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Anyone who feared that Elvis Costello might be just another brief flashy chord in the great amplifier of rock 'n' roll was in for a nice jolt at the Warner Theatre last night, when the tweeky little British Buddy Holly lookalike had a sold out crowd storming the stage.
Costello has matured remarkably in the three months since he first hit these shores, transformed from a frenetic gunslinger with an electric guitar virtually hiding behind his microphone into the rabble-rousing entertainer who made his debut in Washington yesterday.
If the crowd was hesitant at first, Costello remedied that quickly, taking off his Stratocaster and hopping down into the audience. Two minutes later they were his, crunched up against the bottom of the stage and swaying to the raucous rhythms of "Mystery Dance."
On a second encore of "Blame it on Cain", Costello launched into the only real guitar solo of the evening, whipping out machine-gunned bursts that echoed the power of the Band's Robbie Robertson?on Bob Dylan's legendary tour of England in the mid 60's.
It is not an overstatement to say that Costello has that kind of power, the kind of resilient energy that infused groups like the Rolling Stones and the Who in rock's mid 60's heyday.
What particularly sets Costello apart from the rest of what's happening now are his clever, articulate lyrics and his seemingly prolific nature: About half the material in last night's show was new. He's not only playing real rock 'n' roll, but he sings to be singing about something the obviously matters to him, more than almost anybody else now performing.
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