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Elvis Costello came to Broadway Tuesday night complete with his face on the cover of a Playbill. There were Broadway ushers, and Broadway prices — $30 a ticket. During the show (the first of five, each one different), Costello even managed to play a few bars of the Drifters' hit "On Broadway" within a lengthy version of "Clubland."
But Costello eschewed Broadway punctuality, starting the show half an hour late. Michael Bennett wasn't needed for the choreography (there was none), nor Tony Walton for set design (ditto).
Though Costello has at times had ambitions to be recognized as rock's Cole Porter, his music is now going through a more astringent phase. Backed by the Attractions — drummer Pete Thomas, bassist Bruce Thomas and keyboard player Steve Nieve — Costello was in uncommonly raucous form that offered a sharp contrast to the sedate surroundings.
Whether by intention or miscalculation, the sound mix was a persistent source of irritation. The band's volume was too much for the small theater. The abrasiveness may have been by design, to underline Costello's gritty approach. But the sustained distortion undermined the subtlety of Costello's witty, pun-filled lyrics.
The material, whether chosen by Costello or the audience in response to an intermittently employed "Request" light, took in all phases of his 10-year career, with an emphasis on the early, acerbic songs that come across as dispatches from the front lines of the battle between the sexes.
The first line of "Accidents Will Happen" — "Oh I just don't know where to begin" — provided ...
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