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Maybe it was a rushed rehearsal period. Maybe it was just fatigue. But Elvis Costello certainly took a long time to get going on the opening night of his European tour. If this was the World Cup, God forbid, you might even say the team wasn't fully match-fit. Yet, frustratingly, there were also blinding shafts of such shining potential I just know they'll be on brilliant form wherever they're playing as you read this.
Don't get me wrong. The Imposters (basically The Attractions with bassist Davey Faragher replacing Bruce Thomas) didn't miss a chance to prove their impeccable musicianship, with Steve Nieve's keyboards a consistently surprising delight and the thunderous drums of Pete Thomas knitting with Faragher's basslines as powerfully as a kick in the chest.
Likewise, backing vocalists Kitten Kuroi and Briana Lee were superb, soulfully and wittily icing the musical cake every time they were called upon. The setlist — a magnificent stream of songs plucked from the breadth of Costello's lengthy career — was a triumph, studded with both hits and fan-favourite obscurities.
But the pieces struggled to truly fit together, especially in the opening stretches.
They came on to the old Robin Hood TV theme music (ho ho). Costello — in his bulging shades, looking disturbingly reminiscent of Bono (and later, sporting a scarlet trilby, even more disturbingly like Bono's dad on a heavy night out) — screeched out plenty of joyfully extreme guitar feedback and hit some vocal high notes. But just as often he seemed to be slightly off-tempo. A boomy sound mix hardly helped.
Even so, there was some early magic. It's always great to hear Costello tear through the bracing "Girls Talk" and a complete re-arrangement of Imperial Bedroom's "Tears Before Bedtime" (to reflect "not how I wrote it but how I feel now") was a beautiful, bluesy marvel, significantly improving on the record. And they did "Green Shirt," which is never a bad thing.
But there were longueurs. "Good Year For The Roses" was a bit of a strain and even "Watching The Detectives" was under-powered, lacking the scathing drama of yore.
It took a cracking "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" to really get things rocking. And, as time rolled on, the band seemed to start enjoying themselves. Costello made a fine job of "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" and "Motel Matches" and blew out all the stops for "Beyond Belief" and "Mystery Dance."
The main set came to a sudden stop after just an hour but the night leapt up to a still higher level with around 50 minutes of encores, starting with just Costello, Kuroi and Lee singing a lovely "Alison."
Nieve joined Elvis for rearranged versions of "Accidents Will Happen" and "Talking In The Dark" before a spellbinding "Shipbuilding." Then he nearly ruined everything with Charles Aznavour's "She" but luckily followed that with an atmospheric song in French and English written for the late "French Elvis" Johnny Hallyday (and performed here on what would have been Hallyday's birthday) to save the day.
They ended — as tradition demands — with rousing blasts of "Pump It Up" and Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding," rowdy crowd-pleasers which brought everybody to their feet for the final lap. Trouble is, I remember him doing that at the other end of the show. But not every night can be a classic.
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