|
It took more than two years for Elvis Costello, the prince of the new wave, to wash ashore on Long Island. Back in 1977, when Costello recorded his first album, My Aim Is True, Graham Parker was the Englishman who led the vanguard of this latter-day British invasion. But through contractual problems, Parker faded from the top and Costello, aided by his two excellent ensuing albums, last year's This Year's Model and this year's Armed Forces (and the guiding hand of Columbia Records), ascended to the throne.
His Hempstead appearance followed just a little more than a week after his Manhattan April Fool's Day blitzkrieg — shows at the Lone Star Cafe, the Bottom Line and the Great Gildersleeves, all in one night.
In the course of his 18-song, 65-minute set, one witnessed the final transformation of a raw talent into a professional musician. Costello has become a polished performer. Gone are the days when he was a shy, nervously awkward figure on stage. Instead, Costello comes across as a master performer and showman who knows what to do at all times and how to work an audience. Whereas at one time he relied solely on the music to excite a crowds Costello now knows the proper hand gestures and correct physical exhortations. He is aided by wonderfully dramatic stage lighting that reached its peak during the unrecorded "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" and "Pump It Up." On the former song, Costello was spotlighted first in red light against a green background wash and then in green with his backing trio, The Attractions, bathed in purple. "Pump It Up" featured horizontal bands of white light that passed between Costello and the band.
Musically, Costello no longer stays strictly within a three-minute confines for each song, as a number of tunes were stretched out with instrumental breaks. Of these, "Watching the Detectives" proved the most interesting, as Costello and The Attractions seemed to have no idea of what each other was going to do, yet created an oddly effective break.
You can't really fault a concert that includes "Radio, Radio," "Two Little Hitlers," "The Beat" and "Mystery Dance" and the obvious inclusions of "Oliver's Army" and "Accidents Will Happen," as well as the songs previously mentioned. But Elvis Costello has been coerced by his success. "Commercial" may just mean that a lot of people like what you do, but to Elvis, this means that his aim is no longer true.
The Rubinoos, who opened the show, are the George Thorogood and the Destroyers of the West Coast. Whereas Thorogood revives old blues classics with a modern heartiness, The Rubinoos revive a number of '60s classics to spice their own highly attractive music. It's a sound that recalls the bubblegum music of the late '60s. and today comes across as innocuous fun. Originals like "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "Rock and Roll Is Dead (And We Don't Care)" are absurd, yet they're great songs. When mixed with covers of Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now" and The Seeds' "Pushing Too Hard" you've got a balance that can't be beat for good clean fun.
|
