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Elvis Costello — 40 years past the angry young man pose that launched his career — showed up at DAR Constitution Hall on Sunday in his current persona: the grateful middle-aged dude.
Costello, 64, canceled a European tour over the summer citing poor health, and news reports blamed his hiatus on cancer. He was coy about exactly what ailed him, but admitted he didn't have the energy to put on two-hour shows.
Judging by the length and vigor of his D.C. performance, he's beaten whatever was beating him down. He seemed so happy to be onstage he gave no sign that playing before the half-empty hall bothered him in the least.
Costello's got a new record out, Look Now, which he performed almost in its entirety. Highlights included the love ballad "Stripping Paper," about a relationship that needs as much of a touch-up as the paint in the living room. He called the tune "the first song I ever wrote about interior decorating."
The bounciest of the new bunch, "Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter," featured the band's background singers, a female duo decked out in retro outfits and flaunting dance moves all night long, taking over vocals. "Unwanted Number" swung like vintage Costello, but for the folks who came hoping for more old hits, it probably lived up to its title.
Still, the set list featured enough nuggets from back in the day to appease mature fans. Costello crooned the opening of "Alison" quietly with just the backup singers providing accompaniment, then the whole band kicked in and brought the evening's first standing ovation. He delivered a quite rough version of "Brilliant Mistake," a song from 1986 that mocked our American ways with British bite, singing all its clever phrases in a raspier-than-normal voice over fuzzy and heavily tremoloed guitar. The sound at Constitution Hall, in many sections muddy enough for a monster truck, didn't help clear anything up. But this rendering proved that no amount of distortion could overwhelm such a great melody.
"Green Shirt" from 1979 had some of the harder core fans singing along while throwing their arms skyward in deliriousness. During "Pump It Up," Costello threw in a quick ode to Bob Dylan, blurting "Thinkin' 'bout the government!" from "Subterranean Homesick Blues."
Costello took two sizable breaks to introduce the whole band, using the same intro for each member both times. It wasn't clear whether he was being a hyper-gracious bandleader or had just forgotten about the first one. At other points, he showed he's still got quick quips at the ready, telling fans that he'd played a show the night before in Atlantic City, then remarking that he "went from AC to DC."
He kept his banter largely apolitical, even with the venue mere blocks from the White House. One exception: For an encore, he donned a red top hat and sang, "Blood and Hot Sauce," a satirical campaign tune and the most Randy Newman-sounding song in the Costello catalogue.
Costello acted as if he didn't want to go home. His extended and repeated encores ended up taking almost as long as the main set, his performance stronger at night's end than when the show began. He wound up the evening with "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding," with many fans air drumming the song's signature snare riff and screaming along the earnest, pained lyrics Costello first sang decades ago — when he was, you know, an angry young man.
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