Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Pretty self-explanatory
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sweetest punch
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Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Arbogast
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by Arbogast »

Did they announce these shows the day they went on sale?!
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by johnfoyle »

It looks like Joker Out will be guests .


Stephen Done, Facebook

'A special evening beckons in Oslo Opera House on Sunday 17th...
Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve playing their imaginative and compelling double- act show joined by very special guests from Slovenia for a song...
So wish I could be there.
A few tickets still on sale but I predict not for long!
'Where do we go from here, now the house is on fire?''


See also
https://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB ... hp?t=12211
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Fishfinger king
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by Fishfinger king »

I will be there! Never been to Norway before, so decided to go and have a week in Oslo and the Fjords - should be good!
Can't you see I'm trying to change this water to wine
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And No Coffee Table
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by And No Coffee Table »

https://elviscostello.info/wiki/index.p ... 09-17_Oslo

01. This Year's Girl
02. Jack Of All Parades
03. Waiting For The End Of The World
04. Shot With His Own Gun
05. Like Licorice On Your Tongue
06. Pills And Soap
07. What Is It That I Need That I Don't Already Have?
08. Veronica
09. Toledo
10. The Comedians
11. I Do (Zula's Song)
12. Watching The Detectives
13. The Loved Ones
14. Accidents Will Happen
15. I Still Have That Other Girl
16. The Whirlwind
17. She
18. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
19. New Wave - with Joker Out
20. Shipbuilding
21. Alison
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Man out of Time
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by Man out of Time »

Review by Geir Rakvaag published in Dagsavisen on 17 September 2023.

"En stor kveld i operaen med Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello kom til Den Norske Opera med sin trofaste pianist Steve Nieve som eneste medmusiker. Den to timer lange konserten ble en festforestilling.

6
KONSERT

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve

Den Norske Opera

Steve Nieve har spilt piano for Elvis Costello i en liten mannsalder, både i gruppene The Imposters og The Attractions, litt av og på siden singelen «Watching The Detectives» i 1977, og det påfølgende albumet «This Years Model» året etter. Konserten deres begynner med å gå helt tilbake til denne tida, men en versjon av «This Year’s Girl». Fortsatt til stor glede med Costellos pågående holdning, mens Nieve veksler mellom Farfisa-lyd på det elektroniske brettet, og Abba-triller på operaens flygel. Litt senere kommer «Watching The Detectives» også. Nå som tung dub sammenlignet med den lettere reggaetakten den hadde den gangen. Nieve på melodica også, for å forsterke det autentiske reggaepreget.

Dette er altså ikke en kveld der sangene til Costello gjøres om til pianoballader. Han har fem gitarer stående der, både akustiske og elektriske, og han kommer til å bruke dem. Men her er også er par mikrofoner av gammeldags studiodesign. Når han følger «This Year’s Girl» med «Jack Of All Parades» forstår vi at det kommer til å bli en kveld med store kontraster, ikke bare rock’n’roll. Mange av sangene er dramatiserte på en måte som er et operahus verdig. Dette er på grensen av hva stemmen hans tåler i dag, noen ganger holdet ikke helt heller, men det blir kompensert med stor innlevelse, spilleglede og sjarm.

«Waiting For The End Of The World” er en annen av sangene som går helt tilbake til begynnelsen, men med et Hammond-lignende brus fra Nieve som gjør den mer til progrock enn den ny bølgemusikken som den en gang begynte som. «Pills And Soap» spilles som skitten psykedelia med skurrende gitar og trommemaskin.

Som han antydet da vi deltok i et nettmøte med mannen på 69-årsdagen hans forleden: Dette kom ikke til å bli rutinepregede konserter, med de samme sangene hver kveld. Berømte artister spiller ofte de samme sangene kveld etter kveld når de er på turné. Vi ser at det er et show med mye større grad av spontane innfall enn andre omreisende trubadurer.

Konsertene til Costello og Nieve har altså mange overraskelser. Også når de rett som det drar noen av de aller mest kjente sangene opp av hatten kommer vi på at det er lenge siden sist vi har hørt dem på konsert. Costello er også en entertainer, som ved å gi folket mange av sangene de aller helst vi høre også kan tillate seg å framføre noen av de hans synes de skal få. Som å gi barn grønnsaker sammen med godteri.

Slik blir for eksempel «What It Is I Need That I Don’t Already Have» fra albumet «Hey Clockface» framført på konsert for bare andre gang. «The Whirwind» er en annen mindre kjent sanger fra samme album. Den blir et høydepunkt denne kvelden, en framførelse som det sømmer seg i et operahus, der sangeren til slutt går til siden og tar de siste strofene uten mikrofon. Sterkt nok for meg.

Costello tillater seg en helt omarrangert versjon av «Veronica», en gang en spretten poplåt skrevet sammen med Paul McCartney. Nå i mye mer følsom tolkning. Han kommer også som ventet med en hyllest til Burt Bacharach, etterfulgt av fine versjoner av to av deres beste samarbeidssanger, «Toledo» og «I Still Have That Other Girl».

De første Oslo-konsertene til Costello og The Attractions var korte, hektiske og nærmest arrogante ifølge de som var til stede. Denne kvelden er den rake motsetningen. Costello er så imøtekommende som det bare går an. Han forteller gjerne om bakgrunnen til flere av sangene. Noen ganger er det kanskje rene røverhistorier, men dette gjør dem bare enda mer spennende. Hvem visste at «Accidents Will Happen» ble skrevet om en romanse som gikk skeis, fordi dama spilte for mye Pink Floyd i bilen?

Han er også raus nok til å gi folk «She» når konserten går mot slutten. Egentlig en gammel sang av Charles Aznavour som Costello sang i filmen «Notting Hill», og som derfor er hans mest kjente innspilling for folk flest. En Elvis Costello-konsert setter gjerne punktum med enda en coverlåt, hans versjon av Nick Lowes «(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding». Nå med Steve Nieve som vokalist i andre vers! Og hver gang tenker vi at denne sangen høres ekstra aktuell ut nå. Verden endrer seg lite i det store og hele, men Elvis Costello er i stadig forandring.

Denne gangen er han imidlertid ikke helt ferdig likevel. Konserten har en overraskelse oppe i ermet. Han kaller inn den slovenske gruppa Joker Out, kjent fra årets Eurovision, intet mindre. Costello har samarbeidet med dem om en engelsk versjon av en av deres litt eldre låter. «Novi val» blir «New Wave» oversatt til engelsk, «og hvordan kunne jeg ikke synge en sang som heter «New Wave»» spør han retorisk. Musikalsk er den litt utenfor resten repertoaret, men det er veldig koselig til slutt. Bortsett fra at det fortsatt ikke er helt slutt.

Elvis Costello har nemlig spart to av sine fineste sanger til slutt. Den evige krigsbekymringen «Shipbuilding», og hans aller nest første singel, «Alison». Nå er det gått to timer. Stemmen hans har nok gjort det den skal. Steve Nieve har også stått for en kraftprestasjon. Mer enn dette kan ingen forlange av en konsert."

Or in "English" via Google Translate-

"A Big Night at the Opera with Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello came to Den Norske Opera with his faithful pianist Steve Nieve as his only fellow musician. The two-hour long concert was a festive performance.

6
CONCERT

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve

The Norwegian Opera

Steve Nieve has played piano for Elvis Costello for a short time, both in the groups The Imposters and The Attractions, off and on since the single "Watching The Detectives" in 1977, and the subsequent album "This Years Model" the following year. Their concert begins by going all the way back to this time, but a version of "This Year's Girl". Still to great delight with Costello's ongoing attitude, while Nieve alternates between Farfisa sound on the electronic board, and Abba trills on the opera grand piano. A little later, "Watching The Detectives" will also come. Now as heavy dub compared to the lighter reggae beat it had back then. Nieve on melodica too, to reinforce the authentic reggae feel.

So this is not an evening where Costello's songs are turned into piano ballads. He has five guitars sitting there, both acoustic and electric, and he's going to use them. But here are also a couple of microphones of old-fashioned studio design. When he follows "This Year's Girl" with "Jack Of All Parades", we understand that it will be an evening of great contrasts, not just rock'n'roll. Many of the songs are dramatized in a manner worthy of an opera house. This is at the limit of what his voice can withstand today, sometimes not quite the hold either, but it is compensated with great empathy, joy in playing and charm.

"Waiting For The End Of The World" is another one of those songs that goes all the way back to the beginning, but with a Hammond-like edge from Nieve that makes it more prog rock than the new wave music it once began as. "Pills And Soap" is played as dirty psychedelia with jarring guitar and drum machine.

As he indicated when we participated in an online meeting with the man on his 69th birthday the other day: These were not going to be routine concerts, with the same songs every night. Famous artists often play the same songs night after night when they are on tour. We see that it is a show with a much greater degree of spontaneous whimsy than other traveling troubadours.

The concerts of Costello and Nieve therefore have many surprises. Even when they pull some of the most well-known songs out of the hat, we realize that it's been a long time since we last heard them in concert. Costello is also an entertainer, who by giving the people many of the songs we would most like to hear can also allow himself to perform some of his own that he thinks they should get. Like giving children vegetables along with candy.

For example, "What It Is I Need That I Don't Already Have" from the album "Hey Clockface" will be performed in concert for only the second time. "The Whirwind" is another lesser known song from the same album. It becomes a highlight of the evening, a performance that befits an opera house, where the singer finally goes to the side and takes the last stanzas without a microphone. Good enough for me.

Costello allows himself a completely rearranged version of "Veronica", once a bouncy pop song co-written with Paul McCartney. Now in much more sensitive interpretation. He also arrives as expected with a tribute to Burt Bacharach, followed by fine versions of two of their best collaborative songs, "Toledo" and "I Still Have That Other Girl".

The first Oslo concerts of Costello and The Attractions were short, hectic and almost arrogant according to those who were present. Tonight is the exact opposite. Costello is as accommodating as can be. He likes to talk about the background to several of the songs. Sometimes they may be pure heist stories, but this only makes them even more exciting. Who knew that "Accidents Will Happen" was written about a romance that went awry because the lady played too much Pink Floyd in the car?

He is also generous enough to give people "She" when the concert is coming to an end. Actually an old song by Charles Aznavour that Costello sang in the film "Notting Hill", and which is therefore his most famous recording to most people. An Elvis Costello concert likes to end with another cover song, his version of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding". Now with Steve Nieve as vocalist in second verse! And every time we think that this song sounds extra relevant now. The world changes little on the whole, but Elvis Costello is constantly changing.

This time, however, he is not quite finished. The concert has a surprise up its sleeve. He calls in the Slovenian group Joker Out, known from this year's Eurovision, no less. Costello has collaborated with them on an English version of one of their slightly older songs. "Novi val" is "New Wave" translated into English, "and how could I not sing a song called "New Wave"" he asks rhetorically. Musically, it is a little outside the rest of the repertoire, but it is very cozy in the end. Except it's still not quite over.

Elvis Costello has saved two of his finest songs for last. The eternal war concern "Shipbuilding", and his very second first single, "Alison". Now two hours have passed. His voice has probably done what it should. Steve Nieve has also put in a strong performance. No one can ask for more than this from a concert.""

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verbal gymnastics
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by verbal gymnastics »

Great review.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
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Fishfinger king
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by Fishfinger king »

This was indeed another great concert. Blundered into the auditorium just before Elvis came on and who should we be sitting next to but John Foyle - what a nice surprise! Not met for quite a while. Steve again was absolutely superb. I was surprised how good ‘What is it that I need …’ was live. Joker Out were pleasant enough. Highlight, though, was The Loved Ones - a great surprise and really good fun. Now having a quick tour round the fjords - if only it would stop raining!!
Can't you see I'm trying to change this water to wine
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis & Steve, Oslo (Norway), September 17, 2023

Post by johnfoyle »

Great to meet you again Fishfinger!

From indifference in Palermo to adulation in Madrid & Dublin this fourth encounter with Elvis over a few weeks was a fitting finish to my engagement with this tour. Not as bouncy as the earlier shows, understandable for a 69 year old, there was a precision to the presentation that made it all the better.

A highlight was the new arrangement of Veronica. Its evocation of aspects of dementia has become a lived experience for many of us. In Dublin I was moved by it, last night I was in bits by the end. 'A delicate look in her eye' - a line that so piercingly, accurately describes the confused, defiant stare that my mother had before the condition took over. In some ways I can now more completely accept it & move on, after seeing it so brilliantly described.

The Joker Out collaboration was the light relief after all that. A sign that Elvis continues to seek new challenges , it was fascinating to see him conducting the group, beckoning at a member to be louder, another quieter etc. I don't think it made much of a difference as they stuck to a well practised routine but it was interesting to see the intention.

He has lots of plans for future projects - I look forward to checking them out.


Tired as he was Elvis graciously agreed to be photographed with a few of us at the stage door.
It was pure chance. We had waited at another door, gave up , went around the corner and there was the right door!

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