New York Newsday, October 23, 1986

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Elvis Costello's witty gritty


Wayne Robins

Costello sings again — The English rock musician Elvis Costello with his band, the Attractions, Tuesday night at the Broadway Theater.

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 a logical opening for the concert. There were early, frothy tunes, such as "Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes," but Costello's most effective moments were those in which he addressed the double-dealing and emotional brutality he perceives in male-female relationships.

They included the early, ominous, reggae-based "Watching the Detectives," which Costello imbued with a grim intensity; and the more recent "Shabby Doll," which has one foot in the saloon-song tradition and the other in punk.

Costello and the Attractions hit the right obsessive tone for "You Belong to Me," while the early rocker "No Action" resonated with appropriate futility. "Lipstick Vogue" has retained its contempt for those obsessed with shallow values of fashion-model beauty; "Alison" remains a piercing statement of undiluted affection.

There were a number of songs from Costello's new album, Blood & Chocolate, including the raw, dense "Uncomplicated" and the fatalistic "I Want You." On the latter, Costello played guitar with his usual recklessness. Often, Costello turns that abandon into an asset. In Tuesday's show it wasn't: It was one of the few times he's had even a segment of a performance in which his reach exceeded his grasp.

Tonight he plays with the Confederates. Tomorrow night, members of the audience will choose the songs by use of "The Spinning Songbook." Saturday night's final performance will feature Costello and the Attractions doing material from the album Blood & Chocolate.


Tags: Broadway TheatreNew YorkThe AttractionsSteve NievePete ThomasBruce ThomasAccidents Will Happen(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red ShoesClublandOn BroadwayShabby DollWatching The DetectivesYou Belong To MeNo ActionLipstick VogueAlisonBlood & ChocolateUncomplicatedI Want YouPlaybillCostello Sings Again TourThe ConfederatesSpectacular Spinning Songbook

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Newsday, October 23, 1986


Wayne Robins reviews Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Tuesday, October 21, 1986, Broadway Theatre, New York.

Images

1986-10-23 New York Newsday, Part II page 13 clipping 01.jpg
Photo by Keith Morris.

Page scan.
1986-10-23 New York Newsday, Part II page 13.jpg

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