DAVIS — At least three things make Elvis Costello unique: his clever, intricate lyrics, his buoyant melodies and his expressive, explosive voice.
But those strengths are what are most often obscured in a concert by Costello and his backing trio, the Attractions. The Attractions are one of the best groups of the post-punk era, but Costello's complex arrangements can result in a pop barrage that obscures his voice and lyrics.
Wednesday night Costello gave a crowd of about 3,000 at the University of California, Davis, plenty of opportunity to hear his lyrics, melodies and voice when he performed without the Attractions, backing himself on acoustic guitar with a little electric guitar and grand piano for variety.
As much as I've enjoyed the half-dozen Attractions shows I've seen, this performance in the UCD Rec Hall was Costello's most revealing. Nearly every word was understandable, and the listener could easily catch typical Costello lines such as the punny "Do I step on the brakes to get out of her clutches?" ("New Amsterdam") or "She said that she was working for the ABC News / It was as much of the alphabet as she knew how to use" ("Brilliant Mistake").
The show was divided into two halves of just under an hour each. In the first, Costello worked through a series of songs that spanned his 10-year career, from "Red Shoes" to a funky, beatbox-accompanied version of "Uncomplicated," which demonstrated his feel for a groove. Other highlights were "Green Shirt," "Brilliant Mistake," "Almost Blue" and inspired segues from "Radio Sweetheart" to Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said" and from "New Amsterdam" to John Lennon's "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away."
In the second half, Costello donned a top hat and was transformed into "Napoleon Dynamite," the overbearing host of the Spinning Songbook, a game-showlike bit where audience members were asked to spin a large wheel displaying the titles of several dozen songs, songs which he then performed.
The "contestants" chosen from the audience were then asked to dance in a '60s-era disco cage. A couple of the dancers were enthusiastic, but their awkward presense tended to distract from Costello's performance. Despite his glasnost of recent years, Costello still seems uncomfortable getting too close to his audience.
The more scattered second set contained a number of versions of others' songs, including "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey," "Pretty in Pink," and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," interspersed with his own "The Big Light," "Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head," "Girls Talk," "Everyday I Write the Book," and his new "Put Your Big Toe in the Milk of Human Kindness."
Second-set highlights included a rap style "Pump It Up," which segued into Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues"; "Alison," which borrowed a chorus from "You Win Again"; a chilling version of "Party Girl"; and an electrifying "Watching the Detectives" with drum machine.
Through it all, Costello used the opportunity to showcase his considerable voice, which has a texture and emotional expressiveness that embellished the readings of his recordings. He also used the greater aural space to flesh out the melodies.
The show, one of a small number of dates he is doing solo, comes at a crucial time for Costello. He is without a record label, having just left his label of a decade, Columbia Records, which has been unable to get his music to the larger audience that critics and fans have expected him to reach for the length of his career. But even now, with songs — and shows like these, it is still just a matter of time.
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