St Pete Catalyst, November 7, 2019

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St Pete Catalyst

US online publications

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Remembering Elvis Costello's Tampa Bay debut


Bill DeYoung

It might be beyond the imagination of today's hipster pop music acolytes to think of Elvis Costello as anything other than a rather eccentric, grand old man of songcraft. He's been around a long, long time and has written, played and sung in collaboration with the old guard (Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, George Jones and Paul McCartney) and the new (the Roots, Fiona Apple, Jenny Lewis and Stephen Colbert).

He's an OBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and a sometime actor who once hosted his own TV chat show. He even wrote a memoir.

Costello, who'll perform Sunday night at the Mahaffey Theater, made his first area appearance May 14, 1978 at the Jai Alai Fronton in Tampa. He was 23 years old. His first album, My Aim Is True, already had a loyal local following; the followup, This Year's Model, was just a few weeks old and — true to the times — was getting zero airplay on local radio.

Although Costello's loyal local fans all turned up, they amounted to just 900 people, in a 4,000-seat sports auditorium (a cold, boxy concrete building totally inappropriate for rock 'n' roll concerts, it was closed 20 years later and subsequently torn down, replaced by a Home Depot). The promoter lost a boatload of money.

After lifeless segments from an American band called Mink DeVille, and from an English quartet including Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds (they weren't officially calling themselves Rockpile yet), Costello and the Attractions raged through a 14-song, 40-minute set.

Everyone who saw it (this writer included) was gobsmacked. Fast, loud, angry, punchy, yet articulate and tuneful, the songs were light years away from the thudding, monosyllabic drone of punk music. That, of course, had its time and place — and its audience — but what Elvis Costello was doing, right out of the gate, was crisp, engaging and electrifying. THIS was rock 'n' roll energy.

"Less Than Zero." "Pump It Up." "Watching the Detectives." "No Action." "Lipstick Vogue." "Red Shoes." "Mystery Dance." "Radio, Radio." "The Beat." "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea." It was a breathless performance, like a bullet train speeding through your little prairie town so fast you didn't even see it.

It was like being hit over the head. In a good way. He was literate, he was funny, he barked, he snarled and he occasionally crooned. He was a great songwriter. He was unlike anything else on the airwaves, in the record store, in your musical dreams.

For a lot of us, it was Elvis Costello and not the Clash, not the Sex Pistols and not the Ramones, who washed the FM dinosaurs — the likes of Styx, Kansas, Rod Stewart and REO Speedwagon — down the drain.

Here's how divisive the music world was becoming: At that year's Grammy Awards, Costello was nominated as Best New Artist, but lost to … the disco duo A Taste of Honey, who'd had a hit (their only one, as it turned out) with a song called "Boogie Oogie Oogie."

He persisted, and he only got better. As time slogged on, Costello shifted that primal rock 'n' roll attack to a crazy quilt of exquisitely written and performed pop, folk, jazz and even classical music. He remains the consummate songwriter and performer, even if his days as a provocateur are long behind him. You can't really be an Angry Old Man.

Sunday's concert features Costello and the Imposters, which includes original Attractions Pete Thomas (drums) and the keyboard wizard Steve Nieve.

My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces, Get Happy!!, Trust and Imperial Bedroom — oh, let's include the patchwork singles anthology Taking Liberties — that's one of the most prolific and satisfying runs in singer/songwriter history. Still.

From Bob Ross' St. Petersburg Times review of that 1978 show:

Costello addressed the small crowd only once: "Thanks for coming," he mumbled. "Tell your friends about us, because when we come back I want to see this place full!"

He's been back in the area many times over the decades — the venues are bigger and better and yes, they're always full.


Tags: Jai-Alai FrontonTampaFloridaThe AttractionsPete ThomasSteve NieveMink DeVilleNick LoweDave EdmundsRockpileLess Than ZeroPump It UpWatching The DetectivesNo ActionLipstick VogueRed ShoesMystery DanceRadio, RadioThe BeatMy Aim Is TrueThis Year's ModelArmed ForcesGet Happy!!TrustImperial BedroomTaking LibertiesThe ClashThe Sex PistolsRod StewartBurt BacharachTony BennettGeorge JonesPaul McCartneyThe RootsFiona AppleJenny LewisStephen ColbertGrammy AwardsA Taste Of HoneyOBERock and Roll Hall of FameThe ImpostersMahaffey TheaterSt. Petersburg

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St Pete Catalyst, November 7, 2019


Bill DeYoung recalls Elvis Costello's concert with The Attractions, Sunday, May 14, 1978, Jai-Alai Fronton, Tampa, ahead of his concert with The Imposters, Sunday, November 10, 2019, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg.


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