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BOSTON — These days, when most rock performances aren't complete without light shows, smoke bombs and video screens, a rocker who gets up on a stage without even a band behind him has to have more than just nerve. He better have what it takes.
Last night, Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett each played solo at the Orpheum and proved they have what it takes, and then some.
The program, less a rock concert than a rock recital, succeeded on several levels.
As a rare intimacy was established between performer and audience, listeners were given a chance to hear the music the way the songwriters hear it — the way they most probably wrote it, on acoustic guitar or piano. And, listeners could really hear the lyrics, which often fall victim to a rock band's sonic assault.
Costello's almost unbelievably long set — he played 21 songs and was brought back three times to play a total of 10 more — was especially absorbing.
True, his shortcomings as a singer, his limited arsenal of vocal stylings, were never more apparent, though his rendition of "Shipbuilding," an antiwar ballad, was stunning.
But his strengths as a songwriter have never been more apparent, either. His melodies proved more than capable of captivating a crowd and standing on their own, away from the brilliant arrangements and musicianship normally provided by his band, the Attractions.
And he absolutely cemented earlier impressions that as a writer of lyrics — "I said I'm so happy I could die. She said 'drop dead' and left with another guy"; "You may not be an old-fashioned girl, but you're gonna get dated" — he is this generation's Cole Porter.
Alternating between acoustic and electric guitars and acoustic and electric piano, Costello played several songs that seemed naturals for solo treatment, such as his C & W-flavored "Stranger in the House," a song he wrote for and recorded with George Jones, and the cocktail lounge-y "Almost Blue."
But he also played such straight-ahead rockers as "Girls Talk," "The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes" and "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down." Some fine, new songs were unveiled, including a few soft ballads, an antiwar anthem, and a song about cable TV called "Worthless Thing."
Costello paid tribute to some of his own favorite songwriters, too, singing Bob Dylan's "I Threw It All Away," a song by Brendan Behan, a song by Charlie Rich, and an especially intriguing number called "Cruel" by an obscure young Irishman, Paddy McAloon.
Burnett, who performed in a double-breasted pinstripe suit and bow tie, wasn't quite as effective as Costello, because his melodies aren't quite as gripping, and because a few of his lyrics are aimed at either easy or questionable targets: Why, I couldn't help but wonder, does having a roomful of Picassos make someone a "ridiculous man?"
Still, most of the 11 songs played by the lanky Texan were provocative and eloquent, full of plain truths ("The funny thing about love is that the harder you try to be loved, the less lovable you are"), wry twists (in one tune, Burnett juxtaposed lava lamps and the Sistine Chapel — and made it work) and surreal touches.
Burnett also performed a new, as-yet-unrecorded tune, "My Life and the Women Who Lived It," along with such familiar original songs as "Fatally Beautiful" and "Trap Door," and his marvelous rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
The Orpheum was packed to the rafters, which came about midway through a 15-city tour. On the street, people were getting $40 for $14 tickets.
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