Sydney Morning Herald, September 23, 1991: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Terrible mix gives Elvis a rude shock </h3></center> | <center><h3> Terrible mix gives Elvis a rude shock </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Jon Casimir </center> | <center> Jon Casimir </center> | ||
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'''Elvis Costello and The Rude 5 <br> | |||
Entertainment Centre, Sydney | |||
{{Bibliography text}} | {{Bibliography text}} | ||
The equation used to be pretty simple. Concerts were either good or bad; you were euphoric or you were catatonic. Sometimes you were neither, but only when the event was so bland that it denied you the opportunity of forming an opinion. | The equation used to be pretty simple. Concerts were either good or bad; you were euphoric or you were catatonic. Sometimes you were neither, but only when the event was so bland that it denied you the opportunity of forming an opinion. | ||
Elvis Costello rewrote the rule book on Friday night with a performance that was beyond mere patchiness, that veered dramatically from one tune to the next, lurching from the | Elvis Costello rewrote the rule book on Friday night with a performance that was beyond mere patchiness, that veered dramatically from one tune to the next, lurching from the unlistenable to the irresistible. | ||
There were excuses for the lesser moments. The singer apologised both for the state of the stage equipment, which had apparently met with a rather nasty accident avant gig, and for playing the Entertainment Centre itself, a giant squash court designed to showcase spectacle, not emotional power. | There were excuses for the lesser moments. The singer apologised both for the state of the stage equipment, which had apparently met with a rather nasty accident avant gig, and for playing the Entertainment Centre itself, a giant squash court designed to showcase spectacle, not emotional power. | ||
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It appeared those malfunctioning keyboards may have contributed to the difficult sound mix, which was perfect during the slower numbers but worsened with every upward notch in tempo. | It appeared those malfunctioning keyboards may have contributed to the difficult sound mix, which was perfect during the slower numbers but worsened with every upward notch in tempo. | ||
Not that the Rude 5 (there were three of them) made their job any easier. With the sunglassed and increasingly Jerry Garcia- | Not that the Rude 5 (there were three of them) made their job any easier. With the sunglassed and increasingly Jerry Garcia-like Costello down front at the mic, the rest of the band huddled together with their equipment at the back, seemingly attempting to draw any attention away from themselves. | ||
On a stage the size of the Ent Cent's, they were lost and faceless. But at the risk of cliche, an Elvis Costello concert with a few question marks over it was still much more interesting than most shows. | On a stage the size of the Ent Cent's, they were lost and faceless. But at the risk of cliche, an Elvis Costello concert with a few question marks over it was still much more interesting than most shows. | ||
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Comfort and familiarity, mainstays of most rock concerts, are illusory. Slicing disparate fragments of songs together to create medleys or just rearranging single songs into textural epics, he is a master of the neat turn and sonic implosion. | Comfort and familiarity, mainstays of most rock concerts, are illusory. Slicing disparate fragments of songs together to create medleys or just rearranging single songs into textural epics, he is a master of the neat turn and sonic implosion. | ||
As in "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4," which glued quirky, waltz-time instrumental passages into a song dominated by alternately clunky and lyrical piano melodies. Or "Watching the Detectives," which began as a jazzy doodle before thrashing upwards towards a killer chorus that never came, its dynamics fiddled with at every opportunity. The highlight was an atmospheric "So Like Candy," heavy on vocals and ''Twin Peaks'' keyboards, which dwindled into the stark "Want You," a bare-bones lament that ground relentlessly to a noisy climax before giving way to a dawdling version of the 1934 big band chestnut "The Very Thought of You." Twice in the medley the instruments dropped out to reveal stunned and appreciative silence on the part of the audience. | As in "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4," which glued quirky, waltz-time instrumental passages into a song dominated by alternately clunky and lyrical piano melodies. Or "Watching the Detectives," which began as a jazzy doodle before thrashing upwards towards a killer chorus that never came, its dynamics fiddled with at every opportunity. | ||
The highlight was an atmospheric "So Like Candy," heavy on vocals and ''Twin Peaks'' keyboards, which dwindled into the stark "I Want You," a bare-bones lament that ground relentlessly to a noisy climax before giving way to a dawdling version of the 1934 big band chestnut "The Very Thought of You." Twice in the medley the instruments dropped out to reveal stunned and appreciative silence on the part of the audience. | |||
That he could reach this sort of pinnacle once in a set was a mark of the man's value. That he almost scaled the same heights another half dozen times, wrestling to hold the concert together, was simply astonishing. | That he could reach this sort of pinnacle once in a set was a mark of the man's value. That he almost scaled the same heights another half dozen times, wrestling to hold the concert together, was simply astonishing. | ||
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{{tags}}[[Concert 1991-09-20 Sydney|Entertainment Centre]] {{-}} [[Sydney]] {{-}} [[Australia]] {{-}} [[The Rude 5]] {{-}} [[Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4]] {{-}} [[Watching The Detectives]] {{-}} [[So Like Candy]] {{-}} [[I Want You]] {{-}} [[The Very Thought Of You]] {{-}} [[Jerry Garcia]] | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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'''Sydney Morning Herald, | {{Bibliography next | ||
|prev = Sydney Morning Herald, September 7, 1991 | |||
|next = Sydney Morning Herald, March 8, 1993 | |||
}} | |||
'''Sydney Morning Herald, September 23, 1991 | |||
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[[Jon Casimir]] reviews Elvis Costello | [[Jon Casimir]] reviews Elvis Costello and [[The Rude 5]], Friday, [[Concert 1991-09-20 Sydney|September 20, 1991]], Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia. | ||
{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1991-09-23 Sydney Morning Herald page 14.jpg| | [[image:1991-09-23 Sydney Morning Herald page 14 clipping 01.jpg|380px]] | ||
<br><small>Page scan.</small> | <br><small>Clipping.</small> | ||
<small>Page scan.</small><br> | |||
[[image:1991-09-23 Sydney Morning Herald page 14.jpg|x120px]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} | ||
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*[http://www.smh.com.au SMH.com.au] | *[http://www.smh.com.au SMH.com.au] | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Morning_Herald Wikipedia: Sydney Morning Herald] | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Morning_Herald Wikipedia: Sydney Morning Herald] | ||
*[https://www.flickr.com/photos/foliopix/48386238437/ Flickr: Lesley Parker] | |||
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney Morning Herald 1991-09-23}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney Morning Herald 1991-09-23}} |
Latest revision as of 07:16, 16 February 2023
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