If you can, at any expense, don't miss it !!! (It will hardly get any better)
Elvis Costello and the Imposters are definitely one of the very best live acts around - if your venue is without seating, it's even better, because you will want to get up to dance and jump around! Sadly (exaggerating a bit here), the University of Arts isn't. It is perfect for ?Performing Songs from NORTH and other favourites? like last year and "The Juliet Letters" with the Brodsky Quartet in 1993, but now it's the Imposters and they are rocking red hot!!! Maybe, that's why the concert was "just" about 2 hours and Elvis wasn't very impressed by the audience's rather late response. (Couch potatoes - please, stay at home!) Well, at least he heard me shout for "Daddy Can I Turn This?" to which he answered, quite dryly: "No, you can't turn this 'cause daddy just broke his e-string".
Heralded by some wicked dub-toasting and booming bass [ed: Double Barrel by Edwin and Ansell Collins], Elvis and the Imposters enter the stage - as always in time - put you into the "Blue Chair" and invite you to "Tear off your own head" featuring our beloved ?Mad Professor? Steve Nieve, brewing up some special theremin-cocktail in his secret laboratory. This man is a genius, adding melody lines to his highly original playing that seem to come from out of nowhere, gentle like a stream and irresistible, pin-pointing yet disappearing before you remember which classic song or classical piece it's derived from. Elvis looks a bit strained, which is no surprise at all, considering the enormous tour schedule which does leave little traces, but doesn't seem to kill his sense of humor (he introduced "Kinder Murder" with a funny description of some of his very first gigs, and "these songs are from the album The Delivery Man which tells stories about a man called Abel, now here's one about his brother" introduced "Blame It On Cain") and his will and ability to go ?Beyond Belief?. Add to this the quantity and quality of his words and his almost unstoppable improving on his playing and singing. Changing guitars more often than others do change their clothes in one week, by the way.
Davey Faragher is beaming all over the place and obviously having a good time, he adds a new, loose touch and looks like a real nice bloke. I really loved Bruce Thomas and his way of playing the bass but Davey is different and all himself, adding to old faves without changing the overall feeling with his faultless, poignant yet sensible playing and nice backing vocals. Especially, when he steps in for the one and only Emmylou Harris on songs like "Nothing Clings Like Ivy" and "Scarlet Tide" he proves to be the right man. This evenings' performance of "Either Side Of The Same Town" featuring his backing vocals, too, nearly drove me to tears - he fits the Imposters like I never expected him to in the first place.
Pete Thomas was always very good and reliable, but now he's become one of the best drummers around, up there in ?Premier League? with Jim Keltner (surprise, surprise) and a few others. Perfect timing, hitting hard when needed, swinging like hell and almost inaudible when necessary, switching from one extreme to the other faster than you can say: ?Radio Radio? (which applies to all of the Imposters). "When I Was Cruel No. 2" was a real highlight though that's hard to tell thinking 'bout this evenings "Bedlam", "Button My Lip" and the always spine-tingling "I Want You".
"There's A Story In Your Voice" turns out to be an absolute "grower" with Elvis doing all the leads himself, and "Love, Peace And Understanding" always was and will be pure relief, confirming that it's not too late, still.
(Give a big hand and Hello to it's composer and one of my all-time favourite humans - NICK LOWE.)
They deliver the songs with a professionalism that' s never static but always tight, there's no routine in here, everything sounds fresh and even songs most of them might play for the 750th time like "Detectives" or "Chelsea" still awe you. Not very often featured songs like "All The Rage" and "Our Litle Angel" added up - as did Painted From Memory's "In The Darkest Place" (shivers...). "You Turned To Me" even improved in comparison to North's original. Just to let you know that I'm not trembling of every slightest sound and movement coming off the stage, I'd like to point out that one of my all-time favourites "Beyond Belief", as well as "Pump It Up", didn't live up to my expectations. "Hidden Charms" had Elvis almost giving in to the rather mediocre participating of most parts of the audience - definitely not me - although he finally had them on their feet (to sit down during "Nothing Clings Like Ivy" again, sic..).
This was my 17th Elvis Costello concert since the first one in Berlin in 1978 (that's 7x Berlin, 5x Hamburg, 4x London and Cologne in 2002 - my first with the Imposters), and it's getting better and better still!!! This man strikes my nerve like nobody else does, that's all. I wouldn't have minded him adding another two hours, although I feel stiffness in my legs and bottom and got a sore throat from Friday already.
PLEASE, COME BACK SOON - I JUST COULDN'T AFFORD HAMBURG THE NEXT NIGHT THIS TIME!