Marin’s own Austin de Lone has put together what the concert industry trade magazine Pollstar predicts “just might be the most intriguing concert you’ll see this year.”
That’s saying something on the weekend of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, when many of the biggest names in the music business are in town, sharing stages in Golden Gate Park.
But then it isn’t every day that Elvis Costello sings Nick Lowe’s tunes, and vice versa. De Lone, who’ll be playing keyboards in their backing band, calls it “a rare bashing of each other’s songs.”
“I don’t know why we hadn’t thought about it before,” Costello said.
They’ve certainly had a long time to ponder it.
“I’ve known Nick since 1972,” Costello said. “He won’t thank me for reminding him.”
Billed as “Costello Sings Lowe/Nick Sings Elvis,” the Oct. 1 shows, at 8 and 11 p.m. at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, are the fourth annual benefit concerts for the Richard de Lone Special Housing Project. The Marin-based nonprofit supports a group home for those, like de Lone’s son, who are afflicted with Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Tickets are still available for the late show.
“Obviously, we’ve got a lot of history together, but we’ve never tackled anything like this,” Lowe said last week from his home in London.
Lowe, who’s had hits with “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass” and the Top 40 single “Cruel to Be Kind,” first met the 56-year-old Costello when he was still Declan MacManus, “a strange-looking kid” (his words), a fan who used to follow around Brinsley Schwarz, Lowe’s 1970s English pub rock band.
After they became friends, Lowe produced Costello’s early albums, including the breakthrough “My Aim is True,” featuring a backing band of Marin musicians from the country rock group Clover. He met de Lone when de Lone was in Britain playing in the Marin-born pub rock band Eggs Over Easy.
Costello had one of his biggest hits in the ’70s with “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” which Lowe wrote. In 1985, Lowe turned around and recorded Costello’s “Indoor Fireworks.”
“I’m madly curious to hear Nick’s take on the songs I’ve written, and hopefully he won’t think too badly of me if I hijack some of his songs and take them in a different direction,” Costello said. “I don’t want to sound like Nick Lowe karaoke. I’ve got to put a spin on a couple of them.”
I think it’s a safe guess that “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” will be the closing duet. Other than that, neither of them would reveal their set list, but hinted that they’ll be picking some of the more obscure tunes from their respective catalogs.
“I think my songs are much easier than his,” Lowe allowed. “Mine are like ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ compared to his. So I’ve been wrestling away with his large number of chords and words. It’s kind of my fault because I’ve been able to choose which songs I like. There’s one or two I really love that are quite difficult, especially for someone like me.”
For Lowe, 61, this weekend will be the start of his first full-band tour of the United States in a decade. He’ll play the first concert of the tour at the Woods, formerly the Masonic Hall, on Oct. 2 in Mill Valley. He plays at 4:40 p.m. Oct. 3 at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
Costello is gearing up for the Oct. 25 release of his new album, “National Ransom,” with his band, the Sugarcanes. The Los Angeles Times says he “mines a century’s worth of pop music history in both the characters, scenarios and themes in his songs, and in the atmospheric sound that producer T Bone Burnett has given the record.” He and the Sugarcanes play at 3:05 p.m. Oct. 3 at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Costello is also on the bill for Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit on Oct. 23.
But it’s the Oct. 1 benefit for de Lone’s project that the old friends believe will be a truly special evening.
“This is the fourth event, and I’ve played some part in three of them,” Costello said. “We make such unique musical evenings, and there’s such a good feeling at them. People are good enough to buy tickets, so we try to give them something unique. The shows I’ve been involved in have all been amazing.”
IF YOU GO
What: “Costello Sings Lowe/Nick Sings Elvis,” benefit for Richard de Lone Special Housing Project
When: 8 and 11 p.m. Oct. 1
Where: Great American Music Hall, 859 O’Farrell St., San Francisco
Tickets: $125 to $200
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