From: JimHenley@aol.com Would some of us crawl through dirt to see Elvis Costello? Well, some of us did, spefically Tim and his tolerant wife, me and my tolerant wife, Michelle Harvey and her (presumably) tolerant husband, Traigh and Jeff Foltz and their wives/girlfriends. (Since Jeff Foltz was there I decided not to tell the one about the black guy, the white guy, and the indian.) We were there--early!--for the show on "The Infield at the PG Equestrian Center", which was inside a dirt (well, dust) track on "the lawn," most of which had been cropped by the native equines (though these had taken cover). When we turned to leave we saw an enormous cloud of grit that had been flying up all night, coating us all. Before I get to the set list, I must explain that the show played in the context of the long profile of Elvis that appeared on the front page of the Wash Post Style section today, written by a staff writer who had gone to Ohio to see the show and interview everyone. The writer was an obvious fan, and very complimentary about the new material (calling "Sulky Girl"--"the great song that radio won't play"). But this was a news piece and he dwelled on BY's slide back out of the charts and the fact that the record company had gotten him an opening act with "a million-selling album and a top 20 single." (He also stated explicitly that Elvis Costello enabled bands like the Dummies to even exist.) He quoted a record company person as saying that they basically are having to hope that the Tony Bennett Unplugged album reignites interest in Costello. He quotes Costello as saying that the Attractions reunion deserved at least as much attention as the Stones tour, that they (meaning his bandmates) are a world class outfit. Cliffs Notes of the article: Elvis Costello has fallen off the public radar and this is unfair because of the tremendous merit of his continuing oeuvre. I at least couldn't really consider the show as if the article didn't exist. Elvis was quoted in the article as feeling bad about the Cleveland show because of equipment problems. Would the appearance of the article and the prospect of nearing the end of a tour that has not made the world hold its breath (I don't mean us; I mean the other world) make him despondent, and would that lead to a dreary show for everyone? I got my answer real quick. SET LIST - PG EQUESTRIAN CENTER No Action On the Beat ** From the opening notes the fierce vocal attack sent any hint of the doldrums packing. I remembered two words: punk rock. This was no rote recitation of oldies. ** Waiting for the End of the World Beyond Belief **recast as a hard rocker and working as such** Sulky Girl **Here came what I take to be the insult to the Dummies that previous concertgoers have alluded to. Others have written about Brad Roberts' "I'm not really trying" mugging during his solos. During the first guitar break here, Costello flutters his pick and smirks at the front rows. Accident? Coincidence? Conspiracy? Note: the Dummies did NOT tell the crowd they were just thrilled to be toouring with Elvis tonight. Guess they caught on. On the "which line comes after 'there are a few events'" front, I watched very closely and can state unequivocally, "No award." Darned if I can figure it out still. I mean, I stopped singing along and everything.** Now he actually spoke to us, then did London's Brilliant Parade Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (as good as everyone said) Pony Street **Elvis is Mom! "I am the genuine thing / but to you its just history" (delivered with a smile) impossible not to connect to the Post article.** (The Angels Want to Wear my) Red Shoes Clown Strike **Who would have thought that "Clown Strike" would be a highlight of the evening? A great and very loose rendition, with Costello slowing down on "I love you / as you are" and pointing to us folks. By this point the performer/audience bond had set completely. But the performance of CS had much more to recommend it than just audience flattery--the band and voice really took advantage of the space the song provides to move around in.** Kinder Murder **beat hell out of the Letterman version** Clubland **again, attack attack attack** Rocking Horse Road **Have I mentioned that this is my favorite song? Oh, I did. Well, tonight I finally appreciated how the guitar figure comes from "Wild Thing." The dynamics during this one--opening much harder than the album version, then dropping down a bit then taking off at the finale made it a standout performance.** So Like Candy Mystery Dance Watching the Detectives **Oh yeah. The close of this one always did suggest the "Peter Gunn" era. NOW I get it.** You Belong to Me 13 Steps Radio Radio ----------------------- Lipstick "(I don't want to go to) Chelsea" Vogue Party Girl Less than Zero **Here in Melindaesque fashion I have noted "Pete!!" The drums made this particular version. BTW, Pete sang along several times to various songs.Note: these were the UK lyrics.** ----------------------- Puppet Girl **Several of these kept trying to elbow past Tim Windsor, who had secured a berth at the security rail in front of the stage.** Alison **plus bits of "Tracks of my Tears", "Tears of a Clown," "Tearstained Makeup" and just enough "Clowntime is Over" to be tolerable.** Accidents Will Happen ------------------- **Now he brings up the Post piece, and now comes the "We don't know when we'll see you again or if we'll see you again" speech. But we clearly refers to Elvis Costello AND THE ATTRACTIONS; it's not the royal we. The POST piece had described the audience in Ohio as lawyers, accountants etc. but who "still have 'Elvis.' _Our_ Elvis." (I told you the writer was a fan.) Elvis said he was very comforted to have so many lawyers and doctors and dentists in the audience "in case we need to sue somebody or get our teeth pulled or whatever." Naturally this led in to** All the Rage Peace Love and Understanding **Pace Tim Windsor, I'd argue that _this_ is the chestnut that's been in the fire too long and needs to be thrown out. If any performance had a rote feel to it tonight, it was this one. The song's just not that great.** Pump It Up **Note: we should have brought a camera so you could ftp a picture of Tim Windsor standing impassively while I jump up and down. He really doesn't like it, folks. He's not just making that part up.** --------------- Surprise! That was it! There was no song after PIU. I know you don't believe me but it's true. MISC. Pete seemed to be having a ball. Bruce seemed to be listening to his monitor. Unlike the show someone reported on recently, you could hear the bass, and it was fine. Joe Cool Nieve was in frequent visual contact with Pete. He and Elvis seemed to be in touch, too, but less obviously. Elvis would look back over his shoulder, Steve would look up, and efficent but meaningful nods would pass back and forth. In "Detectives", if I remember the number correctly, they did one instrumental break as a round: Elvis would start it up, and Steve would repeat it a couple of measures behind him. I think Steve's piano during "London's B Parade" was too rococo for the good of the total effect, BTW. I didn't try to get backstage. Unlike me, my tolerant wife (hereinafter MTW) has to work in the morning, so we couldn't justify the time. I mean, we had to shower the grime off before bedtime. (And I had to write this.) A friend of mine from out of town came and brought her boyfriend, a Dummies fan. He has been assimilated. He still likes the Dummies, but recognizes that there is no comparison as regards caliber of performance. Like 'em or lump 'em (and I _like_ Mmmm^4 and "Superman's Song") what you get in concert is what you get on record, pretty much note for note. After the Dummies set he said he might as well have stayed home and played the CDs. After the Costello set he understood why one goes to concerts. Two nice fellows saw Your Correspondent scribbling the set list and asked, "what are you doing." They both thought the explanation was pretty cool and the one with Net access asked for the address. "The Venerable Tim Windsor" is actually quite youthful looking. Surely this is all more than you want to hear. But it's not more than I wanted to say. TTFN. Jim