Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 3, 1982

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Elvis Costello proves raving critics are wrong


Roger Kaye

DALLAS — There was, is and always will be only one Elvis, and he wasn't on stage here Friday night.

A guy named Elvis Costello was on the Wintergarden stage, but his performance only reconfirmed that he's light years removed from the rock 'n' roll magic that made Elvis Presley "The King."

The feeling here is that Costello (real name Declan MacManus) was treading on sacred ground when he adopted the name of Elvis as his own stage name. Perhaps it was just his way of grabbing attention. And he has grabbed a lot of it during a stormy five-year career. But it probably wasn't a very smart move.

Regardless of what a guy calls himself, though, the bottom line is the quality of the music he makes. If a performer makes great music, it really doesn't matter what name he goes by... even if he has the gall to call himself Elvis. But Costello doesn't make great music.

Of course, it would be difficult to convince the 3,000 people here Friday of that fact. One got the feeling that many in the sellout Wintergarden crowd looked to Costello as something of a godfather to the punk-new wave movement. But most rock music fans still haven't gotten the message.

Despite five years of sparkling, sometimes unbelievably good reviews from scores of critics who have hailed Costello as the greatest performer to come along since Presley, the British artist is still trying to make his big commercial breakthrough in the United States.

It's hard to figure why Costello has captured the fancy of the critics. But what it all boils down to is the fact that this simply is one case where the critics are wrong and the public is right.

Making matters worse Friday was the fact that the concert was unreeled under oppressively hot conditions. It was festival-style seating, or rather non-seating since all the chairs were removed from the hall.

Costello appeared promptly at 8:55 p.m. to play "Accidents Will Happen," the first of some 30 selections he and his group, the Attractions, performed during the performance, which featured several tunes from his Imperial Bedroom album.

Their repertoire also included older numbers like "Watching The Detectives," "Alison" and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes." Costello left the stage after 70 minutes but then came back for several encores, including the surprise of the night when he sang a nice version of the 1966 Uniques classic, "All These Things." Another surprise came earlier when he dished out a brief version of the O'Jays' "Back Stabbers."

In the past Costello was known for being a rather distant performer on stage, neither talking to the crowd nor smiling. But he apparently has decided to loosen up that aspect of his personality because he had a few words to say to the Wintergarden crowd during the show.

A group called the Teddy Boys had opened the concert with an enjoyable 35-minute set that consisted mostly of faithful renditions of '50s rock classics like Gene Vincent's "Woman Love," Link Wray's "Rawhide," Eddie Cochran's "Come On Everybody," Roy Orbison's "You're Gonna Cry," Johnny Burnette's "Rock Therapy" and Elvis' "All Shook Up." And you know which Elvis. There's only one.


Tags: WintergardenDallasThe AttractionsThe Teddy BoysElvis PresleyDeclan MacManusAccidents Will HappenImperial BedroomWatching The DetectivesAlison(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red ShoesAll These ThingsThe O'JaysBack StabbersRoy Orbison

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Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 3, 1982


Roger Kaye reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions and opening act The Teddy Boys, Friday, July 30, 1982, Wintergarden, Dallas, Texas.

Images

1982-08-03 Fort Worth Star-Telegram page 4B clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

Page scan.
1982-08-03 Fort Worth Star-Telegram page 4B.jpg

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