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Strolling on-stage at precisely 7 p.m. to a packed auditorium and the pre-taped sound of some light jazz doodling is Mr. Elvis Costello, looking uncannily like another EC (Eric Clapton) in his shorn hair, scraggy beard, hip baggy jacket and horn-rims with yellow-tinted glasses. With Steve Nieve placed at the grand piano it's showtime and straight into "Why Can't A Man Stand Alone?," followed by a brief "Good evening, Voss, this is an old song that we played fast when we were young and ugly, but this is how we think of it now," and it's "Temptation."
Strapping on his guitar we were treated to a positively fierce version of "Talking In The Dark," followed by a moving "Poor Fractured Atlas." Then an awesome "Red Shoes" which apparently the audience recognised and cheered wildly at and sang along to.
Quieting down a bit it's "Still Too Soon To Know" and then the Nieve & Costello co-written "Passionate Fight," introduced by Elvis telling us the storyline, then he's stalking the stage, "wearing out the carpet," as it were. Elvis is doing those dramatic, and hilariously funny opera-gestures while singing it, and afterwards he informs us that he and Steve recently did a tour of Italian opera houses. "As you can see, we've practised a lot."
Well, it sure brings a whole new dimension to the term "dramatic pop-ballads," but whether it's suitable for kicking Celine Dion's ass, I can't really say.
What's most striking to me at this moment is first of all what great shape his voice is in; the man just keeps getting better and better. Sitting in the front row (in the, ahem, "press section") it's also quite amusing to watch his mimics and the way he works the audience. Oh, and lest I forget, the songs, God, those songs...
Great versions of both "The Long Honeymoon" and "The Other End Of The Telescope" follow. Then on to a totally heart-wrenching "Little Palaces" at which the place is so still you could hear a needle drop, followed by a roaring applause.
Steve leaves for awhile and Elvis sits down for a rendition of "So Like Candy" that is better than I've ever heard. I actually start to like the song, which is new to me, it's never been one of my faves. Then he asks for all the lights to be dimmed in the house and on-stage. He says "the Rolling Stones have inflatable women, Pink Floyd, most fittingly have inflatable pigs, and U2 have this McDonald's arch, and beautiful it is, too. I, on the other hand, have THIS," at which he turns on a little torch-light.
He tells us the story of when he started writing songs, he used to go to the darkest spot in the house and sat down and played. Then he does "Alison" in such a quiet and subdued way he actually manages to breathe new life into a song that I thought had been done to death. It's an extremely touching moment, and when it's over the audience duly responds by cheering, stamping their feet and clapping wildly.
He goes on to "Radio Sweetheart" and incorporates "Jackie Wilson Said," urging the audience to sing along in the chorus and the packed auditorium gladly sings "Do do do dodo, do do do dodo..." like there was no tomorrow. The applause nearly brought the house down, I kid you not!
This reaction to one man and his guitar speaks volumes about Elvis' artistic abilities, doesn't it? Flying pigs, who needs them?
Steve is back at the Steinway, and we're treated to a great rendition of "God Give Me Strength." By now, the audience seems to be only so much putty in his hands, and the response is a thunderous applause and "yeehaws." Elvis is thanking the audience for our response by the following quip: "Burt and I will return later on with 24 new songs like that one."
Then it's "Veronica" and for me it's something of a let-down compared to the ones he's done so far, but it's quickly followed by another awesome rendition of an old gem, this time "Shipbuilding."
Encore 1 — Elvis and Steve both bid the audience adieu, but we won't hear of that, of course. After some cheering, clapping and feet-stomping by the 1.500 assembled they return with a really renewed and fresh "Everyday I Write The Book," then straight into "Accidents Will Happen." At the end, when he sings "I know, I know, I know..." he suddenly incorporates the first verse of "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa," singing "Dearest darling, I have to write to say that I won't be home, ever again."
Then it's the intro to "All This Useless Beauty," about the girl in the art gallery, looking at all this great art and then to her "late 20th century lover..." Tonight's rendition brings yet another storming applause, not least on account of Elvis' impeccable Italian, I guess.
The first encore ends with a fierce "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" and again they say thanks and goodnight.
Encore 2 — Again the audience, by now being worked into a frenzy by our boy, will simply not hear of it. Elvis and Steve return with versions of "Almost Blue" and "My Funny Valentine," the latter sung in such a way as to send shivers down our spines. Truly wonderful.
Then it's "God's Comic," and Elvis' variety of facial expressions would make Marcel Marceau green with envy. He changes "Paradise's endless shores" into "endless fjords" to fit the occasion, and the audience laps it up and hoot and holler. Again it's sing-a-long time and Elvis beckons us all with "As you Norwegians are such cheerful people, I thought you'd like to join me in the chorus." When they all learn what the chorus is ("Now, I'm dead, now I'm dead" and "I was scared, I was scared.") they hoot and holler some more. Now, don't ever let me hear you say we don't have some irony up here!
When they returned at the start of the second encore I put a note on-stage with a request for my all-time fave "I'll Wear It Proudly," and at the end of "God's Comic" he picks it up, tells us he's had a request and plays a beautiful rendition of it. Then it's goodnight Voss once more, but the audience simply refuses to leave the place and let him go. After awhile they both reappear, laughing, and shaking their heads in disbelief. Well, I guess they didn't think Norwegians had it in us... how wrong they were!
Encore 3 — Strapping on an electric Gibson it's a mean "Shallow Grave," the crowd swaying, singing and cheering him along. Then it's "Watching The Detectives," complete with the theme-song for British TV-crime-series, Bergerac, and alas, it is getting very near the end.
Elvis tells us that he really has to go, 'cause he's got a train to catch "to Leningrad." Now, the first part is true, because post-show he pops up at the local train station and both he, Cait and Steve actually board the same train as me, but it's not headed for Leningrad, only for Oslo.
Shutting down his mic and turning on all the lights ("so that we can see who you are and recognise you next time we come around"), he ended with a "non-amplified" and impossibly beautiful "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4." Walking from one end of the stage to the other he literally sang his heart out, everyone could hear him perfectly, and when he ended with a deep bow the crowd went bananas.
At the very end Elvis and Steve stood centre stage hand in hand and waved to the crowd. They received one red rose each from the arrangers, and then it was all over.
Oh, and before leaving the building I sneaked on-stage and nicked the setlist.
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