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Any day featuring an Elvis Costello performance will probably be a good one. But this onslaught of positive omens was getting out of hand. First, I actually found a parking spot close to the PATH station. Then, I approached the parking meter (trying not to drop the 27 quarters I’d stockpiled for just this occasion) when I discovered another minor miracle: Someone had vacated with three hours and 34 minutes still paid for. When I walked out onto the train platform, I barely had 30 seconds to gloat on my friend’s voicemail (“I’m on my way to see Elvis Costello - are you?”) when my train sailed up to greet me. Later, I was walking down Canal Street, I sneezed, and a woman wished me a particularly sincere “God Bless You.”
What had I done to merit this embarrassment of karmic riches? I thought it best not to question it. Instead, I surfed that delirious, mysterious wave into the Canal Room for Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, who played a joyous and breezy set that befitted such a charmed afternoon - and belied the solemn context of their new recordings.
As fans already know, the two are promoting The River in Reverse, an album due June 6 from Verve Records which began taking shape after Costello and Toussaint wound up playing the same Hurricane Katrina benefit shows. A New Orleans native and resident, Toussaint was living in New York in the aftermath of the flooding. The duo - which had recorded together a few times in the past - soon had five new songs co-written. New versions of seven Toussaint songs, plus the title track composed by Costello, would round out the album. The collaboration is captured in Putting The River in Reverse, a short documentary by Matthew Buzzell which screened at the Festival.
On this day in lower Manhattan, one would hardly guess that such a grim ordeal had been the catalyst. The wall-to-wall crowd had just enjoyed a set from English singer-songwriter David Ford, whose current release is titled I Sincerely Apologise For All The Trouble I’ve Caused and includes the song “Cheer Up (You Miserable Fuck)“. Ford’s material - which vacillates nicely between hushed and cathartic - went over well. And when he was through, hordes of people (who are probably polite in most other circumstances) fought for control of whatever four-inch gaps they could inhabit, regardless of the body parts they violated in the process.
The Costello devotees, likely familiar with Toussaint’s impressive resume, were no doubt secretly wondering if a piano-heavy Costello chestnut like “Almost Blue“ would make an appearance (I was wagering we’d hear “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror,” the 1989 track that featured Toussaint on piano). We were all wrong - but none of us was disappointed. No Costello solo tunes figured into the set, but the crowd was rapt and obedient nonetheless. Elvis could have been dressed for a funeral, with his black suit/black shirt/black tie ensemble, complete with dark sunglasses. But the getup was betrayed by a smile that would surface when he looked over at Toussaint, a serene and sage-like presence in gray suit with hair to match. It looked as if Costello - a professed disciple of American R&B - was still tickled by the novelty of his latest partnership. And this is a man whose career has become defined by interesting collaborations: Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Bill Frisell, Chet Baker, The Brodsky Quartet, and wife Diana Krall are just a handful of examples.
Costello’s reign as king collaborator and chameleon is one way he’s transformed himself since the days of punk and new wave. He’s also emerged as a singer. On his formative records, Costello’s voice was essentially a conveyance, a suitable instrument for his hymns to cynicism and regret. But he now revels in the role of crooner. With Toussaint handling the musical chores, Costello was free to man the mic stand - and conjure the pathos and tenderness only that particular scepter can. He only strapped on a guitar to perform the menacing “The River in Reverse,” which also marked the only time the tacit bitterness about the Katrina debacle came to a discernible boil.
Other than that, this was a show of exuberance and hope. Toussaint’s classic “What Do You Want The Girl To Do,” not featured on the album, was a terrific surprise. And hearing Toussaint’s appeal for equality, “Freedom For the Stallion,” interpreted by Elvis Costello, a London-born Irishman who never set foot in the American south until Toussaint had spent four decades there ... well, that’s the kind of strange but beautiful connection that inspires people to make music and films in the first place. It’s fuel to send people out onto the sidewalks to wish blessings upon strangers.
The Tribeca/ASCAP Music Lounge also featured performances by Josh Ritter, Nellie McKay, Lisa Hannigan, Rodney Crowell, Dan Manjovi with Grace Hightower De Niro, Patty Griffin, John Mayer, Martin Luther, Brazilian Girls and Kazi & The Hip Hop Project from the film Word.Life.
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