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Elvis and Steve were "in the mood again" — and in a very good mood. For myself it was the fourth time I saw the guys live in Cologne, last time just a year ago in the E-Werk. But then it was a rock concert, this time, of course, a different thing, comparable to the Lonely World Tour gigs.
Elvis started off with unexpected numbers like "Uncomplicated," "Suit Of Lights," "Telescope" and (!) "Stranger In The House." After six numbers he introduced the main purpose of the concert: to perform the quiet numbers of his recent album North.
So Elvis put away his guitar and let his voice fill the theatre, sometimes without a microphone, just accompanied by the wonderful piano playing of Steve. It was a very intimate location, a theatre with a capacity of 800 chairs, filled with 400 to 500 fans, mostly true Elvis-followers, I guess.
After a few songs of North, it was time to take the acoustic guitar (two times the electric guitar on "Toledo" and "Watching the Detectives") again, to keep changes in the mood. So he played almost the complete North tracks (with the exception of "When Green Eyes Turn Blue") and besides that a selection of songs out of all periods; expected ones like "God's Comic" (one of the highlights) or "This House Is Empty Now" (in total he played four songs from the Painted From Memory album!), but also surprising ones like "Home Truth," "Inch By Inch" and "This Is Hell."
The concert ended — as in several concerts of this tour before — with Elvis on the piano with "Let Me Tell You About Her" and "I'm In The Mood Again," finishing off with "I Still Have That Other Girl" and "Couldn't Call It Unexpected" sung without a microphone. A brilliant ending to a wonderful concert with two inspiring musicians and the singing voice of Elvis that seems to become better and better. It seems he can sing everything!
15 minutes after the show another highlight: Elvis came back to sign autographs in the foyer of the theatre: About a 100 fans took the opportunity to get a personalized autograph of Elvis Costello, including myself. A wonderful evening with a great, great artist!
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