If I were to tell you that Elvis was at the Bottom Line last night and will be performing two sold-out shows again tonight, you'd probably think that (1) I was under the influence of a substance both exotic and dangerous; (2) that someone spiked my ginger ale with something like 151-proof rum; (3) that I was nuts.
But Elvis did perform at the Bottom Line last night. It wasn't that Elvis, of course. It was Elvis Costello. Elvis Costello is from England. He resembles his namesake not at all. Elvis Costello is a giant among mice, standing a handful of inches over 5 feet tall. He's scrawny-looking, like the proverbial 97-pounder who always got sand kicked in his face.
I wouldn't kick sand in Elvis Costello's face, though. He has the stage presence of the quiet young accountant next door who suddenly snaps. He could play Robert DeNiro's mean kid brother in a sequel to Taxi Driver.
Not much is known about Costello. His age (he appears to be in his mid or late 20s), and his real name are calculated mysteries. He became Elvis before Presley died, so it's not merely a crass cashing in.
There are a few facts. A year ago, he was a computer programer in the London area. He brought a tape of his songs to London's Renegade Stiff Records, which placed one of his songs, "Less Than Zero," on its anthology album, A Bunch of Stiffs. Costello then recorded an album for Stiff called My Aim Is True.
For a while, it seemed that Elvis Costello would remain as obscure as some of the other Stiff artists, like Sean Tyla, Jill Read, and Motorhead. But in July, Elvis played an impromptu street concert outside the London hotel where Columbia Records was having its annual convention. He got arrested. He also got signed to a recording contract. He got signed by Columbia Records, which just released My Aim Is True in the U.S.
Elvis made his New York debut last night at the Bottom Line. It was a strange and amusing performance. Elvis looks like anything but a rock star. He has a crewcut, and wears horn-rimmed glasses. He wore an ill-fitting pale green suit, a dark green shirt, and a drab, thin olive-colored tie. Elvis Costello looked green.
A transformation took place when the guitar-wielding Elvis spat out the words to his songs. Suddenly, 20-plus years of adolescent neurosis became crystalized in perfectly crafted three-minute rock songs. With almost no pause between them out surged his marvelous morality tales of lust, failure and revenge.
Odd events and ominous undercurrents occur in Elvis' musical world. The angels want to wear his red shoes. The sum of his efforts is less than zero. "Radio's useless," he said before performing an as-yet-unrecorded song, "Radio, Radio." The band played stinging, spare licks, and sounded like a swarm of killer bees traveling north from Venezuela at high speed while Elvis sang: "You are not just another mouth in lipstick vogue."
If Elvis sounds a little different, he is. Though his set last night was inconsistent, Elvis still confirmed that he is probably the most interesting solo artist to come out of what's called New Wave music. He's hardly a punk rocker. His instinct toward and use of melody and classically structured chord changes is too highly developed. He sounds quite a bit like Buddy Holly might have sounded like if Holly had lived, and grown up to be very very strange. Still at the beginning of his career, Elvis Costello is already a dangerous and essential artist. And he doesn't even sing "Jailhouse Rock."
|