UC Santa Barbara Daily Nexus, June 5, 1978: Difference between revisions
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The wait wasn't Elvis' fault. His producer and opening act Nick Lowe, reportedly went out to dinner in L.A. instead of following his band to UCSB. Backstage later, he said he had arrived "five minutes after they decided Mink DeVille should go on." As for Costello's rumored erratic behavior, the only signs Friday came during a short beef with the security crew during the second song. | The wait wasn't Elvis' fault. His producer and opening act Nick Lowe, reportedly went out to dinner in L.A. instead of following his band to UCSB. Backstage later, he said he had arrived "five minutes after they decided Mink DeVille should go on." As for Costello's rumored erratic behavior, the only signs Friday came during a short beef with the security crew during the second song. | ||
After sitting peacefully through Mink DeVille's opening set, many in the crowd packed the front | After sitting peacefully through Mink DeVille's opening set, many in the crowd packed the front stage area when Elvis took the stage around 10 p.m. Pushing between fans and the NES Security crew followed. NES, which one patron said "stands for Nasty, Evil and Sadistic," was winning. | ||
Responding, Elvis bent down to point an angry finger at one stout guard, causing the crowd to surge through the security. After the song he stalked offstage to have a word with someone, then returned to say he was “pissed off at those (bleeping) guys.” Next, he chose an appropriate quote from his song, "Living in Paradise,” in dedicating it to "all the 'physical jerks' in the audience." But after this ruffling of the feathers in the early going, Costello quickly settled down to business. | |||
Elvis' music and lyrics have provided critics with another chance to use an old cliche ("Dylan of the Seventies”) and also to create a new one ("power pop"). Despite the ridiculousness of the first phrase, there is some legitimacy to the second. Mixing sparse instrumentation with defiant, sarcastic vocals, Elvis’ first two records have included the kind of short, punchy songs great singles are made from. | |||
The music Friday was similarly undressed. The whole line-up consisted of bass, drums, a barely audible organ and Elvis' rhythm guitar. Despite a rather muddy mix, the sound suggested a savvy for the intricacies of rock not usually associated with New Wave "minimalists" (make that two old cliches). | |||
For one thing, the music never stopped. Instead of finishing songs Elvis would walk back towards drummer Pete Thomas and work out a segue into the next number. By sacrificing the | |||
between-song applause, Elvis kept the pace set at a fever pitch. Though Thomas gave the songs their kick and movement, he has to share credit for the smooth transitions. Elvis wrote all the songs played and the fact that some of them ("Lipstick Vogue" into “Watching the Detectives") fit like a puzzle is a tribute to his craftsmanship. | |||
As said before, Elvis was surprisingly progressive. Most New Wave bands dispense with musicianship as just so much excess “polish." Elvis, however, is an experimental type. There were a few short moments Friday where, if I’d closed my eyes, I could have been at a Pink Floyd concert. Though his guitar playing is crude even by rock standards, Elvis made up in imagination what he lacked in technique. “Detectives,” a haunting tale of a love homicide, had an intro that could have come from a sixties' spy movie. | |||
Other songs showed a similar knack for creating a distinct picture with a minimal amount of effort. "Lipstick Vogue” was one of the spaciest, and strongest, | |||
Revision as of 05:57, 6 December 2018
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