August 1984 saw the return of E.C. & The Attractions in The States again but this time the shows were quite different from April's solo performances. In fact it seemed as if EC was trying hard (maybe too hard) to strike a contrast with those shows; even the ballads in the set (and there were only a couple of them) were performed full force — there were no whispered vocals in a song like "Watch Your Step" — it was almost all shouted. The rest of the set was full steam ahead rock like I haven't seen from them since the old days of '78 and '79! While this pile-driver approach was a little tough to get used to, and a little monotonous or just plain too loud at times, it was fun to see EC rock out again — and maybe a welcome first for those who've found Costello too mellow the past few years, or for those who never saw the expanded, full throttle tunes with long noisy instrumental breaks in '78 and '79 which were resurrected this time around (personally, I could have used a few more slow tunes).
The first surprise at Columbia and Philadelphia (Aug. 10 and Aug. 11 resp.) was the clear, transparent blue frames of the glasses EC wore — very like those on last year's Musician magazine cover — and his longer hair (also reminiscent of the 1978/79 period). He opened both shows with songs from the Punch The Clock album, with Gary Barnacle's amplified sax substituting for the TKO Horns. Several tunes from the new album were done (he did more from a current album than he has done the last two years), including a blistering version of "Sour Milk-Cow Blues," and a amazing "Deportees Club" to end the set on a manic note! "I Wanna Be Loved" was also done in a long elaborate performance which did not work for me. Other highlights were a thumping version of "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star," a very quiet (by comparison) "Shipbuilding" (the only time EC put down his guitar), and at Columbia "Waiting For The End Of The World." Also introduced was a new song, "I Hope You're Happy Now," a bitter tune musically reminiscent of "Watch Your Step" but much more bombastic, with scathing lyrics that would not be out of place on This Year's Model!
During the encores, EC even did "Getting Mighty Crowded," maybe for the first time ever live, a great dance tune that had everyone up and singing the chorus. One encore was also set aside for a solo performance. In Maryland he did "Peace In Our Time," in Philadelphia "Riot Act" and "Peace In Our Time" and at Radio City in New York "Peace In Our Time" and a chilling Richard Thompson song "End Of The Rainbow." With The Attractions he played a song by Joe Camilleri (of Australian band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons), called "Young Boy Blues." In Radio City Music Hall, EC came out with his smaller sunglasses on, shades of 1981. This show started with "Watch Your Step" then "Lipstick Vogue" and "Watching The Detectives" as the volume went higher and higher. EC did a strange thing by performing "The Only Flame In Town" twice — first in a slow version like he did during the solo tour but using The Attractions, then again in the encores, this time like the album version! The rumour that Daryl Hall would come on stage to duet proved false. EC did also a very nice "Love Field" in one of the four encores. Also "Radio, Radio" was brought back in a slightly different version, starting out almost solo then returning into full-band version at the chorus.
Random observations: Gary Barnacle played on several songs; those featuring the TKO Horns last year, those he plays on the Goodbye Cruel World album, and at least one other ("Mystery Dance")... at the end of "Girls Talk," EC repeated the first verse, as he did in April, then sang the line "Can't you talk any louder" three or four times to spur audience response.
At the Columbia and Philadelphia concerts "Peace In Our Time" was used for updated commentary: Costello referred to "bonfires on every hilltop in El Salvador and in Los Angeles," and to "Olympic propaganda star wars"... He introduced "Hope You're Happy Now" in Philadelphia by saying he'd written it while watching All My Children (a daytime soap opera on US television); in New York he said he was going to do the song despite the fact that mindless spite is out of style (sample lyrics: "I hope you're happy now / cause you're supposed to be / I hope that this hurts you much more than it hurts me / I knew then what I know now / I never loved you anyhow / and I hope you're happy now"); the lyric to "Alison" changed to "the silly things that I say"; in New York, instead of the "ember of pride" ending to "Alison," EC did two verses of Hank Williams' "You Win Again."... "Backstabbers" is gone, and no song in the middle of "Watching the Detectives," though this could change at the very next show)... EC went thru three jackets in Philadelphia encores, from the main set's black to a white to a shocking pink...
"Everyday I Write The Book" was intro'd in Philadelphia as a song by The Romantics and in New York as a song "by our favorite group Mötley Crüe"... The Attractions, of course were in fine form, though the music did have a steamroller quality; Bruce Thomas' bass playing was especially upfront, and he even did a duckwalk during the band intros; EC plays the guitar more and more, apparently encouraged by the solo tour; many songs had long intros or bridges where the band jammed and EC went to the front of the stage and made a lot of noise with his guitar; the shows in Philadelphia and New York went two hours or slightly longer.
"Pump It Up" featured parts of two songs in the bridge, both done at times last year: one was the Banks/Jones standard "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and another mentioned something about "Tears, Tears and More Tears"(?); at the end of "So You Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star," EC said "I'm glad that life's not for me..."
A disappointment was that Nick Lowe, who performed a strong opening set, did not join EC on the encores (even on "Peace, Love and Understanding") though again, this may change before the tour ends...; in the slam-dancing department, one fan in Philadelphia jumped up on the left side of the stage during "Young Boy Blues," waved his arm over his head, then as the security folks ran from behind, he jumped off the stage into the first two rows, knocking over several fans, some of whom were standing on chairs at that time. EC had to pause to glance over at the scene; the fans at the Spectrum, at least up front, were the most enthusiastic....
|