You want more Elvis? OK! You didn't think Arts Devo was going to stop blathering about Elvis Costello just because his marathon solo show at Laxson Auditorium happened more than a week ago (Sept. 25) did you? It probably goes with out saying that I and Mrs. Devo (and my uncle and aunt there with us) thought Elvis was rad. That's how these nostalgic "An evening with…" shows normally work: Everyone there is already a fan, and the shared experience of hearing our guy do the thing that we already love — like chew his way through "Watching The Detectives" (a particularly noisy and awesome version) — is pretty much guaranteed to be rad to us. Add to that the fact that I got to reminisce over beers at The Banshee before the show with my uncle, the guy who introduced me to My Aim Is True and This Year's Model when I was 9 years old, and a good night was a no-brainer.
With the stage set with a big "20" and "54" lit up on either side, and a sign in the middle advertising the "Centenary Tour" (a celebration of the artist's 100th year, about 42 years early), Costello hopped around his repertoire, exchanging one guitar for another for a mostly acoustic retelling of his 35-year career. Some of the faves were just bashed out with few to no dynamics — "Suit of Lights" and a rushed "Our Little Angel" (both off 1986's King Of America) come to mind — while some, like "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?" (the Nick Lowe cover that Costello now owns), were glorious in their bashed-outness. But some of the classics were re-imagined and re-energized, like the looping "Watching the Detectives" (the first tune he ever recorded with The Attractions) and probably the most satisfying, a reworking of Costello's first U.S. hit, 1983's "Everyday I Write The Book," which, unencumbered by its murky faux Motown-ness, came out much brighter and sweeter.
He's 58 now, but Costello's voice was as strong as ever — still distinct and infused with several different shades of character, most notably on the incredible "Brilliant Mistake" (also off King of America) which along with his mash-up of 1980's "New Amsterdam" with The Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" was my favorite song of the night.
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