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The show had to be great. At thirty dollars a seat, Costello and his Attractions were indebted to the jovial New Year's Eve crowd which was expecting an unforgetable gig. Except for a slightly bassy sound system, that's just what we received. In two sets totalling over two-and-a-half hours (rare for Costello, who usually plays a single 75-minute set), Elvis and the Attractions performed many of the biggest hits from their seven albums to date, a number of cuts from their current release, and even provided several numbers from a forthcoming album.
Dressed in a zoot suit and wearing his distinctive sun glasses, Costello ran on stage and moved into a high-energy set with the Attractions. After playing "Watching the Detectives," "Accidents Will Happen," "Oliver's Army," "Clubland" and "Radio, Radio" Elvis introduced country session guitarist/keyboardist John McFee to help them with a beautiful set from their most recent album Almost Blue. After "Honey Hush," the band disembarked.
11:45 saw the stage void of all musicians except Steve Nieve, who had come on to take us up to midnight with an enlightening, original, and upbeat piano solo. With a minute to spare, on ran Elvis and the rest of the band (Elvis was now attired in a black suit, red shoes and bow tie), and they moved into "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." Paying no attention to the stroke of midnight, they moved through "Strict Time," "Watch Your Step," "Hand in Hand," "Clowntime," a rare rendition of "Almost Blue," "Give a Hand" (from their forthcoming album) and a beautiful version of "New Lace Sleeves."
The first encore included a slow version of "I Can't Stand Up" and "From a Whisper to a Scream," with Elvis taking both his and Glenn Tilbrook's parts. For the second and final encore the band performed "Mystery Dance," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" and "Alison."
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