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Elvis Costello, who played to a sold-out audience at the College Avenue gymnasium at Rutgers University Friday evening, is a unique songwriter, one whose fragile but explosive talents can be easily obscured. On his recordings, his dazzling wordplay and intricate melodies are supported and enhanced by the stampeding rhythms and arrangements of his backing band, the Attractions.
It is inevitable that in any large hall, this emphasis on a forceful beat will tend to swallow up the wordplay and the melodies, and this is exactly what happened Friday night. The sound was thick and noisy, and it was futile to try to catch the lyrics, and sometimes even the tunes. It is a measure of the strength and originality of this band that the Attractions sounded great anyway.
Costello himself seemed quite comfortable, and there was no trace of the surliness that marred his most recent U.S. tour in 1978. Indeed, he played a generous set lasting over 90 minutes and including selections from each of his six albums.
Costello seemed surprised by the audible excitement he prompted merely by delving a little deeper into his repertoire. When he performed "Alison," for instance, the whoops of the audience caused him to chuckle during the opening lines, thus getting the earnest ballad off to a shaky start. Spiffily attired in an ascot and two-piece suit, he looked more like a pudgy schoolboy than an angry ex-computer operator as he is often described.
Steve Nieve, the jumpy, gangly keyboard player for the Attractions, was an arresting accompanist. Switching easily from somber country ballads to savage rockers, he seems to be influenced by everybody and yet play like nobody but himself. Bruce Thomas, the bassist has crafted an individual tuneful style, his bass lines often becoming the main musical focus of the songs. Steve Thomas, the drummer, is phenomenally energetic.
For a large part of the set, Martin Belmont of the British band the Rumour sat in on lead guitar. He may be from the same country as Costello and the Attractions, but his gutsy, stylish playing gave them about 300 years of roots. And for the last several numbers, Chris Difford's guitar and clear tenor voice provided a lovely counterpart to Costello's sometimes gruff vocalizing.
But the star of the show, and the man on whom all eyes were focused, was Elvis. He too plays guitar, but in an understated, almost subliminal way, only occasionally stepping out to strum in the spotlight. His searing, emotional solo during "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea" was especially memorable.
Highlights of the show were the several selections the band played from their new album Trust, and a medley of Stevie Wonder's current hit "Master Blaster (Jamming)" and Costello's own reggae rave-up, "Watching the Detectives."
Squeeze, led by Chris Difford, opened the concert. The group played a likable slick set that was also blunted by the inadequate sound. Squeeze's treacly tunes and rocking charm proved an effective complement to the rougher sound of the Attractions.
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