Stanford Daily, May 11, 1984: Difference between revisions
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Elvis Costello got it into his head to perform a solo tour, without his excellent backing band, and single-handedly brave the crowds that a few years ago he had chased out of the theatres after his shows by blaring white noise through the public address system. | Elvis Costello got it into his head to perform a solo tour, without his excellent backing band, and single-handedly brave the crowds that a few years ago he had chased out of the theatres after his shows by blaring white noise through the public address system. | ||
Said crowds fell into the curious behavior of snapping up the tickets for this tour as if they were ducats for the Second Coming, and then received Costello with a mixture of idoltry and indulgence that would have embarrassed the angel Gabriel. | Said crowds fell into the curious behavior of snapping up the tickets for this tour as if they were ducats for the Second Coming, and then received Costello with a mixture of <!-- idoltry --> idolatry and indulgence that would have embarrassed the angel Gabriel. | ||
This reviewer, in the face of the deliriously happy crowds and the glowing reviews of the concert (notably [[Stanford Daily, May 4, 1984|''The Daily'', May 4]]), chooses to lay his credibility upon the line and attempt to explain why he hated nearly every second of the show and left the theater feeling cheated, betrayed, and, most of all, severely disappointed by Costello's "wonderful" show. | This reviewer, in the face of the deliriously happy crowds and the glowing reviews of the concert (notably [[Stanford Daily, May 4, 1984|''The Daily'', May 4]]), chooses to lay his credibility upon the line and attempt to explain why he hated nearly every second of the show and left the theater feeling cheated, betrayed, and, most of all, severely disappointed by Costello's "wonderful" show. | ||
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Granting that his maturity has allowed him to distance himself from his former stances, knowledge of his previous ridiculous behavior has allowed him to inject some humor into his stage act. That is a stage in the development of an artist. Because of the quirky mood of the audience, Elvis took a huge leap on to the path of becoming a clown. | Granting that his maturity has allowed him to distance himself from his former stances, knowledge of his previous ridiculous behavior has allowed him to inject some humor into his stage act. That is a stage in the development of an artist. Because of the quirky mood of the audience, Elvis took a huge leap on to the path of becoming a clown. | ||
There was something wrong — although it would | There was something wrong — although it would be fairer to say ''different'' — about the audience at the show. Perhaps because it was a solo recital, there was an older crowd than usual, and one that didn't seem like they were there to attend a rock concert, least of all an Elvis Costello show. | ||
It is possible that the acts started the silliness first. T-Bone Burnett, opening, proved himself to be little more than a buffoon, starting by pantomiming piano playing along with a tape recording, a bit of schtick that was old when Steve Martin was exploiting it years ago. Then he proceeds to do a novelty Roger Miller cover, and then launch into a series of droning originals, interspaced with politically proper, trendy witticisms. | It is possible that the acts started the silliness first. T-Bone Burnett, opening, proved himself to be little more than a buffoon, starting by pantomiming piano playing along with a tape recording, a bit of schtick that was old when Steve Martin was exploiting it years ago. Then he proceeds to do a novelty Roger Miller cover, and then launch into a series of droning originals, interspaced with politically proper, trendy witticisms. | ||
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Worse, the audience was more interested in reacting to what Elvis did than in listening to what he sang. Any trademark gesture or nervous twitch brought on a gale of laughter, something that Elvis came to play upon. Worst of all, there was committed the unpardonable sin of the cult of Costello: A large part of the audience laughed during "Alison." | Worse, the audience was more interested in reacting to what Elvis did than in listening to what he sang. Any trademark gesture or nervous twitch brought on a gale of laughter, something that Elvis came to play upon. Worst of all, there was committed the unpardonable sin of the cult of Costello: A large part of the audience laughed during "Alison." | ||
The crowd was more interested in its affairs and its interaction with the show than the act that was on stage. This seems to lay a large portion of blame upon the audience, but | The crowd was more interested in its affairs and its interaction with the show than the act that was on stage. This seems to lay a large portion of blame upon the audience, but, frankly, given the performance Elvis delivered that night, I really couldn't blame the crowd for losing interest. | ||
Half the problem was just the difficulty in carrying off a one-man show. Elvis is not a virtuoso guitarist, and many of his songs sounded instrumentally alike due to his technique of accompanying himself mainly by simply fretting the triad of the chord and thrumming the bass notes. | Half the problem was just the difficulty in carrying off a one-man show. Elvis is not a virtuoso guitarist, and many of his songs sounded instrumentally alike due to his technique of accompanying himself mainly by simply fretting the triad of the chord and thrumming the bass notes. | ||
The major complaint, the real source of my discontent, lies in the fact that I did not get to see Elvis Costello that night. Instead of the last Angry Young Man, we saw band leader Ross | The major complaint, the real source of my discontent, lies in the fact that I did not get to see Elvis Costello that night. Instead of the last Angry Young Man, we saw band leader Ross MacManus' son, having his night in the spotlights with his arrangements of certain pop new-wave tunes. | ||
Elvis consistently sang unwieldy hybrid versions of his songs, throttled by the inadequacy of solo performance and subverted and diminished by the good-times atmosphere that robbed the songs of their emotional depth. As a younger man, he had said that "songs can be so powerful — people have forgotten that," but that night he turned his back on the power and worked on the shine of the polish, the merest superficiality of the emotions he had once tapped. | Elvis consistently sang unwieldy hybrid versions of his songs, throttled by the inadequacy of solo performance and subverted and diminished by the good-times atmosphere that robbed the songs of their emotional depth. As a younger man, he had said that "songs can be so powerful — people have forgotten that," but that night he turned his back on the power and worked on the shine of the polish, the merest superficiality of the emotions he had once tapped. | ||
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Joe Jackson has grown up, and writes fragile songs of mellowed uncertainty. Paul Weller has abandoned youthful righteousness for a sort of premature pragmatic optimism. Almost all the other bright lights of the movement to "revolutionize" music have sold out or, similarly, given up a fight they know to be unwinnable. Elvis was almost the only one left. ''Was''. | Joe Jackson has grown up, and writes fragile songs of mellowed uncertainty. Paul Weller has abandoned youthful righteousness for a sort of premature pragmatic optimism. Almost all the other bright lights of the movement to "revolutionize" music have sold out or, similarly, given up a fight they know to be unwinnable. Elvis was almost the only one left. ''Was''. | ||
Now he's an entertainer, a happy man with his first hit single under his belt. He still bubbles over with ideas and cleverness — a few of the new songs seemed very good and will | Now he's an entertainer, a happy man with his first hit single under his belt. He still bubbles over with ideas and cleverness — a few of the new songs seemed very good and will benefit from studio treatment — but the fire in him seems to have gone out. | ||
It's a terrible thing to be the last one of your "crowd" to leave adolescence and abandon the moral force of the righteous young, but I'm just not yet able to move on. Perhaps that's how I'm behind the times, and maybe that's why I hated a show many others seemed to love. | It's a terrible thing to be the last one of your "crowd" to leave adolescence and abandon the moral force of the righteous young, but I'm just not yet able to move on. Perhaps that's how I'm behind the times, and maybe that's why I hated a show many others seemed to love. | ||
Yet, the incandescent power and purity of those emotions still attract me | Yet, the incandescent power and purity of those emotions still attract me, and Graham Parker remains a fellow raging voice. He and I shall continue our crusades for as long as we can, for as long as we need to, and I will keep my well-worn copies of ''My Aim Is True'' and ''This Year's Model'' close at hand, and I shall keep my tarnished image of the young Elvis Costello foremost in my mind. | ||
{{cx}} | |||
{{tags}}[[Concert 1984-04-28 San Francisco|Warfield Theatre]] {{-}} [[San Francisco]] {{-}} [[Men Called Uncle]] {{-}} [[Alison]] {{-}} [[Just A Memory]] {{-}} [[High Fidelity]] {{-}} [[Riot Act]] {{-}} [[Ross MacManus]] {{-}} [[T{{nb}}Bone Burnett]] {{-}} [[Howard Coward]] {{-}} [[Henry Coward]] {{-}} [[The Coward Brothers]] {{-}} [[Graham Parker]] {{-}} [[Joe Jackson]] {{-}} [[Paul Weller]] {{-}} [[My Aim Is True]] {{-}} [[This Year's Model]] | |||
{{cx}} | {{cx}} | ||
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{{Bibliography notes}} | {{Bibliography notes}} | ||
{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = Stanford Daily, May 4, 1984 | |||
|next = Stanford Daily, October 2, 1984 | |||
}} | |||
'''The Stanford Daily, May 11, 1984 | '''The Stanford Daily, May 11, 1984 | ||
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{{Bibliography images}} | {{Bibliography images}} | ||
[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily page 11 clipping 01.jpg|380px| | [[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily page 11 clipping 01.jpg|380px|Page 11 clipping.]] | ||
<br><small>Clipping.</small> | <br><small>Clipping.</small> | ||
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[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily photo 01.jpg| | <small>Photo by [[Nick Knight]].</small><br> | ||
[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily photo 01 nk.jpg|280px|border|Photo by Nick Knight.]] | |||
[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily photo 02.jpg| | <small>Photographer unknown.</small><br> | ||
[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily photo 02.jpg|280px|border|Photographer unknown.]] | |||
[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily page 11.jpg|x120px|border]] | <small>Page scan.</small><br> | ||
[[image:1984-05-11 Stanford Daily page 11.jpg|x120px|border|Page 11.]] | |||
{{Bibliography notes footer}} | {{Bibliography notes footer}} |
Latest revision as of 17:05, 5 May 2024
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