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At a time when Don Henley rejoins the Eagles, Barbra Streisand resurfaces and Meat Loaf goes back to hell, it seems right that punk pioneer Elvis Costello should reunite with The Attractions and hit the road, riding that wave of '70s nostalgia.
But while Friday night's sold-out show at Northrop Auditorium was indeed a greatest-hits extravaganza, Costello, 39, and company never resembled aging rockers meandering down memory lane. These war horses with balding heads, gray hair and a bit of paunch (that suit and vest ain't hiding nothin', Elvis) attacked all 26 songs in the two-hour performance like tough punks slapping around those alternative whippersnappers who think rock 'n' roll is just copping an attitude.
Even so, one had to worry a bit when the band opened by racing through "No Action," "High Fidelity," "The Beat," and "Beyond Belief," all at a breakneck speed and without any stops (OK, Costello paused for a millisecond to wipe his drenched forehead).
Costello didn't let the crowd catch up until the seventh number, a beautiful, crisp take on "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror." Unlike the biting version of Spike, Costello read the piece with the sympathy of a soul singer.
In the early days, he sang like a ticked-off Buddy Holly, snarling at every note. But over the years, he's grown into one of pop's finest vocalists, approaching songs more like a big-band singer and less like Sid Vicious.
On "Clown Strike." his voice teetered on the verge of tears as he whispered the verses and exploded with passion on the chords.
Even classics like "Watching the Detectives" sounded fresh. On "Alison," he tacked on snippets of "Tracks of My Tears" and "Tears of a Clown" — completely appropriate since Costello is one of the few pop artists today who can truly match up to Smokey Robinson.
During "Rocking Horse Road," Costello backed away from the microphone as he warbled the word "bye" repeatedly; then, as he moved back to the mic, the band came alive and Costello broke into a gorgeous scat.
He wouldn't have had so much room to manuever vocally if he didn't have such a tight, flexible band backing him up. Drummer Pete Thomas and bassist Bruce Thomas provided a thick, intense beat that made new stuff like "Kinder Murder" and "13 Steps Lead Down" sound like foot-pounding classics.
The most impressive was keyboardist Steve Nieve. With a bust of Beethoven by his side, Nieve danced across the electronic keys like he was tackling a complicated sonata. Like Costello, who treats pop songs like classical work, Nieve gave a grandiouse backdrop to "Man Out of Time." On a major reworking of "Shabby Doll," he set the stage with roller-rink mood music — and ended the piece by pounding on the keys like Jerry Lee Lewis.
Costello more than matched the band, punctuating "13 Steps" like Jimi Hendrix, before going right into a powerful version of "Radio, Radio."
"On the plane over here, the stewardess said, 'Anyone with children or...' — and she looked right at us — 'anyone acting like children, fasten your seatbelts,'" said Costello in one of his few comments to the crowd.
There was nothing childish about this mature, nearly flawless concert.
The same couldn't be said for Crash Test Dummies, which opened the show.
Although the Canadian folk-rock band is one of the more clever groups around these days, lead singer Brad Roberts, who croaks out lyrics like a smooth Tom Waits, gets a bit grating after a while with his smug attitude, winks to the audience and this-is-easy-folks approach to music. It's like watching Bruce Willis on Moonlighting: It's cute for a while, but it gets awfully old.
Still, this is a catchy band when it stops trying to be cool. and it dropped the winks and posing in time for a fine version of "Afternoons & Coffeespoons."
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