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Call the Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint tour — which arrived in the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion last night — the campaign trail. With the tour and his duet album with Toussaint, Costello is not angling for office but rather is on a mission to re-acquaint this country with itself.
Specifically, the shows pay tribute to New Orleans and the popular culture that owes a great debt to composer, producer and pianist Toussaint. At its broadest, the program views the destruction of the Crescent City as a symbol of a nation in trouble, largely because it is losing respect for its people and their rich cultural heritage, much of which originated in New Orleans.
The River In Reverse album and the tour aren't without pointed political statement. Among the most potent Friday night were the co-written songs "Broken Promise Land"; Toussaint's "Freedom For The Stallion," recorded by Three Dog Night more than 30 years ago; and Costello's harrowing album title track.
That brilliant song, in particular, displayed Costello's maturation as an artist and the clear and compassionate vision of the album and tour, as it joined the desperation felt by flood victims with the larger erosion in the quality of the lives of the poorest among them.
The jacket of Costello's 1980 album Trust, from which Friday's smoking "Clubland" was drawn, features an impish Elvis peering suspiciously over sunglasses and symbolically aiming a very pointed finger. With the material and design of the current tour, Costello no longer is the sometimes shrill and easy to dismiss bull-in-a-China shop of old. He's found that a fading musical snapshot coupled with an unforgiving mirror are considerably more potent tools.
Some of Toussaint's classic soul tunes resonated deepest. The cautionary tale "On Your Way Down," the uplifting "Yes We Can Can" and the soulful "Tears, Tears And More Tears" witnessed a musical style and supporting culture that was dealt a daunting blow by Hurricane Katrina.
Costello didn't ignore his long-faithful audience, most of whom must have had some inkling of his love of r&b long before now, with plenty selections from his own catalogue. From hits to obscurities, though, the band adapted them terrifically and frequently with a great deal of political or stylistic relevance.
The core band of keyboardist Steve Nieve, who partnered nicely on organ with Toussaint on piano, bassist Davey Faragher and ace drummer Pete Thomas rocked hard and always found the groove augmented by guitarist Anthony Brown and the Crescent City horns. While Costello's voice strained to reach the limits of his range, his performance still was inspiring.
Toussaint created nearly all of the arrangements for the 10-piece band including Costello's chestnuts. All of them were on the money. The extended reading of the needless "Dust," one of two Costello arrangements, was one of the few missteps of the evening.
As a whole, though, the two-and-a-half hour program was smartly constructed, paced to keep the energy high, Costello fans happy and the cause near at hand. Plenty hopeful, Costello's message was guarded. "Like New Orleans," he seemed to be saying, "what you hear tonight is rapidly going, going … "
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