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I know these things are only supposed to happen just before one shuffles off this mortal coil and finds one's name on the great guest-list in the sky but I'd nearly swear that my entire record collection flashed before me during Elvis Costello's opening show at the Olympia last Monday. Over the years I've been elated and annoyed in equal measure by Costello's live performances but the first of his three-show mini-season was an absolutely staggering display of the combined arts of songwriting and musical firepower.
In what virtually amounted to a "greatest hits" set Costello and the Attractions, who've NEVER sounded better, moved from moments of sublime subtlety to near garage-band looseness yet never lost sight of the main objective: getting the songs across and what songs! I lost count of the number of times naughty words which shouldn't appear in family newspapers littered my notes in sheer disbelief at the quality of the material being performed.
From the opening salvo of "Accidents Will Happen" to the set closer "I Want You," one of the most obsessive love songs ever written, and through the encores which included "Oliver's Army," "Radio, Radio" and the "two fingers to you, darling" tirade of "I Hope You're Happy Now," Elvis proved that he's the best songwriter rock music has produced in the past ten years bar none. This gig was funny, sad, angry, noisy and delicate in equal part and it was utterly beyond belief.
I now know what I want for Christmas so I think it's time to dial my friendly neighbourhood bootlegger for a boxed set of all three nights.
Sorry, Bruce. You may be the boss but Elvis is THE MAN.
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