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What do you do when you've conquered the world? Since bursting onto the music scene and into the public consciousness with My Aim Is True in 1977, Elvis Costello has been one of the most prolific and consistently interesting artists of the twentieth century. A true musical magpie, during his three decade career he has incorporated an astonishing number of different genres, from reggae to country, from baroque to blues constantly reinventing himself in the process. He's had number one hits, toured the world and is adored by fans and critics everywhere.
Costello has always amazed and confused and on his return to Melbourne on a blustery Tuesday night he did what nobody in the packed out Palais expected of one of pop's unquestioned geniuses; he played a solo set with an acoustic guitar.
Dressed in a straw hat and trademark suit, the dapper little gent was armed with a six strong arsenal of acoustic guitars and he really got some mileage out of them. He strummed through the sprightly chord changes with an amazing energy for a man the wrong side of fifty.
"Watching The Detectives" was a highlight, with Costello making great use of delay and distortion to remind the crowd just how biting and witty he can be. Otherwise, free of studio clutter the sparse arrangement and performance breathed life into old favourites like "Everyday I Write The Book" and "Hand in Hand"; "it was like hearing them for the first time" a middle aged lady said next to me. This minimalistic approach also perfectly suited the more tender moments (of which there were many) in Costello's music, like the opening ballad "Boat Shed" or the pretty new piece "Down Among The Wines and Spirits." It says a lot for Costello's strength as a performer and the unabashed quality of his songs that he was able to play the two hour set completely unaccompanied, and keep the audience captivated throughout.
Although any set that long is bound to throw up a few lemons. Open tuning dirges "Rope" and "One Bell Ringing" have not been released, and its easy to see why. The rockabilly single from Costello's middling new album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane dragged interminably. Also some of Costello's early classics like encore closer "I Want You" lost much of their vitality in the acoustic setting, and missed the presence of Costello's backing band The Attractions.
There was a real sense of history to Costello's performance, a collective remembrance of the past by the artist and the audience. Interspersed by hilarious stories of philandering bass players and show business fathers, jokes about the St. Kilda weather and the banal origins of his hits, Costello took us on a merry trip down memory lane, from his proto-punk origins ("Radio Sweetheart") to Tin Pan Alley pop maestro ("Alison") right through to his more recent role as a soulful crooner ("She"). It was an accurate history too, as even tracks from his less acclaimed albums, (like "Rocking Horse Road" from Brutal Youth) were included.
From the looks on the faces of his adoring audience this wasn't just a music set, it was something more, these baby boomers had grown old listening to this guy; they were as much a part of his history as he was. It reminded me of Costello's seminal performance on Live at The El Mocambo, a set recorded with The Attractions in 1978 which finishes with two minutes of rapturous applause. When he finally left the Palais stage over three decades later after the final snarl of "I Want You" it was just as thunderous. Not much has changed it would seem.
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