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SAN FRANCISCO — The musical charms of Elvis Costello creep up on one with the assurance of a sleepwalker.
There are the hints of memorable melodies that evaporate in the air, the deft and nimble phrasings that toy with the lyrics, never manhandling them, the almost casual sense of tightness with which each of the songs is reworked and reinterpreted and the high and nearly whining Costello voice, which would be grating were it not so convincing.
All were on display Wednesday at the Warfield Theater. The show, the first of a three-night stand that ends tonight, concentrated on Costello's newest album, Blood & Chocolate, but it also included a concluding section, "Request Time," in which he and his group, the Attractions, solicited requests from the sold-out crowd and played them on the spot.
Whether delving into the past on songs such as 1977's "Watching the Detectives," or playing the tunes from the new album, Costello was his usual feisty self. Dressed in his trademark black suit (and shirt and tie) he tangled himself up in his trusty Jazzmaster guitar and stumbled about the stage seemingly at odds with the beat and the songs and his fellow musicians.
But he is never really out of control, either as a performer or a songwriter. Instead, his various careenings imitate the ways in which he meanders from one musical idiom to the next with unerring finesse.
On songs such as "Tokyo Storm Warning," "I Hope You're Happy Now," "Blue Chair" among many others, he flirted with jazz and pop, rockabilly and rock, touching each but never embracing any. Backed by the always excellent Attractions, he tore the songs apart and reassembled them, tossing out wiry guitar solos that played against his dramatic vocals.
These musical shenanigans are his great weakness and strength. At times, his melodic ambivalence was very nearly tedious, with the touches too fleeting to stick and hold. At others, the pure invention involved was a sound to hear, the daring a welcome break from rock shows that are simply note for note rehashings of hits.
It all worked breathtakingly on his rendition of the Gerry & The Pacemakers classic "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey," which he played with a straightforwardness that was affecting.
At the end of the show, his "Request Time" was riotous, with Costello cavorting about at the front of the stage taking the calls for songs. Again, the best moment came when he offered a request of his own and demanded that everyone sing along on someone else's classic, the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."
He delivered the chestnut with an emotion that was all his own and, directing the crowd in his distinctively uncoordinated way, left the stage as everyone sang "nah-nah- nuh-nah-nah-nuh-naaaah, nah-nuh-nah-nah-naaaah-nuh ...
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