Elvis/Imposters play Tower Theatre, Upper Darby 19 May 2011

[bronxapostle]

And everyone's waiting for "Juliet Stars" !!

as we used JL already, how about..."PAINTED STARS"?

[johnfoyle]

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainm ... gbook.html

Fri, May. 20, 2011


Review: Elvis Costello and the Spectacular Spinning Songbook

By Dan DeLuca

INQUIRER MUSIC CRITIC

The terms fun and Elvis Costello don't necessarily go hand in hand. But on Thursday night, they got up to dance together in a go-go cage during a terrifically entertaining two-hour show at the Tower Theatre.

The occasion was the return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook, the kitschy concept in which the set list is determined, in part, by audience members brought on stage to spin a giant wheel. Labeled with orange and yellow song titles from Costello's 30-plus-year career, plus mysterious purple bonus selections like "Time" and "Napoleon Solo," designed in still more unpredictable territory.

The convulsively prolific Costello initiated the spinning wheel back in 1985. That was the year he released both the punkish Blood and Chocolate, whose snide "I Hope You're Happy Now" opened Thursday's show, and the country-flavored King Of America, whose "Brilliant Mistake" was dedicated to Glenn Beck.

(After spinning the wheel, audience members were offered libations in martini glasses as they sat in an on-stage lounge with a TV that showed only static. "We always keep it tuned to Fox News," Costelllo quipped.)

Longtime fans remember the 1985 Songbook shows as being not nearly as much fun as they could have been, mainly because all that wheel-spinning was a momentum-killer. The concept has since been tweaked for the better, however. For one thing, there were delightfully diverting visual aids such as go-go dancer Katerina Valentina, whose curtained cage was frequently occupied by male and female audience members with less practiced sense of rhythm.

For another, Costello - who donned a stovepipe top hat whenever he stepped into the role of Napoleon Dynamite, smarmy emcee - made sure to keep the show moving. He opened with a barrage of classics from his abrasive New Wave-era beginnings, including "Mystery Dance," "Radio, Radio" and "Heart of the City," by his frequent producer Nick Lowe.

The selection of "Napoleon Solo" led the 57-year-old, seriously slimmed-down singer to begin his encore with two tunes from last year's National Ransom. Both "A Slow Drag With Josephine" and the lonesome troubadour tale "Jimmie Standing in the Rain" were acoustic selections brought off with a practiced showman's dramatic flair.

The latter segued effortlessly into the Depression-era lament "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Costello, who was in excellent voice all evening, sang that snippet unmiked in a display of vocal power all the more impressive since he had canceled a show on Tuesday night in Montclair, N.J., due to a case of bronchitis.

More crowd-pleasing than that interlude, however, was the time "Time" turned up on the wheel.

That led to an inspired four-song riff that began chronologically with the stirring ballad "Clowntime Is Over" (from 1980's Get Happy!!), followed by the tautly percolating "Strict Time" (from 1981's Trust) and the dreamy "Man Out of Time" (from 1982's Imperial Bedroom), with a couplet or two from Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue" added to the coda. To top it off, he jumped back in time to cover the Rolling Stone's 1966 hit "Out of Time."

That wasn't the only cool cover of the night. Costello, ably backed by the Imposters, the crack three-man band of drummer Pete Thomas, bass player and backup singer Davey Faragher, and the great keyboard whiz Steve Nieve, also threw in The Who's "Substitute" during a winningly concise final encore that concluded with a "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," that featured Nieve making kooky, creepy noises on a theremin. A fittingly nutty ending to the best Costello show I've seen in an eon. Let's hope it doesn't take another 26 years for him to give the Wheel another spin.

[docinwestchester]

On DIME:

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-deta ... ?id=357864

Thanks to the Philly taper!

[bronxapostle]

does it "sound" like he HAD to postpone wednesday DOC???

[sulky lad]

As Doc says

Thanks to the Philly taper!

Whoopee !

[docinwestchester]

does it "sound" like he HAD to postpone wednesday DOC???

Jo and Jimmie both sound pretty damn good to me, ba, and those 2 really put the spotlight on his voice, right? He belts out Brother Can You Spare A Dime too.

Oh well, maybe the night off help to "cure" the bronchitis.

[bronxapostle]

yeah...or cured the ROOF at the wellmont!!!

[Jeremy Dylan]

I don't see the reason for any skepticism here. He was obviously having troubles with his voice that showed in the previous show, so he went to a doctor who told him to rest for a few days and probably gave him steroids or something similar to help speed his recovery, then by the 19th he was back in good form. I've known plenty of singers this has happened to. If they catch it earlier enough and go to the right people, there's no reason it should knock them out of singing for more than a day or two.

[sweetest punch]

Watching The Detectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8U4d3JdLIU
Watching The Detectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7OkNH-992E
Watching The Detectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZB0s-HCfBE
Pills And Soap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c6ipePwNI0
Pump It Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xFMU6CaEeg
Brilliant Mistake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M1HfAufj40
Spin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpzrDXpEq14

[sweetest punch]

WTD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCKxngyN ... er&list=UL
Spin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuZTVq_P ... playnext=1
PLU: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsyhHVri ... playnext=2
Spin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf_Y9mpW ... playnext=3

[Beyond Belief]

Hi everyone, I just found this community as I was hunting around on the internet over the past few months trying to get a feel for what songs would be included on the wheel. I’m a devoted Elvis fan, been to shows up and down the east coast over the years, and I’ve really enjoyed reading your comments and finding a group of people who feel the same about Elvis as I do. But this is my first post on the forum, and I hope I do this right as I wanted to offer some advice to those going to upcoming shows.

I was lucky (and lucky seems too small of a word) to get up on stage with Elvis in Philadelphia and I didn’t leave my friends with any means to capture my moment. The show was terrific and Elvis actually came off the stage into the audience twice. Once I think during Shabby Doll, and then again after Watching the Detectives, and this time while he was in the audience he stopped in front of me. I shook my head in disbelief as it was way too good to be true, but then he smiled, nodded at me, and put his arm around my shoulder to lead me up onto the stage. I was shaking with excitement! I got to spin the wheel (Black and White World!!) and remain on stage through 3 songs. And then Elvis took my hand and we bowed to the audience, just before he went off in anticipation of the encores. It was the thrill of a lifetime—and my description doesn’t do it justice!

Although I had dreamed of being one of those chosen to spin the wheel, I never really thought it would happen. But you never know if the unbelievable will happen, and with the format of this tour, it’s even more likely.

It may go without saying to this crowd, but go prepared to capture your moment with Elvis should it happen. And if by some chance, you were at the Philadelphia show and happen to have captured any photos, I’d love to talk with you!

[sulky lad]

Welcome, Beyond Belief, great to hear from you.You did better with Elvis than Verbal who chose to answer his phone in 2002 rather than speak to Elvis !! He's made up for it since then mind you !

[verbal gymnastics]

It was an important call from my fiance.

Thanks to you Beyond Belief and in recognition of this I've started a new thread.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/critical ... e-519.html


Costello, Carroll and Amorosi

Monday, May 23, 2011

ICE CUBES: Elvis Costello @ Tower Theatre, 5/19

Posted by A.D. Amorosi

Thursday night’s show at Tower Theatre with Elvis Costello was a gas. The newly slimmed down Costello leapt down memory lane by reviving the Spectacular Spinning Songbook that he first used at the Tower in 1985. Costello and his Imposters did raging versions of classics from his own back pages ("I Hope You're Happy Now," "Brilliant Mistake" dedicated to Glenn Beck, "Mystery Dance," "Radio, Radio," "Heart of the City”) and those from a few of his faves like McCartney (“Let Me Roll It”) and Townshend (“Substitute”). Costello and his Imposters relived the previous Spectacular Spinning Songbook’s staging with a TV that showed only static ("We always keep it tuned to Fox News," Costello joked) and a caged go-go dancer “Katerina Valentina” (in reality, Philly’s own Kate WaWa Watson Wallace).

But Costello’s true nod to the past is when he mentioned playing at The Hot Club, the Philly venue where he played in December of 1977 for two dates. Little did Elvis know that I brought him a surprise (and vice versa) when Hot Club owner David Carroll became my special guest for the evening. Carroll was the first guy to bring Costello to Philly, maybe America if I remember my tour dates correctly. Carroll was opening his new venue, Rogue’s Gallery, the next night so getting him away from his 21st street saloon was a hard sell. But when he accepted to be my guest the first thing he did was find one of a few remaining “Hot Club” buttons (he had one hundred made after Costello played his venue), out it in an envelope with the hope he’d get it to EC. “The first thing I remember was that it was snowing when Elvis played,” laughs Carroll. “The second thing is that we actually paid him – like $800 or a thousand dollars.” I didn’t tell Carroll that I was trying to set up a meeting between the two titans until we got to the Waterford around the corner. I mean, you can never know if these things are going to work out.

Thankfully Live Nation’s Jim Sutcliffe made it happen for Carroll and I to get backstage where EC and DC met for the first time in over 30 years. Costello remembered the snow on the night of the show but kept mentioning something about running to South Philly between sets. Nobody was quite certain what that meant. Carroll told him that he never left the venue and told Costello that he would place the poster that Elvis signed that December night upon the wall of his new Rogue’s Gallery. Everyone smiled

[Lester Burnham]

Post a link here when you're done, Lester. I'd like to read your full account.

After considerable delay, my review of the show is finally up: http://soundroundreview.wordpress.com/2 ... o-5-19-11/

[johnfoyle]

Funny blog account-

http://marcschuster.wordpress.com/2011/ ... llos-baby/

[migdd]

Great review, Lester! Thanks for the link.

[sweetest punch]

PLU: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fawtv_Vx_aA