Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve
Capitol Theatre, Sydney; January 28, 1999
Reviewed by Duncan Kimball
dunks58@hotmail.com
"I come not to bury Caesar ..."
I'm not superstitious - but I'm convinced now that 28 is my lucky number. In the 20-odd years I have attended concerts, the solo and duo performances have been among the most impressive and memorable. Elvis Costello's Thursday 28th show was just such an event. Ending eight years of anxious waiting by Australian fans, The Man made a triumpant return to Sydney with two rapturously-received concerts at the Capitol Theatre, scene of his controversial first Sydney concert, and now beautifully restored to its former glory. (Was it really twenty years ago?).
The 1999 tour is in 'recital' mode, as were the performances on his hard-to-find (and harder-to-afford) live Costello & Nieve 5CD set, but his choice of material on this tour differs markedly. Elvis sings, plays (mainly) acoustic and (some) electric guitar. He performs several songs on guitar only but is mostly accompanied on piano and synthesiser by longtime collaborator Steve Nieve - although "accompanied" doesn't really begin to describe the brilliance of Nieve's playing. Elvis and Steve proved conclusively that less is more, and that a great song will often sound greater when played as simply as possible. In spite of incipient throat problems (which have forced his Adelaide show to be re-scheduled) Costello delivered a thrilling vocal performance. My straw-poll of people who have seen the shows and/or heard the new album is unanimous - Elvis has never sung better.
The set-list clearly delighted the hugely receptive audience, combining old favourites with some genuine suprises, plus enthusiastically-received selections from his new masterpiece Painted From Memory. Walking on to a thunderous ovation, Costello and Nieve reprised the opening of the 1991 Australian tour, kicking off with Accidents Will Happen. Over the next two enthralling hours, peppered with digressions and humourous asides, Elvis offered some intruiging glimpses into his past, seen through the lens of this spare and elegant recital format.
One immediate advantage is increased clarity for Elvis' lyrics and only makes it more obvious what a peerless wordsmith he is. But the pared-down instrumentation also reveals what a great melodic sense he possesses. With such an embarrassment of riches to choose from, paring the choices down to even a two-hour set has to be tough going. Some of the audience were obviously disappointed by not hearing longed-for favourites - Pump It Up was called for on several occasions - but Elvis' choices for any tour are always interesting insights into his feelings about his old material. This tour, the set was surpisingly heavy on material from the earliest part of his career.
The bulk of the oldies were from the 'classic' 1977-79 era - Alison and Red Shoes from My Aim Is True (with members of the audience adding spot-on backing vocals on Red Shoes); Chelsea and Watching the Detectives (complete with a bit of the Callan theme) from This Year's Model ; Accidents Will Happen and Oliver's Army from Armed Forces, and some surprise single tracks: Peace Love and Understanding, Talking In the Dark and Radio Sweetheart.
The selections thinned out through the '80s - only New Amsterdam from Get Happy, and the title track from Almost Blue; nothing at all from, Trust, Imperial Bedroom or Goodbye Cruel World, the solitary inclusion from that period being Shipbuilding from Punch The Clock. Into the Warner years, there were two tracks from King of America and one each from Spike, Mighty Like A Rose and All this Useless Beauty, but nothing from Brutal Youth or The Juliet Letters.
Elvis also used the occasion to pay tribute to a couple of his influences - after a few verses of New Amsterdam, he headed off into a full version on the Beatles' You've Got To Hide Your Love Away, and later doffed his hat to the Kinks with a snippet of their classic 1966 single Dead End Street, during Talking In The Dark.
While Nieve seemed totally absorbed in his playing and reticent about all the applause, Elvis' responded to the enthusiam of the audience with his usual charm and good humour, seemed relaxed and happy and was obviously enjoying himself throughout the show. During God's Comic, he hilariously digressed into a story about how the song had come to him in a dream, mused over what the Other Elvis might be doing if he were alive today (including a quick, side-splitting impression of The King singing Heart Of Glass), and related how he was quizzed by God on his opinion of the relative coolness of Presley and Sinatra - Elvis' response being that "Frank might have eaten clams once in a while, but he sure as hell never sang about them."
The songs from the new album were spread across the show - my only complaint being that there were too few! He led off with Toledo (solitary highlight of the recent and truly awful American Music Awards telecast), followed by the poignant title track, This House Is Empty Now, and (my personal highlight and the one song I was really hoping he would play) What's Her Name Today? It's the climax of the new album, and, in my opinion, one of the best songs Elvis has ever written. Delivered under a sinister wash of red light, EC gave a truly spine-tingling rendition. I have no shame in admitting I was close to tears. Steve's dramatic piano work beautifully evoked the dark mood of the song, and the coda was great, trailing off into an eerie chromatic exploration, reminiscent of Mike Garson's famous closing phrases on Bowie's Aladdin Sane. The final selection from the new album was scarcely less exciting, a truly uplifting rendition of the anthemic God Give Me Strength.
Above all, the new songs showcase just how well EC can sing, and his vocal prowess certainly gives the lie to the unwarranted bollocking his voice received in the catty SMH [ed: Sydney Morning Herald newspaper] review of his 1991 show. The new material allows him to really extend into his upper register, where his voice is stronger than ever, and he uses his impeccable dynamic control and melodramatic vibrato to create powerful emotional effects. (On hearing the new album, Cilla Black's charged performance of Alfie immediately sprang to mind).
Special mention must be made here of "Mr Professor" Steve Nieve. His organ and piano have been crucial to the shape and sound of Elvis' music over the years, and a highlight of every Attractions record. But as Elvis has pointed out, the full value of his playing has been sometimes obscured by the rock-band format. In a recital context, Steve's extraordinary musicianship is on display for all to hear, and proves once and for all what a formidable player he is. He provides - as any great accompanist should - a background which is neither intrusive nor unremarkable, and speaks with its own voice. He beautifully illustrates the emotional lansdscapes of Elvis' songs. His playing, especially on the new material, seems strongly influenced by Romantic composers like Rachmaninov. It can be sweeping, dramatic, lyrical and grand, yet he is equally capable of being tender and moving, playful or funny, as shown by his cute inclusion of Waltzing Matilda during Baby Plays Around.
Ending the main set after an hour or so, Elvis and Steve returned for encore after encore, extending to nearly a full hour. The (already legendary) performance of Couldn't Call It Unexpected delivered, unamplified, from the front of the stage, closed out the show. The audience, who could happily have sat through his entire repertoire, rewarded the duo with several richly-deserved standing ovations, and many ran to the stage to shake hands. We left the theatre with that rare feeling of elation created by only the best performances.
The only slight disappointment is one that Australian audiences have grudgingly become used to. Distances and costs mean we often miss out on the big tours audiences see in Europe and America, and we rarely get the "full treatment" - thus we missed out on gems like the singers-plus-horn-section Punch The Clock tour, or the full version of Peter Gabriel's Secret World tour. Sadly, Elvis was unable to arrange to be here at the same time as Burt Bacharach, who only toured here late last year with the full orchestra and chorus. But we can console ourselves that one of the full-scale Costello-Bacharach shows was recorded as part of the excellent American music series Sessions at West 54th and is available on video.
The current tour and the new album confirm Elvis Costello as one of the finest singer/songwriters of this era, and one of the greatest lyricists in popular song. He retains his fiercely loyal following, not by pandering to expectations but by challenging them; testing himself, his collaborators and his audience with every new project. He can still thrill, chill and entertain like few other performers.
As Paul Simon has said, artists with real talent just get better as they get older.
Set list, Sydney 28/1/99 (in alphabetical order)Accidents Will Happen
Alison
All This Useless Beauty
Almost Blue
American Without Tears
Any King's Shilling
Baby Plays Around
Couldn't Call It Unexpected No.4
God Give Me Strength
I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea
Indoor Fireworks
Little Palaces
New Amsterdam (incl. Beatles' You've Got to Hide Your Love Away)
Oliver's Army
Painted From Memory
Radio Sweetheart
Red Shoes
Shipbuilding
Talking In The Dark (incl. Kinks' Dead End Street)
This House Is Empty Now
Toledo
Watching The Detectives (incl. theme from Callan)
What's Her Name Today?