Elvis Costello's Big Mistake
As a long-time fan of Elvis Costello, with countless vinyl, cassette and CD works of his, you might think I'd have enjoyed last night's concert at UEA, Norwich. And, true, he did play some jolly nice stuff, from across his back catalogue, including several of my very favourite tunes.
So why, then, did I emerge at the end, describing the songmeister as, "a smug, comfortable, self-satisfied c***"?
Liverpool Fans, look away now if you don't want to see the result.
We were promised a two-and-a-half hour set, with a five song encore. What we got was a one-and-three-quarter hour set, with no encore. Why? because he refused to start the concert until the Liverpool Match got to full time - well past 9.30 and approaching an hour after the stage had been readied for him.
When he finally took to the stage, without apologies, ('Let's be 'avin' yer!") he was roundly booed, and when a glassful of well-deserved beer was accurately thrown over him and one of his posh guitars, scattered applause and cheers were the result. EC just grinned, wiped off the frets and carried on - though if you could tear your eyes from his grinning mug you'd have caught the spectacle of Gestapo-like security guards with powerful torches, combing through the crowd for the miscreant.
Yes, most of the songs were played forcefully and with meaning - though some of the punchier songs were lacking in, er, 'punch' ('Pump It Up' being a case in point - this was the equivalent of a 50-year old dad huffing and puffing into a lilo). Yes, the sound and lighting were faultless - apart from a persistent background hum (it couldn't be the hum of the man himself, surely?). But a roomful of punters, at £25 each, really did deserve to be treated better than this. When the final result came through, a prolonged 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was inevitable. But, given what had gone before, it was just salt in the wound for many. A short gig, no encore, and an unrepentant, superior smile. This was Elvis Costello's Big Mistake.