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On Sunday night, Elvis Costello and the Attractions headlined a concert at the Palladium in New York. Elvis was warmed up by the English band, Squeeze. Drawing mainly from their successful album, Argy Bargy, Squeeze played a very strong hour set. The band opened with "There at the Top," and went right into "If I Didn't Love You." The band also went back to their previous album, Cool For Cats, and gave a very receptive audience a taste of their new album, due out in March.
Squeeze proved a true rock 'n' roll band which seemed to enjoy being on stage. The band was very tight and the packed audience was reluctant to let them leave the stage. Squeeze was enjoyably in contrast to usual warm-up acts, which are frequently booed off the stage before they are through.
Elvis and his Attractions had a tough act to follow, and unfortunately, they failed to live up to expectations. The problem, as is sometimes evident on his albums, was that the lyrics were lost.
Costello was brief; not a motion was wasted as he focused on his songs. As his fans know, Elvis rarely moves from his planted position in front of the only microphone.
The set, in which the band ripped off more than 20 songs in a little more than an hour, drew mainly from recent and new works. Classics were few and far between, being limited to "Alison," "Radio, Radio," "Red Shoes," and "Watching the Detectives," which came as the final encore. These few came off as quick "familiars" to give the band a rest and to keep the fans happy.
Costello's concert was brief and to the point. What could have been a great show fell just short. Some people may have been offended by Elvis's outward arrogance, but The Attractions came to rock, and they did just that. Elvis didn't say much more than an occasional "thank you," and rarely diverted from the clean-cut sound, with the exception of one brief solo.
The fans, however, were exuberant and responsive anyway. On this particular evening, the real attractions were the members of Squeeze.
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