Texas Tech University Daily, August 6, 1982

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Kansas City concerts: where the aim is true
and Blondies have a lot less fun


Ronnie McKeown

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Located near the geographical center of the country, Kansas City seems to be a good stopping point for traveling performers to display their wares for Middle America.

Successful new wave forerunners Elvis Costello and the Attractions and Blondie played at KC's Starlight outdoor theater on successive nights this week, as both bands are on tours promoting new albums.

Kansas City is a "hot spot" — literally and figuratively — for performances this summer. Elton John, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea and Peter, Paul and Mary have played KC recently.

The Grateful Dead played Wednesday, following a lineup of Costello on Sunday and Blondie on Monday. Rickie Lee Jones, The Stray Cats, Black Uhuru and Queen are scheduled later in the season.

The Starlight theater is perfect for summer performances, although this week even the night temperatures were in the 80s and the humidity was nearly as high.

The amphitheater is built on the side of a hill, allowing clear musical sound to travel up the rows of seats. Of course, stage lights were used for the shows, but the most stimulating visuals in the arena were provided by a near-full moon, shadowy trees and fireflies.

Both Costello and Blondie have gone through changes since riding in the new wave in the middle '70s. Now that the '80s decade is firmly established, performances on these two tours indicate that Costello is pushing a new style and Blondie is just pushing for big bucks.

The pace set by Elvis Costello was a responsible element in making Sunday night's show enjoyable. He would charm the audience with the poetry from his latest album, Imperial Bedroom, after punching them with the power of his earlier material. The show opened with the line from "Accidents Will Happen": "Oh I just don't know where to begin,..." But it was apparent Costello knew exactly where to begin and where to go after that.

Costello quickened the pace with "Hand in Hand," then followed with the melodious "Shabby Doll" from the new album. The song featured Steve Naive on piano, switching to an electric keyboard, sounding like tinkling pieces of breaking porcelain, on the chorus.

The effect of Costello's vocals overdubbed on top of his own voice, which he uses on many of his new songs, was replaced effectively with echoing in the live performance. "I'm just a shabby doll," Costello sang, with the title words vibrating in echo as he swayed.

Costello included a couple of country songs, "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and "Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used to Do" from his Almost Blue album of country remakes. The audience proved on these songs that you can new wave dance to anything that has a little beat to it.

The sequencing of tempo buildup, then slowdown, continued through the show. In the encore return to the stage, Costello would hold up one finger, raise his eyebrows and mouth "One more?" as the crowd cheered. His encore included eight songs, ending with the heavy beat of "Pump It Up."

Costello, in his latest phase, comes across as a true "crooner," turning down the beat of his music and turning up the vibrato in his voice. Bing Costello or Elvis Sinatra, maybe? Probably not.

With the rockers he threw in and the fun he seemed to be having in the two-hour performance, he'll never go the "crooner" route.


The Blondie performance, in contrast to Costello's show, started slow, peaked, then fizzled. The opening number was "Rapture," a very upbeat but commercially overplayed rap-disco song.

The performance seemed to climb in intensity with "Island of Lost Souls," a Latin-rhythm song from the band's new album Hunter. "The Tide Is High," a similar pop-reggae song kept people dancing.

The show reached a peak with peppy rockers like "Hanging On The Telephone" and "One Way Or Another" and the first encore, a rendition of one of the Stones' weakest hits "Start Me Up."

The Stones' dance song was a somewhat enjoyable surprise, but then the band ended with "Call Me," the popular yet lyrically and musically unimaginative theme from the film American Gigolo.

The show, by starting with "Rapture" and ending with "Call Me," indicated that Blondie has agreeingly stomped one foot deeper in the pile of commercialism.


Tags: Starlight TheatreKansas CityMissouriThe AttractionsSteve NaiveImperial BedroomAccidents Will HappenShabby DollHand In HandTonight The Bottle Let Me DownWhy Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)?Almost BluePump It UpBlondieElton JohnGrateful DeadStray CatsBing CrosbyFrank SinatraThe Rolling Stones

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The University Daily, August 6, 1982


Ronnie McKeown reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Sunday, August 1, 1982, Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri.

Images

1982-08-06 Texas Tech University Daily page 05 clipping 01.jpg
Clipping.

Page scan.
1982-08-06 Texas Tech University Daily page 05.jpg

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