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"I just don't know where to begin..." As he has many times in the past, Elvis Costello opened his show at The Palladium last week with those first words of "Accidents Will Happen." No one believed him. Not even for the few seconds it took to spit the line out.
Of course, with a dozen records since 1977, a handful of them among the best of the last decade, song choice must be getting more and more difficult for Costello. The bewildering turns his music has taken. veering from basic rock though R&B, country, stylized pop and jazz, must also challenge Costello the live performer. So he took the only option. He beefed up the band, played a long set and covered just about everything.
To do it, he needed a flexible group of musicians. Named the Rude 5, six players actually joined Costello on stage. Call it Rude 5 plus an Attraction. Just one of Costello's long-time mates made this tour. Drummer Pete Thomas shared percussion duties with Michael Blair. Costello stole Blair and guitarist Marc Ribot, at least temporarily, from Tom Waits. Multi-instrumentalists Jerry Scheff, Steve Soles and Larry Knechtel allowed Costello to work in everything from the ear-shattering "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" through the pop of "Veronica" and the folkish "That Day is Done."
Nine of the fifteen songs from Costello's latest, Spike, made it into the set. The absence of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who accompanied him on much of the record, forced three of the Rude 5 to pick up horns, a mini-brass section that served the new songs well. Many of these tunes, and a few from 1986's King of America, are not your standard rock songs. They're denser both lyrically and musically. It's a testament to Costello's evolution that he was able to put them across so forcefully on stage in an atmosphere (a general-admission, jam-packed downtown hall) clearly set up for simpler fare.
While in his early years Costello had the reputation of being a bit nasty on stage, he has become increasingly gracious with age. Spike's subtitle, "the beloved entertainer," may not be totally ironic after all. Costello chatted up the Palladium audience, thanked it repeatedly and treated the loyal to three sets of encores for a generous two-hour, 30-song show with almost no slow spots.
If Costello has softened his stage presence, however, his music has lost none of its venom. "Tramp the Dirt Down" savors the death of Margaret Thatcher in lines reminiscent of Bob Dylan's closing verse of "Masters of War." The Rude 5 (plus Thomas) showed plenty of musical bite as did the leader's electric guitar. During the extended sermon attached to "God's Comic," Costello banished to a special hell women in wet furs on elevators, television evangelists, divorce lawyers, CIA drug-runners and film colorizers, specifically the ones who altered Jailhouse Rock. He filled "Let Him Dangle" with bitterness, and led an odd sing-a-long section during the anti-capital punishment blast. (The audience chanted the "now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead..." chorus of "God's Comic" as well.)
Following "God's Comic" Costello took an unaccompanied acoustic turn, cleverly pairing his country song "Radio Sweetheart" with Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said." The acapella closing verse of "Tramp the Dirt Down" added to its stark anger. "Red Shoes" and "Girls Talk" rounded out the short solo set.
Some of the arrangements got a bit muddy. The sound system pushed Scheff's bass too hard. Old fans might have missed the Attractions' tightness on "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?" and elsewhere, but the band and sound seemed to sharpen as the show proceeded. The pre-encore ending of "Chewing Gum," "Uncomplicated" and "Hidden Charms" rocked as hard as any of Costello's earlier performances. Thomas and Blair locked into the beat, Costello tore into the words and everyone held on. The Rude 5 also offered Ribot's unique sound. He sprinkled his jagged, metallic licks throughout the show, but held back most of the sparks until "Chewing Gum," "Uncomplicated" and a jangling duel with Costello for "Watching the Detectives" during the second round of encores. By the time the band roared through the final three songs — "Pads, Paws and Claws," "Mystery Dance" and long-time closer "Pump It Up" — The Attractions were just a memory.
There was more. A little rockabilly for "Lovable," as Costello edged toward his (first) namesake. The touching "That Day is Done" with another false promise: " I won't be coming back." The strange, poisonous teacher "Miss Macbeth." As always, Costello built to several climaxes. "God's Comic" provided the first, "Chewing Gum" the second and "Detectives" the third at The Palladium. The last three songs exploded from the stage.
Live rock 'n' roll rarely aspires to more than a single dimension. Most bands seem content with finding a groove, having a good time and pumping up the audience. Costello did these things, of course. But he did much more. Different songs and musical styles served to build, break and ease tensions. Politics (sexual and non-) jammed up against insights into old age ("Veronica"), alcoholism ("Deep Dark Truthful Mirror") and leaving home ("American Without Tears"). Clever wordplay gave way to chilling revelations.
Costello ranted. He raved. He even whispered. He sang his heart out. He knew exactly what he was doing, start to finish.
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