favorite drummers on record, and he might just rival Wilco’s Glenn Kotchee and U2’s Larry Mullen Jr. in terms of the best drummers I’ve seen live.

The lights for the last song were positioned in such a way as to make Costello looks like a cat. “I Want You” from ‘86’s Blood & Chocolate is a menacing, confessional, funky anti-love song. But it isn’t enough to simply call it a song. I could use the phrase ‘ tour de force’ again, but I’m running out of synonyms for the fantastic songs in Costello’s catalog. It was a wonderful way to end the show; it is a consummate description of obsession, jealousy, lust, and desire. The overpowering fears that desire sometimes fills us with. The performance had the house on the edge of its seat. It was even interspersed with “Say A Little Prayer”, proof that you can take Costello out of the Bacharach sessions, but you can't take the Bacharach sessions out of Costello.

The sound was fantastic most of the night, except for the far too loud and far too mundane opening act Phantom Planet. “Phantom Talent!” I declared. There were also at least two instances of something having gone wrong with Nieve’s keys as he frantically called for assistance. Costello broke a string in the middle of a song, but -ever the professional entertainer- he continued to sing whilst being handed another guitar by a tech.

25 years in music, a collection of fantastic albums, killer songs, a great instinct for performing. Elvis Costello is worth the price of admission any day, and if future albums are anything like When I Was Cruel, he will be for years to come. Elvis Costello: Miracle Man.