Melbourne Concert Hall, Melbourne, Australia on 1999-01-29
Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve

Elvis Has Heart
- Daniel Deleo

          They say that the best concerts are the ones when both the
audience and performer connect in a special way, both feeding off the
energy of each other. So it was Friday night. When EC opened with
Accidents Will Happen, it was apparent that he was not in the best of
voice. After the third song Talking In The Dark, he told the crowd that
he had picked something up in Sydney and was a little hoarse but thought
his voice would warm up as the show progressed. Clearly this is what
happened in Sydney the night before. I was hopeful. However during the
fifth song, Tears At The Birthday Party, it was evident that his voice
was in really bad shape. Also obvious was the real discomfort he was in.
After this song he left the stage and I feared the worst, that the show
would be stopped. He returned after only a moment; I would say he went
and spoke to the sound engineer. He then launched into Chelsea and
things improved. After Toledo, he stuck to more manageable older songs.
            However this  professionalism and sheer strength of will to
complete the show moved me and the rest of the audience. The response
from the audience was rousing and funnily enough, I think, everyone
listened more intently, for the songs were running now on pure emotion.
There were no funny hand gestures, just EC giving all he had under
trying conditions. After God's Comic, he quipped that we were in better
voice than he was but that he wasn't beaten yet. He then added a little
joke you will not hear him say in the U.S (or anywhere else for that
matter ).
         After ending a relatively short first set, EC responded to the
enthusiastic audience reaction with four encores that lasted for the
same time as the main set. The third time he came back he said that
previously singing numbers from PFM was too risky but now he was in the
mood. With that he sang a heartbreaking version of This House Is Empty
Now, made so by the real pain in his voice. Actually during this show he
frequently sang away from the microphone; when he got to the middle
eight ("if I could just become...." ) he signalled for the mic to be
turned off and then let rip. He ended the show by saying how much he
appreciated the crowd staying with him and that he would be back and
next time he would bring his voice with him. Turning off the mics for
the last time and with Steve (music book in hand) ready to walk off, EC
signalled him back to the piano and sang, you guessed it, Couldn't Call
It Unexpected No. 4. At the end, even though I was some what
disappointed, I was impressed and moved by what I could only call a
heroic performance.