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He's rightly considered among the greatest pop songwriters of his time, but Elvis Costello surely deserves similar ranking among the best pop vocalists of the era as well. At his Revolver Tour stop Saturday night at the United Palace Theater, Costello sang his heart, soul and lungs out in a riveting rock set that was tempered by the humor he brings to the Revolver format — which finds him breaking intermittently to don his Napoleon Dynamite vaudeville emcee character and escort lucky fans to the immense "Spectacular Spinning Songbook" spinning wheel standing stage left.
Stage right stood the go-go cage, staffed by the stunning "Lady of Perpetual Torment," as the great showman introduced her. Stage further left was a new prop since Costello's three-night Revolver stand at the Beacon Theatre in May: the "Hammer of Songs" — a variant of the old carnival high striker strongman game, here designating the "ever popular" Songs of Sneer, Ladies Excuse Me and Hits of Tomorrow categories, to be struck with a "solid gold hammer" gifted to Mr. Dynamite, he said, by Mitt Romney.
Re-inventing the wheel, Costello interspersed a few multiple-song "Jackpot" titles among the 40-some songs affixed to the Spinning Songbook, with the "Joanna" jackpot showcasing his awesome vocal power and technique. Explaining that "Joanna" is Cockney rhyming slang for piano (pianner), he started the segment with "I'm In The Mood Again" — from his underappreciated 2003 album North — and with his band The Imposters' genius keyboardist Steve Nieve providing solo piano backup, followed with "I Still Have That Other Girl," which he co-wrote with Burt Bacharach from their joint 1998 album Painted From Memory (the song won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals).
Costello's singing here was simply unbelievable. Same with two Johnny Cash songs inspired by the wheel stopping on the "Cash" marker: "Cry! Cry! Cry!," which was easy pickings for the rhythm section of "The One and Only" drummer Pete Thomas and bassist/backup singer Davey Faragher (who also stood out for keeping up vocally with Costello), since they have a country band, Jackshit, when they're at home in Los Angeles; and "I Still Miss Someone," for which Nieve switched from a circus organ-like part to a wailing melodica solo.
But the "Time" jackpot was the real high point. "Clowntime Is Over" built relentlessly with Nieve's keyboard intensity and fed into a churning "Strict Time" — marked again by Nieve's seemingly endless reserve of basic pattern permutations. He then threw a quote from "Spanish Harlem" (named, of course, for the Upper Manhattan neighborhood near the Washington Heights concert venue) into "Man Out Of Time" before Costello closed the segment with The Rolling Stones' "Out Of Time."
As Dynamite, he had ventured into the audience to sing, and when he returned he brought along a youngster to take the next Songbook spin.
"Never send a boy to do a man's job," he gently cautioned, then added, "but we'll make an exception this time." Giving the kid's spin a helpful little nudge ("If I can't cheat here, where can I cheat?"), he blasted through "Pump It Up," Nick Lowe's classic "Heart Of The City," "Radio, Radio" and "Red Shoes," the last gem from debut album My Aim Is True dissolving into a Prince "Purple Rain"/Beatles "Rain" coda.
Besides the boy, one other wheel-spinner merits special mention: the lovely Mary Louise Parker. She may not have survived last week's Weeds' season-ending cliffhanger, but she was certainly alive here, responding to Costello's "feel free to shake a tail feather" permit by doing just that in the go-go cage after her spin landed on "Monkey To Man." He rewarded her with an impromptu version of the other Elvis's "(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame," then ushered her over to the "Society Lounge" in front of Nieve's keyboard fortress — where the "solid gold chairs," he said, were a present from Rick Perry.
There was one last surprise of the night, though it may have gone mostly unnoticed: A quick Imposters' insert of the theme from England's beloved 1960s "Supermarionation" TV series Stingray proved a most effective transitional tool late in the set, which ended big with "Watch Your Step," "Secondary Modern," The Flying Burrito Brothers' "Wheels," "National Ransom," and of course, "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding."
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