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Wow! Elvis Costello fans could not have been disappointed with his performance at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco last Thursday night. That guy soared, especially during his solo set.
This is a performer who has never failed to please his true fans, though some of his past performances may have suggested that he did not intend to please his audience. That he ever sets out to please a crowd is doubtful, for he is not an entertainer but an artist. Yet, on Thursday night, he seemed to enjoy his audience, and even welcomed members to join him onstage.
The old Costello might have played his set and stormed off stage without an encore. But on this occasion, he came out twice after saying goodnight to satisfy some fans with the much requested "Peace, Love and Understanding," a threesome he said he'd like to see much more of in our world. He may be angry and contrary, but he's a pacifist at heart.
Costello didn't play many songs from his most recent Costello Show: King of America album. Instead, he surrounded himself on stage with the special effects of a go-go dancer, complete with cage, and a gigantic spinning song wheel, with a variety of his tunes on it. Members of the audience were invited to spin the wheel in hopes that it would land on their favorite song.
The flexible leader, backed up by the irreplaceable Attractions, played whichever song lit up at the top of the wheel when it stopped spinning. Costello believed in this wheel. He even played "Watching the Detectives" twice, according to the spinning songbook's directions.
Costello initially introduced himself as our host for the evening, Napoleon Dynamite. He was consistent in avoiding the "Elvis in the spotlight" image by constantly looking to the audience for new wheel spinners, whom he asked to remain onstage during their song to either dance in the cage or relax in his "society lounge," equipped with TV and Gatorade.
He even invited local rock 'n' roller Huey Lewis to join him on stage as emcee during the second half of the show and to play the harmonica during the first encore.
The moments Costello spent alone in the spotlight with his guitars proved to be the most serious and were the best demonstrations of Costello's grace. He didn't miss a note vocally, or on acoustic and electric guitars.
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