Elvis & Steve, Copenhagen (Denmark), September 13, 2023

[sweetest punch]

https://tour.elviscostello.com/

[Man out of Time]

Presale is tomorrow, 1 March, starting at 10:00 Central European Time.

Link is here. Password is ELVIS2023.

Good luck !

MOOT

[Arbogast]

VERY happy to see additional Europe dates (now that I'm living over here)....hoping for Italy/France/Germany.

[krm]

Setlist:
45
Waiting for the end of the world
Shot with his own gun
Accidents will happen
Like Licorice
Mr Crescent
Pills and Soap
Veronica
Newspaper pane
Toledo
Watching the detectives
Poisoned Rose
Blood and Hot sauce
Temptation
I still have the other girl
I do (Zula´s song)
She
When I was cruel
Shipbuilding
PL&U
Alison

[VonOfterdingen]

It was a fine and somewhat gentle concert with EC in great mood. His voice was pretty strained though (more than usual) which had an impact on the whole show. Maybe due to playing four days in a row. In some songs it was solved better than others.

Stand-outs for me were Shot with his own gun, Mr. Crescent and especially The Poisoned Rose (solo on piano) and a great version of Newspaper Pane.

Three standing ovations.

[Impatience]

My expectations were not super high as I felt his Detour solo performance at the same venue (a formal sit-down concert hall) in 2017 left something to be desired.
While EC's showmanship is undisputed, the venue lacked intimacy for a solo performance - even for someone of his caliber. (I felt the same 2011 at the solo show in Orchard Hall at Bunkamura, Tokyo).

I don't know how to get the good tickets, I always end up with balcony seats so someone sitting at the floor up front may have had a different experience than me.

Regarding yesterday's show, I was positively surprised. The presence of Steve Nieve made a huge difference and the performance reached me even on the 2nd balcony.
Maybe not the best example, but all I have online as illustration, is EC's gentle rendition of Veronica, where he plays largely solo and Steve falls in near the end and lift the entire performance to fill the concert hall (filmed with iPhone from 2nd balcony center. Sound recorded with Sennheiser Ambeo Smart Headset):

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxJW2SHo ... BiNWFlZA==

Don't know if the direct link works, otherwise it should be in my Instagram feed for a little while: https://www.instagram.com/mando_flex/

Last year with the Imposters at Amager Bio, Copenhagen was how I prefer to see him live, but this was a great concert and my first time to get a more intimate experience of Steve Nieve.

[Man out of Time]

Start of a review by Ivan Rod published in Gaffa magazine on September 14, 2023.

Photo credit: Jan Trzaskowski

2023-09-13 Copenhagen photo 01.jpg (220.89 KiB) Viewed 15742 times

"Elvis Costello & Nieve i rusten, men gedigen karrusel "

ELVIS COSTELLO & STEVE NIEVE
Koncertsalen, DR-Byen

4 of 6 stars

Stemmepragten er ikke, hvad den har været, men arbejdsom og insisterende er Costello.

Han er blevet 69 år, den britiske sangskriver, guitarist og vokalist Elvis Costello.

Da han var ung, blev hans musik påført genrebetegnelserne postpunk, powerpop og new wave – og dét allerede efter den vrængende debutplade, My Aim is True fra 1977. Nu næsten et halvt århundrede efter vil de færreste nok nøjes med at hæfte de betegnelser på hans musik, for Costellos spændvidde"

Or in "English" via Google Translate:

"Elvis Costello & Nieve in the rusty but solid carousel"

ELVIS COSTELLO & STEVE NIEVE
The concert hall, DR-Byen

4 out of 6 stars

The splendor of the voice is not what it used to be, but Costello is hardworking and insistent.

He has turned 69, the British songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Elvis Costello.

When he was young, his music was given the genre labels postpunk, powerpop and new wave – and that already after the wrenching debut record, My Aim is True from 1977. Now almost half a century later, few would be satisfied with attaching those labels to his music, for Costello's range"

The rest is behind a paywall. Does anyone have access to it?

MOOT

[Man out of Time]

Start of a review by Ivan Rod published in Gaffa magazine on September 14, 2023.

The rest is behind a paywall. Does anyone have access to it?

MOOT

Ivan has helpfully posted the full text of his review on his website.

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve live i Koncertsalen, DR-Byen
13. SEPTEMBER 2023

KONCERTANMELDELSE

Han er blevet 69 år, den britiske sangskriver, guitarist og vokalist Elvis Costello.

Da han var ung, blev hans musik påført genrebetegnelserne postpunk, powerpop og new wave – og dét allerede efter den vrængende debutplade, My Aim is True fra 1977. Nu næsten et halvt århundrede efter vil de færreste nok nøjes med at hæfte de betegnelser på hans musik, for Costellos spændvidde er langt større. Han har i de små halvtreds år, der er gået siden debuten, været i berøring med rocken, countrymusikken, kammermusikken, hip hop’en og underholdningsmusikken. Og den spændvidde hørte man altså, da han onsdag aften sammen med sin kammesjuk gennem alle årene, Steve Nieve, på en øjeblikkelig Europa-turné lagde vejen forbi Koncertsalen i DR-Byen i København.

Costello sang og spillede guitar (og i et par numre klaver), Nieve klaver og keys (og i nogle numre melodica). Og så arbejdede de to sig ellers igennem et materiale som strakte sig over alle karrierens årtier og hele det genremæssige spektrum – selv om noget stod klarere end andet. Costellos stemmepragt lod noget tilbage at ønske. Stemmen er klart rustet, men det accepterede jeg onsdag aften som en præmis, fordi han samtidig var så fræk, sjov, arbejdsom og insisterende. Costello har altid været en no-nonsense-type; en mand, der kunne starte og slutte sine sange; en mand, der ikke behøvede trække vejret mellem numrene; og på det seneste – en mand, der med britisk charme og tør humor, kunne rive publikum med sig. Alt det kunne han stadig. Derfor accepterede jeg, at stemmen var rustet – for der var så meget andet. Af samme grund accepterede jeg også, at lyden længe var dårligt afstemt. Generelt var det en fornøjelse at være på rejse tilbage i tiden og ind i nogle af de 900 nye sange, han påstod at have skrevet.

Klareste. Eller rettere: stærkeste enkeltstående oplevelse var ikke det sidste ekstranummer, ”Alison” (fra debutalbummet, My Aim is True), endsige Costellos genbesøg i numre skabt sammen med Paul McCartney eller Burt Bacharach. Stærkeste enkeltstående oplevelse var versioneringen af hans egen ballade, ”Watching the Detectives”, som i Storbritannien blev udgivet som single i 1977 (efter udgivelsen af My Aim is True), men i USA kom med som et ekstra nummer på My Aim is True. Nummeret skrev Costello i sin tid – stærkt inspireret af The Clash’ selvbetitlede debutalbum fra samme år og stærkt inspireret af nogle af Bernard Hermanns scores til Alfred Hitchcocks gyserfilm. Versioneringen onsdag aften var ildevarslende! Scenelyset holdt i koldt grønt og blåt. Trommer og basgange var programmeret og tunge. Og så spillede Costello ellers den skarpeste el-guitar, drevent, langsomt. Mens han fremmanede en stærk og netop ildevarslende fortælling.

Stærkt og ildevarslende var det også, da Costello og Nieve med nummeret, ”When I Was Cruel No. 2” (fra albummet When I Was Cruel, 2002) fremmanede deres egen versionering hvori en forrygende sampling af Abbas ”Dancing Queen” indgik. Costello demonstrerede – trods stemmepragtens svigt – at han vitterligt er musikalsk. Modnet, men stadig i dén grad levende.

**** / Koncert også anmeldt i musikmagasinet gaffa.dk "

Or in "English" via Google Translate:

" Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve live in the Concert Hall, DR-Byen
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

CONCERT NOTICE

He has turned 69, the British songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Elvis Costello.

When he was young, his music was given the genre labels postpunk, powerpop and new wave - and that already after the wrenching debut record, My Aim is True from 1977. Now, almost half a century later, few would be satisfied with attaching those labels to his music, because Costello's range is far greater. In the short fifty years that have passed since his debut, he has been in contact with rock, country music, chamber music, hip hop and entertainment music. And you could hear that range when, on Wednesday evening, together with his long-time partner, Steve Nieve, on an immediate European tour, he made his way past the Concert Hall in DR-Byen in Copenhagen.

Costello sang and played guitar (and in a few tracks piano), Nieve piano and keys (and in some tracks melodica). And then the two otherwise worked their way through material that spanned all the decades of their career and the entire genre spectrum - even if some were clearer than others. Costello's vocal splendor left something to be desired. The voice is clearly rusted, but I accepted that as a premise on Wednesday night because he was so cheeky, funny, hard-working and insistent at the same time. Costello has always been a no-nonsense type; a man who could start and end his songs; a man who didn't need to catch his breath between acts; and more recently – a man who, with British charm and dry humour, could captivate the audience. He could still do all that. That's why I accepted that the voice was rusty - because there was so much else. For the same reason, I also accepted that the sound was out of tune for a long time. Overall, it was a pleasure to travel back in time and into some of the 900 new songs he claimed to have written.

Clearest. Or rather: the strongest single experience was not the last encore, "Alison" (from the debut album, My Aim is True), let alone Costello's revisiting tracks created with Paul McCartney or Burt Bacharach. Strongest single experience was the version of his own ballad, "Watching the Detectives", which in the UK was released as a single in 1977 (after the release of My Aim is True), but in the USA was included as an extra track on My Aim is True. The number was written by Costello in his time - strongly inspired by The Clash's self-titled debut album from the same year and strongly inspired by some of Bernard Hermann's scores for Alfred Hitchcock's horror films. The versioning on Wednesday night was ominous! The stage lighting was kept in cold green and blue. Drums and bass passages were programmed and heavy. And then Costello otherwise played the sharpest electric guitar, driven, slow. While he conjured up a strong and precisely ominous tale.

It was also strong and ominous when Costello and Nieve with the track, "When I Was Cruel No. 2” (from the album When I Was Cruel, 2002) evoked their own version, which included a terrific sampling of Abbas's “Dancing Queen”. Costello demonstrated – despite the failure of the vocal splendor – that he is indeed musical. Matured, but still alive to that extent.

**** / Concert also reviewed in the music magazine gaffa.dk"

MOOT