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Costello sings again
John Bitzer
Beverly Theatre, Los Angeles
Night one
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On opening night of Elvis Costello's five-night stand at the Beverly Theatre, no one quite knew what to expect. Since Costello had been full of surprises in the past, and since this series of "theme" shows was so novel, the audience was abuzz with "I think he'll do this," "No, I think he'll do that!" If anything, the unexpected was expected.
Naturally, then, Costello did just the opposite. He and the Attractions played virtually every favorite you ever wanted to hear. The hits and nothing but the hits. Oldies like "Red Shoes," "Mystery Dance," "No Action," "Alison" and "Watch Your Step." And when he turned on the red neon "request" sign, the hits just kept on coming: "Watching the Detectives," "Everyday I Write the Book," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," and of course, "Pump It Up." I mention all these to drive home the point that, yes, that's really all it was — no surprises. This night was clearly designed to blow all those audience pleasers out of his system so he could get on with his more pressing adventures on subsequent nights.
So in this sense it was disappointing. When it was needed, Costello did his best angry-young-man snarling, but it didn't quite seem sincere enough. We all knew he grew out of that years ago. The Attractions also lacked a certain bite, probably for the same reasons — they're older and they're sick of these songs. That left much of the entertainment to watching maniacal keyboardist Steve Nieve pound his buttons a la Keith Moon.
I don't mean to say the show was a total failure — if you'd never seen him, you'd have probably been thrilled. But it just didn't match Costello's standards. There were sparse moments of brilliance — Elvis sinking his vocal cords into the emotional "Kid About It," for instance — but it was obvious the real fireworks would come later.
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Night two
Darryl Morden
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After seeing Costello in halls seating thousands, the emotional electricity in this relatively small, stately joint was infectious. Up first, Elvis the intimate. Dressed in your basic black from tie to toe, he picked up an acoustic guitar, played "Girls Talk" and we were off, hearing songs old and new. He played electric guitar too; the audience clapped along spontaneously, calling for zillions of songs all at once. But this wasn't request night. No matter. He offered up a real in-the-wee-small-hours "Almost Blue" at the piano, gave us the sequel to "American Without Tears" (Part One popped up later with full band). "The Only Flame in Town" was transcendental rocket fuel compared to the matchstick-like over-production of the record. Finally, the new "I Want You" was possessed and hungry, acappella at the end — sweat-fright. All to the bone, just Elvis and us. Goddamn brilliant.
Part Two, if you will, came with Elvis and "special guest" T Bone Burnett on dueling acoustics. As the "Coward Brothers," they rattled off the likes of "Tom Dooley" and "Ring of Fire" They called for "Twist And Shout," and the audience called back; we did it for them. It was sloppy, anarchic, and everything rock 'n' roll oughta be. One by one during the set, the Confederates joined in — Jerry Scheff on stand-up bass, electric guitar magician James Burton, drummer Jim Keltner, and production whiz Mitchell Froom on organ, piano, and other keys. What a band! Elvis goes "roots" — a King of America extension, uptempo blues-based rock-outs like "Your Mind Is on Vacation, Your Mouth Is Working Overtime" and "Payday." David Hidalgo of Los Lobos joined in on "Lovable" and a couple more on vocals and squeeze box.
The main man himself — call him Declan, Napoleon Dynamite, or just El — was clearly havin' a ball. He was quipping quickly all night, saying at one point, "This is our first paid rehearsal." Hey, a raise for everyone. And thanks.
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Night three
John Bitzer
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Oh what fun we had. We laid into a groove on the first song and we never looked back. We were clickin' our fingers, tappin' our toes, and boppin' in our boots. Old R&B covers, new Elvis ballads, weird bayou honkers — hell, it didn't matter, it all had a zip to it.
First off, the Confederates can smoke. With the backing of these guys — two alumni of the other Elvis' original band, two super-session guys and moral support from T Bone Burnett — Costello was obliged to lift his own musical performance to their standards.
So he did. His bluesy, gut-wrenching workout on "Poisoned Rose," for instance, was highly inspired (and inspiring). Sometimes the most interesting thing about Costello is the power his live presence can inject into a song. So at the midpoint of the show, the band let him alone to talk chummily with the audience, and play solo. And his intensity sharpened. And the audience's attention sharpened. You could feel every tiny emotional subtlety on each song — "Heathen Town," "Green Shirt," and "Party Girl" in this case — and you came out out richer for the experience.
Then it was back to fun time. Los Lobos' David Hidalgo joined the band for accordion duties on "American Without Tears" and vocal harmonies on "Lovable," a definite crowd-pleaser. The peak finally came on a vintage R&B stinger called "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man," in which the band rocked, the house boogied, guitarist James Burton spun solo after dazzling solo, and Costello belted his way into a tizzy. Shoooweee.
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Music Connection, October 27-November 7, 1986
Four reports on the Beverly Theatre stand of the Costello Sings Again Tour:
John Bitzer reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Wednesday, October 1, 1986.
Darryl Morden reviews Elvis Costello with The Confederates, Thursday, October 2.
John Bitzer reviews Elvis Costello with The Confederates, Friday, October 3.
Bud Scoppa reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Saturday, October 4.
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Page scan.
Night four
Bud Scoppa
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As Costello strolled through the audience in his London Fog, quipping good-naturedly into a cordless mic, my mind wandered back to his first furious and frenzied shows at the Whisky in late '77. Here I reflected, is a guy who's come full circle — from brittle brilliance to consummate command. Even so, I was hardly prepared for the liberating dose of lightheartedness he'd offer during his "Spectacular Spinning Songbook Extravaganza." With the huge wheel filled with 40 classics — including unexpected non-originals — the go-go booth and onstage wet bar (stocked with Gatorade), emcees John Doe (good) and Tom Waits (great), the battle-ready Attractions raring to go(go), and wild and woolly crowd, the show turned into a two-hour-plus audience-participation wingding on the order of the Tubes' "What Do You Want From Life?" Amazing but true.
The premise was, the emcee would pick out a member of the audience, who'd climb onstage, state his or her fave tune, and spin the wheel, as El and the boys stood at the ready. When the winning title emerged, the band would instantly launch into the tune, while the spinner either (A) sat at the bar at guzzled Gatorade, or (B) strutted his/her stuff in the go-go booth. And so it went. What was lost in terms of musical momentum (songs were often separated by five minuted of banter) was made up for in sheer good cheer. And the band couldn't wait to lay into the next selection, so their energy was palpable.
I was rooting for the cover tunes to come up, particularly Tom Petty's "American Girl" (which Costello and Petty played together the following night), "Ferry Cross the Mersey" (nope), Prince's "Pop Life" (yes!), and Daryl Hall's "Dreamtime" (which turned out to be a joke — when it came up, they played "Accidents Will Happen"). But everything was done in blazing fashion, often rebuilt for speed.
There was also a loose and lovely acoustic mini-set with Costello and three of the Bangles, and enough amusing detail to fill this whole page. Some fun. I'm sure the fifth and last show was terrific too, but we were unable to secure ducats. What the hey — four outa five ain't bad.
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Cover.
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