By Joyce AwramikReview of concert at 1999-05-30 - San Diego, CA, Copley Symphony Hall
Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve
- Joyce Awramik [awramik@hotmail.com]
WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN
The last time I saw Elvis Costello in San Diego was at the GODAWFUL Sports Arena in the mid-eighties. The acoustics there are terrible. It took me a half an hour there to realize the loud squalling noises I heard were actually the band and the singers trying to perform. Elvis was into his grand stab at commercial popularity at the time. It was "The Only Flame in Town" tour, and he did have dancing girls. And a female chorus. And a horn section. And it was lousy.
The first time I ever saw Elvis Costello was in 1980 at the armory at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was touring with the Attractions. The armory holds about 5000 people, has no reserved seating, (actually hardly has any seating.) There are bleachers on the side walls and the gym floor can hold about 3000 people dancing. It was hot, it was dark and smoky and they were selling beer! Riotous noise and sweat.. Glorious.
Sunday night was Quite the Contrast: all those starchy shirt fronts at the oh so elegant Symphony Hall, the folks seemed to be absolutely PETRIfIED at having a "rock concert" there. Although, as I'm sure you noticed, the fans have aged along with Elvis and are much less energetic these days. Well behaved, even. But he was in fabulous voice! Such a treat. Our little Elvis has become quite the "artiste" these days.
Concert was good, glad I went. Venue was stiff stiff stiff though, musty old Symphony Hall (though the acoustics were fine). Odd ambience, talky girl behind me who kept wanting to sing along (don't you just HATE that?) I went by myself, and noticed many other singletons sitting alone before the show. I said to the man in the row behind me, "I see your significant other isn't an Elvis fan either." There was a family group next to me reeking of onions(!) from dinner, or Memorial Day BBQ.
But Elvis was in fine voice. He did his best work on the new stuff from the Bachrach album. And luckily for me, I'd gotten to where I pretty much like the album now. And blessedly, with only Steve Nieve as accompaniest we were spared most of the Bachrach flourishes (thank god no french horns or trumpets!). Indoor fireworks was also particularly well done.
He didn't play everything on the Vancouver play list, I learned when I got home. He didn't do Almost Blue or Funny Valentine or Useless Beauty or Shipbuilding: all of which I would have liked to have heard, but since I didn't know I was missing them, I didn't miss them at the time. He did add Poor Fractured Atlas (very well done except the woman behind me kept singing along on the chorus).
He finished with a rousing Pump it Up as opposed to the a capella version of Wouldn't call it unexpected 4. I think his voice was starting to go by then. Leaving God Give Me Strength to the next to the last song is pretty gutsy, and I could see he was having a bit of difficulty with the vocal acrobatics. The web site review of the concert a few nights before this one said he had been suffering from a cold or sore throat and could barely croak out the lyrics there.
Oh! And as an unexpected bonus I heard him sing a couple of lyrics that were "mystery mumbles" before.
From "Watching the Detectives" Nice girls, not one with a defect... (Formerly sung by me as "nice girl, that one with a defect)
From "Chelsea" One's named Gus, one's named Alfie, .... Formerly sung "one's without, one's with out-fie" Doesn't make sense but that's what the record sounded like to me.
Amazing what you can hear when he e-nun-ci-ates the lyrics...in his early days (he has confessed) he deliberately tried to make them more obscure to confuse his audience.
Well anyway, I still love Elvis. No wavering in my conviction of his genius. Enjoying the smaller concert venues. That five CD set from the Useless Beauty tour is very similar to the concert I just came home from (minus the smell of the onions, I am not kidding, they were rank!) I suspect there may be a concert album out of this tour too.