As the roller coaster rides wound down to a halt at Canada's Wonderland Park, Elvis Costello and the Attractions wound up, as they took to the stage to perform to a full house at Kingswood Park June 3.
Costello's razor-edged voice crackled throughout the park, giving the audience a blend of old favourites mixed with new songs from his latest release, Brutal Youth.
Starting their set with "Pony St." Costello and his crew dove into song after song with sharp instrumentals and pounding vocals. Allowing the audience a chance to catch its breath, Costello slowed things down with "Still Too Soon To Know," bringing complete silence to the park.
A particularly outstanding moment during the show came when the audience was treated to a seamless transition from "Alison" into Smokey Robinson's "Tracks Of My Tears." It was a sweet reminder of Costello's earlier influences.
It was evident that Costello, bassist Bruce Thomas, drummer Pete Thomas and keyboardist Steve Nieve invested hours of rehearsal to get their sound just right. So right that if you closed your eyes, it was hard to tell if you were sitting at home listening to your CD player or it you were at a concert listening to a live performance.
The awe-struck audience remained in its seats for most of the show, until standing ovations turned the park into a mass dance floor during the three encores.
Costello's performance during his three encores went beyond audience expectations and followed an exhibition of non-stop energy for the first hour and 45 minutes of the show.
Costello seemed a little tired during his first encore, but he must have caught his second wind as the band returned, exuding pure volume for a second and third set.
The level of stamina and excitement rose as Costello plunged into his third encore, playing four songs one after another and ending with "Pump It Up," a track from the album, Girls, Girls, Girls.
For die-hard Elvis Costello fans, an added feature of the show was the reunion of long-time friends and fellow musicians The Attractions.
For die-hard fans, The Attractions' presence on stage did not go unnoticed, considering the show demonstrated pure professionalism.
To say Costello just put on another good show would be an understatement. This was one of his best performances ever.
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