Alpine Valley is not the most intimate arena to watch rock heroes thrash about.
The best sound, believe it or not, can often be found on the lawn seats. Unfortunately, the view from the same can charitably be described as wanting.
Friday, Elvis Costello, along with Waukesha's BoDeans, took on Alpine Valley's mammoth stage.
The stage won.
Neither Costello nor the BoDeans are particularly suited to arena rock — a point made a few years ago by Costello's more personal solo acoustic tour.
But Friday, punk's angry young man-turned-cynical-middle-ager looked lost as he stood in front of the half-filled 40,000 seat venue.
Fortunately, musically, his aim couldn't have been truer.
A mix of old and new tunes few fans could criticize (with about a half-dozen obscure blues numbers thrown in for good measure) kept the audience relatively rapt.
Opening the night, though, local boys the BoDeans appeared to adapt their set better — overall — to the unfriendly confines.
While segueing from Del Shannon's "Runaway" to their own "She's a Runaway" may not have been the most devastating concept of the evening, the band's raucous rock thrashers came across bold and raunchy.
Unfortunately, the band was still physically overwhelmed by the huge venue — from the Valley's entrance, it was hard to discern human life on the stage The occasional bob of Sammy Llanas's white suit was the only hint of movement that could be seen from the gates.
That the mics were turned off immediately following the band's 65-minute set and encore, making it impossible for them to say anything to the audience, seemed a slap in the face to the hometown heroes.
Costello — now bearded and pony tailed — looked more like a member of the Grateful Dead when he sauntered on stage around 9 p.m.
Opening with "Accidents Will Happen," off of Armed Forces, and "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," from his debut release, Costello didn't get around to playing anything off his latest album (Mighty Like A Rose) until "The Other Side of Summer," about six songs into the set.
Backed by the Rude 5, Costello indulged his habit of mixing tempos throughout the night. Selections from most of his 13 studio albums (Almost Blue may have been the only LP not represented) spackled the evening, which closed with roaring versions of "Pump It Up" and "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding?"
The Rude 5 were adequate, and Costello was in fine form. But except for a throbbing version of "Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs are Taking Over)," both Alpine Valley's size and sound served to dampen the effect of much of the band's set.
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