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PISCATAWAY — Elvis Costello circa 1977 was known for onstage rudeness, brief sets and sarcastic put-downs of hecklers.
This year's version of Costello? That's another story.
Last night, the sold-out Livingston College gym saw Costello combine Vanna White, a sensitive singer-songwriter and standup comic in one package, a heady mix that had the delightful, engaging entertainer captivating his audience for close to three hours.
The solo Costello show (with former producer Nick Lowe as the acoustic opener) is part of a 10-date tour of the U.S., but the erstwhile King of America seemed anxious to stay in Piscataway all night. Loud applause coaxed him back to the stage three separate times for long, long encores.
Many fans left after the first encore, fooled when Costello shouted a good night, tossed his pick to the throngs and made a quick exit. As music blasted over the house system, roadies quickly broke down the sparse stage set, leaving many in the packed gym elbowing towards the door.
But Costello was not done. After a short delay, he came back in a red cap and gown, then donned a top hat and unveiled a giant wheel of fortune with 36 Elvis C. song titles in various slots.
Proclaiming himself "Napoleon Dynamite," Costello introduced a Rip Taylor lookalike named "Xavier Valentine" to recruit contestants to spin the huge, chaser-light filled contraption sitting behind the stage.
Costello did his Bob Barker best to put the chosen at ease, chiding one woman for forgetting where she lived.
Although he loudly proclaimed "no one knows" where the wheel stops, Costello gave fate a nudge, halting the device several times to accommodate requests for fan favorites "Alison," "Pump It Up," and "Mystery Dance."
The jovial mood was a stark contrast from the intense man who kept the cavernous gym virtually silent for the first hour of his show. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Costello concentrated on selections from his recent King of America, slipping in "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" at the beginning of the set.
Costello played with powerful versions of "Brilliant Mistake," Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," and "American Without Tears," shifting tempos and pouring his entire frame into the vocals at points.
The acoustic show was augmented by a changing slide presentation of various world monuments, nude photos and art objects. None of it bore any relation to the songs, save for rambling, off-the-cuff Costello descriptions of the slides that made little sense.
Although the crowd gave a warm reception to the acoustic set, the college audience seemed eager to rock, several shouting requests for hit singles from Costello's early days. Their patience was rewarded on the second encore, as Costello brought out Lowe for a hard-edged rendition of "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?"
Opener Lowe provided his usual bit of easy-going pop, running through classics like "Cruel to be Kind" and "Too Many Teardrops" in a style as comfortable as the blue jeans he wore. Lowe was brought back for an encore of "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)."
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