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A Day On The Green is such a civilized-sounding name for an event, but let's be clear right now that the evening was nothing if not civilized. Traipsing through the gorgeous surrounds of Kings Park's Botanic Gardens, concert-goers settled in with their deckchairs and picnic baskets for an eclectic evening of old-school rock, funk and blues.
Stephen Cummings (The Sports ex-frontman) opened the relaxed state of affairs with a set of easy-listening tunes, and was followed by the newly reformed Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons. Featuring two saxophone players, The Falcons livened up the mood with their rambunctious take on funk, seeing out the last strains of sunlight as night began to fall. The third of the all-Aussie supports was the Sunnyboys, who were reunited in their original line-up — quite something considering they first got together in 1980.
The star of the show, however, was Brit rock legend Elvis Costello with his band The Imposters. Sauntering onstage in suit, straw hat, and signature thick-framed glasses, Costello didn't bother with niceties, instead launching straight into "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down." Given his extraordinarily diverse back catalogue, it was anyone's guess as to what songs he'd choose to play next as he reeled off hit after hit: "Radio, Radio," "Everyday I Write the Book," "Rocking Horse Road," "Red Shoes" and "Indoor Fireworks," which was especially beautiful with the acoustic guitar.
At half-time Costello went solo, and this was where he showed off the light and shade of his raspy vocals and elegant wordplay in the tender "A Slow Drag With Josephine" and "Jimmie Standing In The Rain," which he ended exquisitely a cappella. It's amazing he could be so moving while chewing gum the whole time (didn't he have a handkerchief to spit it into?!).
Though he proved to be quite capable of witty banter, Costello chose to perform most of his songs back to back, cramming as much music into the hour-and-a-half set as would fit. Indeed, the focus was all on the songs. Everything else — lighting, banter, props — was kept to a minimum.
Suddenly, in the last bars of "Peace, Love And Understanding," it was all over. Costello yelled goodnight and he and The Imposters left the stage so swiftly there was sure to be an encore. Bizarrely, all the hollering and foot-stomping happening in front of stage resulted in nothing — zilch, nada. It was a strangely abrupt end to the night. But then, Elvis Costello has always been a tad strange.
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