Review of concert at 1999-10-28: Atlanta, GA, Tabernacle
Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve
- Steve McGowan [zub@bellsouth.net]

 

Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve at The Tabernacle, Atlanta GA 10-28-99

The Not-So-Lonely World

Eight fifteen p.m. on a Thursday night. The room goes black, with just a hint of vertical red backlight on the stage. A strange shadow quickly moves onstage, immediately followed by slashing electric guitar. That voice starts to spit out a brand new song, "Alibi Factory", with the catch line ‘I love you as much as I hate your guts’. Occasionally I catch a faintest glimmer of red light coming through his glasses, a strangely devilish image. The Lonely World tour (second leg) is underway.

Can you imagine any other artist with the confidence and nerve to start a set with a brand new song? I had had the pleasure of seeing Costello and Nieve earlier in the year, in June at Wolf Trap in front of 6,000 reverent fans, but tonight’s show would be very different in many ways. Still a Springsteen-like two hours and forty-five minute show, thirty-nine songs, five encores, with twelve different songs from the June show, and five(!) new songs.

The lights come on, Maestro Nieve pops in, and the early part of the set includes the manic piano rework of "Talking In The Dark", and the soulful one-two punch of "Little Triggers" and "Motel Matches". "What’s Her Name Today" is a killer, the emotional depth of the Costello/Bacharach songs just seems deeper and deeper with every performance. Elvis surprises me with "Shabby Doll" and then a very Doc Pomus-like new song called "Suspect My Tears" is offered. This is the only new song I can’t get my head around; I know I’ll need a few more listens.

The crowd at The Tabernacle, a full 2,500, are younger and more boisterous than at Wolf Trap. They hoot and holler through the quiet passages, and in response Costello keeps the onstage banter quiet. He and Nieve kick through song after song. The venue is an old church with double balconies (used to be a House of Blues) and we are able to get pretty close down front. The sound is fairly good, but much of Nieve’s piano work is missed.

The new "45" is a real highlight, showing that great wordplay that E.C. is famous for, and "I Dreamed Of My Old Love Last Night" was nothing short of stunning, with an amazing ascending chorus. If nothing else, Costello has another great future release ahead of him. The main set ends with "Alison" and the whole crowd singing every word, and a surprising "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror".

The first encore, "Clubland", is played with a beatbox. It’s an amazing treatment that literally gave me the shivers. Encore two includes "Inch By Inch" (I still think ‘Goodbye Cruel World’ is a very under-rated record) and the "Watching The Detectives" rave-up. Whistling and screaming during the encores, this crowd is as loud as any rock show I’ve been to. I don’t know how he does it night after night, but his voice is just unbelieveable. Clarity, precision, power and depth, it is all there. He is ‘The Voice’ of our generation. Nieve’s playing is always astonishing, and I noticed he used a lot more sythesizer and bass keyboard sounds on this show.

By the fourth encore, things get a little tense. "I’ll Never Fall In Love Again" is a crowd sing-along, and then an emotional version of ‘Veronica’ that I’ve never heard him sing better, enunciating every word. During the twisted darkness of ‘I Want You’ the many drunks in crowd start to yell during the many quiet parts. Elvis appears to slow the song down just a bit more. More boorish yelling. Then I’m sure he does the ending, with the line "I’m gonna say it again until I instill it", a second time. Then a long turnaround. Then he does the ending a third time. This is definitely the longest version of "I Want You" I’ve ever heard. He gets everyone to be quiet at the end, then storms offstage. I’m really thinking he won’t be back.

But there he is for a fifth encore, playing a bizarro Pink Floyd version of "Green Shirt" with a Velvet Underground white noise ending. Then he and Nieve rip through the hits, "Red Shoes", "Radio Radio", an amazing "Beyond Belief", "Accidents Will Happen". He knocks us out with "God Give Me Strength", and "Pump It Up". "Couldn’t Call It Unexpected No. 4" was done as the closer with no microphone, and again Mr. MacManus gave us a transcendent moment, working the crowd like the professional he is, easily swaying the sea of amazed faces into singing along on the coda. And then they were gone, off into a not-so-lonely world.

Stephen McGowan