Elvis Costello Information Service, August 1992: Difference between revisions
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This has got to be a dream... It's Wednesday evening and my wife, Christine, and I are holed up in a Paddington hotel room listening to the rain beating down outside. By 7.15pm it has virtually stopped as we take a 20-minute walk into the Little Venice district, ending up outside a blue-fronted chapel building which bears a discreet notice identifying it as The Amadeus Arts Centre. A further notice announces brusquely: "CONCERT SOLD OUT." Time for a quick drink in the pub opposite and we are first in line, waiting on the steps for the doors to open. A few sad souls drift by asking if we have any spare tickets for a concert which received minimal publicity. We shake our heads, trying desperately to convey sympathy instead of smugness, as a queue begins to form along the pavement... | This has got to be a dream... It's Wednesday evening and my wife, Christine, and I are holed up in a Paddington hotel room listening to the rain beating down outside. By 7.15pm it has virtually stopped as we take a 20-minute walk into the Little Venice district, ending up outside a blue-fronted chapel building which bears a discreet notice identifying it as The Amadeus Arts Centre. A further notice announces brusquely: "CONCERT SOLD OUT." Time for a quick drink in the pub opposite and we are first in line, waiting on the steps for the doors to open. A few sad souls drift by asking if we have any spare tickets for a concert which received minimal publicity. We shake our heads, trying desperately to convey sympathy instead of smugness, as a queue begins to form along the pavement... | ||
The doorman finally admits us at 8.40pm and, after a brief bag check in the tiny foyer ("no hidden tape recorders in there I hope, sir!") we enter an intimate hall, approximately 50 feet square. Before us are some 20 white-draped tables with seating for | The doorman finally admits us at 8.40pm and, after a brief bag check in the tiny foyer ("no hidden tape recorders in there I hope, sir!") we enter an intimate hall, approximately 50 feet square. Before us are some 20 white-draped tables with seating for five or six people, each bedecked with a small vase of flowers, blue napkins, dishes of nuts and olives, chilled bottles of San Miguel beer, mineral water and glasses. At the far end there is no stage, but a group of music stands indicate where the musicians will perform. We make our way to the front centre table, fully expecting to find it reserved for guests or sponsors, but it isn't and, disbelievingly, we sit down. Looking around in a daze, I notice the original dark oak gallery of the Welsh Presbyterian chapel running around three sides of the upper room, the pipes of the organ rising majestically to the ceiling at the back. It is easy to imagine that other prolific tunesmith, J.S. Bach, giving a recital in such surroundings. | ||
Only now do I get a chance to study the sheet of paper handed out to us as we came in. It is a programme of the evening's music. I don't think anybody had much idea what to expect from this concert. When I booked tickets back in April it was described as a "work in progress." I suppose I was thinking of something in the line of the ''GBH'' soundtrack, definitely an instrumental work of some sort. However, when I telephoned to check that the concert was still on before travelling to London I was told that Elvis would be singing, so I assumed that he must have re-arranged some of his songs for string quartet accompaniment and that we might get one or two new ones thrown in. As usual with Elvis, I should save known to expect the unexpected. | Only now do I get a chance to study the sheet of paper handed out to us as we came in. It is a programme of the evening's music. I don't think anybody had much idea what to expect from this concert. When I booked tickets back in April it was described as a "work in progress." I suppose I was thinking of something in the line of the ''GBH'' soundtrack, definitely an instrumental work of some sort. However, when I telephoned to check that the concert was still on before travelling to London I was told that Elvis would be singing, so I assumed that he must have re-arranged some of his songs for string quartet accompaniment and that we might get one or two new ones thrown in. As usual with Elvis, I should save known to expect the unexpected. | ||
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The performance closes with a trilogy of songs for which Elvis did write all the words and music himself; and a pretty impressive achievement turns out to be. All three address the subject of life after death in different ways. "The First To Leave," with its moving lyric concerning a couple who disagree on the existence of an afterlife, is another which would place amongst the best things he has ever written. "Damnation's Cellar" considers the people who might be brought back from the dead via time machine: ''"Bring us back Da Vinci so we don't have to ponder the maddening smile of La Giaconda. The critics say Nijinsky, the dancer of course, while the punters would probably prefer the horse."'' Finally, there is the philosophical "The Birds Will Still Be Singing": ''"Banish all dismay, extinguish every sorrow. If I'm lost or I'm forgiven, the birds will still be singing..."'' | The performance closes with a trilogy of songs for which Elvis did write all the words and music himself; and a pretty impressive achievement turns out to be. All three address the subject of life after death in different ways. "The First To Leave," with its moving lyric concerning a couple who disagree on the existence of an afterlife, is another which would place amongst the best things he has ever written. "Damnation's Cellar" considers the people who might be brought back from the dead via time machine: ''"Bring us back Da Vinci so we don't have to ponder the maddening smile of La Giaconda. The critics say Nijinsky, the dancer of course, while the punters would probably prefer the horse."'' Finally, there is the philosophical "The Birds Will Still Be Singing": ''"Banish all dismay, extinguish every sorrow. If I'm lost or I'm forgiven, the birds will still be singing..."'' | ||
At the end, there is a spontaneous standing ovation. The musicians take two bows before returning for an encore. There is a request for "Pump | At the end, there is a spontaneous standing ovation. The musicians take two bows before returning for an encore. There is a request for "Pump It Up" which draws a smile from Elvis. He explains that they don't know any more songs and invites requests for anything we would like to hear again. They repeat three songs, all from the first half of the concert, before retiring to another standing ovation. | ||
So how can I describe this marvelous music? Is it pop? Is it chamber music? In the end, I suppose it doesn't really matter what you call it. Suffice to say that this is most definitely not a case of "classical musicians disdainfully agree to accompany pop star for good cause" or "pop star hires classical group for credibility." It all seems so beautifully natural that there is no sense of two musical genres colliding. EC's voice blends perfectly into the varied musical settings, really becoming just another instrument. He appears much more comfortable than I had expected. During the instrumental sections he withdraws to a table behind the group, occasionally sipping from a mug of tea, and listening to the music with obvious enjoyment. When it is time to sing again, there is a thunder of elasticated shoes on wooden floorboards as he strides purposefully forward. It is also clear from their faces that the Brodsky Quartet is enjoying the music. They play it with an enthusiasm at least the equal of a certain other group (also boasting two Thomases) which Elvis once worked with. | So how can I describe this marvelous music? Is it pop? Is it chamber music? In the end, I suppose it doesn't really matter what you call it. Suffice to say that this is most definitely not a case of "classical musicians disdainfully agree to accompany pop star for good cause" or "pop star hires classical group for credibility." It all seems so beautifully natural that there is no sense of two musical genres colliding. EC's voice blends perfectly into the varied musical settings, really becoming just another instrument. He appears much more comfortable than I had expected. During the instrumental sections he withdraws to a table behind the group, occasionally sipping from a mug of tea, and listening to the music with obvious enjoyment. When it is time to sing again, there is a thunder of elasticated shoes on wooden floorboards as he strides purposefully forward. It is also clear from their faces that the Brodsky Quartet is enjoying the music. They play it with an enthusiasm at least the equal of a certain other group (also boasting two Thomases) which Elvis once worked with. | ||
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Next morning, the London skies are overcast once again. In Oxford Street the record shops are playing the new Springsteen album non-stop and peddling all the latest pop flavours. At the main HMV store, they're queuing up to meet Michael Crawford. None of the papers carry any mention of last night's concert. Perhaps it was too late for them, perhaps they're just not interested. Or perhaps it was all just a dream after all... | Next morning, the London skies are overcast once again. In Oxford Street the record shops are playing the new Springsteen album non-stop and peddling all the latest pop flavours. At the main HMV store, they're queuing up to meet Michael Crawford. None of the papers carry any mention of last night's concert. Perhaps it was too late for them, perhaps they're just not interested. Or perhaps it was all just a dream after all... | ||
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{{tags}}[[Amadeus Centre]] {{-}} [[London]] {{-}} [[The Brodsky Quartet]] {{-}} [[Paul Cassidy]] {{-}} [[Jacqueline Thomas]] {{-}} [[The Juliet Letters]] {{-}} [[William Shakespeare]] {{-}} [[Declan MacManus]] {{-}} [[For Other Eyes]] {{-}} [[Swine]] {{-}} [[I Almost Had A Weakness]] {{-}} [[Why?]] {{-}} [[Taking My Life In Your Hands]] {{-}} [[Dear Sweet Filthy World]] {{-}} [[The Letter Home]] {{-}} [[This Offer Is Unrepeatable]] {{-}} [[Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4]] {{-}} [[This Sad Burlesque]] {{-}} [[Romeo's Seance]] {{-}} [[The First To Leave]] {{-}} [[Damnation's Cellar]] {{-}} [[The Birds Will Still Be Singing]] {{-}} [[Pump It Up]] {{-}} [[Verona]] {{-}} [[Alan Bleasdale]] {{-}} [[GBH]] {{-}} [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J.S. Bach]] {{-}} [[Bruce Springsteen]] | |||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1992-08-00 ECIS cover.jpg| | [[image:1992-08-00 ECIS cover.jpg|380px|border]] | ||
<br><small>Cover.</small> | <br><small>Cover.</small> | ||
<small>Pages.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1992-08-00 ECIS pages 06-07.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
[[image:1992-08-00 ECIS pages 08-09.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
[[image:1992-08-00 ECIS pages 10-11.jpg|380px|border]] | |||
<br><small>Pages.</small> | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} |
Latest revision as of 13:26, 12 April 2020
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