|
Elvis Costello, the rock 'n' roll mouse who roars, cuffed a feisty Agora crowd Thursday.
Costello and three excessively amplified props he calls a band fired off waves of pop military music for an existential future.
Costello strikes true and clean with a single unadorned theme: there's nothing to lose.
The British singer has a home in his dark lyrics for "torture tables," little Hitlers in pairs, and "undone" minds. Yet he weaves considerable power into this instant neo-pop.
The relatively brief, no-encore performance was cemented by a thundering version of "Watching the Detectives" — an ominous ode to toughness. Eerie, prancing organ fills and Costello's desperate vocals uncaged intensity.
Costello pumped up to locomotive speed for "Goon Squad," reflections on fascism and future-shock violence.
Costello leans on the libidinous rock 'n' roll seam of the '50s. He provides instantaneous punch, a total-sound artillery and mildly surreal layers of lyrics. "Accidents Will Happen" was no exception and it featured an incinerating rhythm section.
Guilt is exorcised by the singer as he weaves through a landscape of hit-and-run blunders and vanishing chaperones.
And Costello perceives, "You're a victim. And you're not the only one."
The band appeared to feed and multiply on maximum amplification. Costello consistently thrashed at his guitar and buried his vocals in overwhelming assaults by the bass and drums.
However, the ringmaster kept his edge with a refined menace on stage framed neatly in a boiling shower of sound.
As he says in "Chemistry Class," Costello wants "a piece of your mind."
The effervescent Rubinoos of California opened for Costello. Clean harmonies and fast hands mark the group.
They happily resurrected some early germs of 1960s rock including the Beatles' "Please Please Me," the Ventures' "Wipe Out" and Tommy James' immortal "I Think We're Alone Now."
To rub it in, the young band finished with the Archies' lowly "Sugar, Sugar" — a sly performance with a ruthless backbeat.
| 
