Sydney Morning Herald, September 23, 1991: Difference between revisions
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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 mike, 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. | 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|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. | The highlight was an atmospheric "[[So Like Candy]]," heavy on vocals and ''Twin Peaks'' keyboards, which dwindled into the stark "[[I Want You|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|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. |
Revision as of 13:23, 4 May 2016
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