Glasgow concert!

[johnfoyle]

My trip to Glasgow already seems long ago . A heavy
work load has meant that I haven`t really had time to
reflect properly on it until today. True my name has
been popping up on this list since. That , though ,
has been merely to paste and link coverage of
subsequent activities , done in grabbed few minutes
here and there.

Indeed , reading that coverage inhibits me
from adding much else to them. I really do not have
the critical reserve to comment on Elvis. I find
points of interest in all he does. Some can be passing
- I even liked For The Stars upon release ; now I see
it for the unlistenable mess that it is(but I have
discovered Ms Von Otter`s Weill recordings so all was
not lost). Since I started to listen to Elvis in 1979
I`ve used him , as it were , as my musical
arbiter. He name checks it/ covers it , I check it
out. Starting with his picking Sinatra`s Only The
Lonely as his fave disc in a Hot Press feature in 1980
( I think) I`ve gone on to discover Julie London ,
Gram Parsons , David Ackles , The Escorts , Charlie
Mingus - and so on , right up to Laura Cantrell.

Indeed a friend suggested that if Elvis
released an album of farts in iambic pentameter I
would be playing it , trying to figure out what
influenced it etc. A Mighty Wind indeed!

Which is far from the subject of last
Tuesday`s show in Glasgow. The contrast with the July
show with the Imposters in the sweltering Wolf Trap
outdoor venue in Virginia couldn`t have been more
obvious. Even Steve Nieve`s subsequent comments in his
e-journal tell that they merely banged out a competent
show in trying circumstances.I enjoyed it `in the
moment ` but remember little else (beyond Either Side
Of The Same Town - I hadn`t heard the Howard Tate
version but was enthralled by Elvis` take on it). This
time Elvis `n Steve were still experimenting with
presenting a more challenging work. I reckon they had
just about got it right. As usual doing it simply ,
though obvious , was appropriate. The `desolate` songs
from North early in the evening , the `rapturous`
ones later.

Hearing the North songs in this autumnal
setting has , personally , given them a whole new
life. I had been listening them all through what has
been one of the hottest Irish summers. Before last
Tuesday hearing them reminded of balmy evenings
merely sitting around `cos it was too damned hot to do
anything . Or hotter days constantly adjusting the air
conditioner in my shop. Now I can hear them in a way
more relevant to the way they were written. I like
them both ways ; very few albums have worked that way
for me.
In Glasgow Elvis had , I daresay , realised
North was getting to be a hard sell . The crappy
reviews, the lack of sales etc. I reckon he`s just
going to stick to his guns and let the songs sell
themselves. Right now I can`t detail the variety I see
in it in specifics. Variety it has , though. I kept
noticing things like how close some of Elvis`
vocalising was with Steve`s piano playing - two
sounds nearly blending together. Had that just occured
as they performed it together in the studio ? Or had
Elvis realised that that effect would be apparent as
he put the notes down on paper? Someone has commented
on how , when listening to North on headphones , all
kind of incidental studio sounds can be heard. The
same effect was there in Glasgow - from my stageside
seat anyway. Steve would be finishing his another
glorious piano interludes and you could hear Elvis
walking back across the boards to the microphone from
where he had hung back . Since the whole project is
all about telling a story these theatrical effects
just add to it.

In short - and this has gone on way
longer than I planned! - I found it to be a hugely
enjoyable show .....and thought provoking as ever. I
can`t wait for the ballet recording...

[laughingcrow]

Here's a good, but erroneous review in the Scottish Sunday Mail today...


ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING THRILLED Oct 12 2003

Gordon Waddell

ELVIS COSTELLO, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, October 7 §§§§ WHAT better way for the most under-rated songwriter of his generation to showcase his talent than to leave you with nothing to focus on except the songs?

On a bare, dimly-lit stage, with only his guitar andthe gifted Steve Nieveonpiano, the 49-year-old held a near-full house captivated for two hours-plus.

Sure, the crowd was of a `certain' age. Tweed jackets as far as the eye could see and probably the odd box of Maltesers.

But when he has 26 years' worth of work to choose from, it's only to be expected.

Kicking off with Accidents Will Happen, he worked his way through a breathtaking 32-song, three-encore show.

Anyone expecting a greatest hits package would have been disappointed only Shipbuilding and (What's So Funny Bout) Peace Love And Understanding fitted that bill. But the depth of material he did play was astounding. He crooned his way through new album North, a Cole Porterish collection of songs detailing his falling out of and then back into love, clearly inspired by wife Diana Krall.

He also doffed his cap to his back catalogue with the likes of Rocking Horse Road from Brutal Youth and all the way back to Shot With His Own Gun from 1981's Spike. And he even had the audacity to sing four of his songs with no mic, yet had the back rows holding his every word.

He bordered on self-indulgent with some newer stuff but when you're this talented, whynot?

[Otis Westinghouse]

God this endless 'he was so much easier to like when he was angry' bullshit is so tedious. Do tyhey really want him to just come out and play all the '77-'80 or whatever classics, and a couple of recent ones that attempt to re-create them and leave it at that? They don't have to love North, I can see why it may leave you in the dark, esepcially on the first five listenings, but why can't they be more appreciative of his boldness and imagination. As Elvis said on parting last night, don't believe everything you read in the papers.