Elvis Costello In Concert
I've noticed a trend in my concert-going history. Whenever I start listening to an artist and then go see them perform, the concert differs from the norm in some way. The first time I saw Bruce Springsteen he was on one of those rare solo tours with no backing band. When I saw Randy Newman he was accompanied by the North Carolina Symphony (which, granted, is not that surprising given the symphonic arrangements of many of his songs). The latest addition to this list is Elvis Costello, who I saw on Thursday at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. Also accompanied by the North Carolina Symphony, the first half of the program was going to be a suite from his ballet "Il Sogno," based on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He would then join the orchestra to sing new arrangements of some of his more obscure songs.
I went with Kate Kennedy, my next door neighbor, who's been a rabid Costello fan since before I was born. I asked her if she wanted go in May, when I learned he would be coming to North Carolina. Naturally she said yes and I went about ordering tickets. By the time I got around to it all the regular seats had been taken and I had to settle for lawn seats, but this turned out not to be a problem because the venue was not a large one. A few days before the concert I worked out a plan to come home to Chapel Hill so that I could meet with her and make sure we had the tickets and directions in order before leaving for Cary. I also checked setlists from previous symphony shows and made a mix CD of the songs he'd picked. I left Greensboro right after Jazz Arranging and arrived home at about 4:40. I quickly changed into the green shirt I had bought at Kohl's the previous Sunday (because Costello has a song called "Green Shirt" and I decided to be a nerd) and at around five we headed off.
Due to rush hour, it took longer to get their than we had expected; we arrived shortly after the gates opened at six. We found a nice spot to sit at the very edge of the lawn about thirty to forty feet from the stage. We then ate and waited for the next hour and a half to pass. At around 7:45 we spotted him, standing at the very edge of the stage, looking over the crowd, which was much larger than I had anticipated for a symphonic concert. Then the lights dimmed and he strode out to the middle of the stage to introduce the orchestra as the crowd cheered. For a man who built his career on "guilt and revenge," his stage manner was much more relaxed and affable than I had been expecting; he joked with the audience and chatted pleasantly. After speaking briefly about "Il Sogno" he left and the orchestra began to play.
For whatever reason, the orchestra played only five minutes of the "Il Sogno" Suite (which is about 45 minutes in its entirety). Afterwards, Costello came back on and began to sing. As I expected, the first four songs were some of the more obscure in his repertoire. These were torch songs and he remained strictly in crooner mode during them, his voice remarkably expressive and assured, although he would occasionally gesture to the audience or pose in time with the music. After the fourth song he announced the intermission. A bit disturbed by the short length of the first half, I hoped that he would make up for it by increasing the length of the second. I went to the men's room, and noticed standing in line behind me was Mark Jacobson, who does those obnoxious Jacobson Toyota commercials.
The second half of the concert was when the real fun began. Joined by his longtime pianist Steve Nieve (who throughout the night not only played acoustic and electric piano, but melodica and theremin), he picked up his guitar and launched into an enthusiastic version of "Veronica," during which the orchestra sat silent until the coda. After this number he played "Green Shirt," which has never been one of my favorite Costello tunes but was still enjoyable. What followed was an exquisite version of the anti-war song "Shipbuilding." On the original recording Costello was joined by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, whose lines formed the basis for the orchestral arrangement.
Then came the most surprising moment of the concert. Again the orchestra fell silent and Costello and Nieve began to play a rocking version of "The River In Reverse," a scathing indictment of the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina. Following this was "Bedlam," described by Costello as " about the nativity scene in a refugee camp." I couldn't believe it when they launched into "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding," one of my favorite Costello songs. Given that there were only two musicians playing, it was amazingly rhythmic and propulsive. It was during these numbers that Costello's rocker side emerged and I found myself wishing that the entire concert had been like this. Afterwards Costello gave a short speech about the freedoms allowed by our Constitution and how we should speak out against injustice - "Criticizing what you believe is wrong does not make you a traitor," he said to thunderous applause. Then the orchestra joined him for a beautiful song about soldiers' widows, "The Scarlet Tide."
The next song of the set was the unimpeachable "Watching The Detectives" (which ties with "Pump It Up" as my all-time favorite Costello song), recast into a '50s noir arrangement. The orchestra took it at a slower tempo than I was accustomed to, but it featured several excellent saxophone solos, including one by Gregg Gelb, who taught my jazz combo freshman year. The unabashedly romantic ballad "She" followed, and the set concluded with a gorgeous version of "God Give Me Strength," a collaboration with Burt Bacharach. He received a standing ovation as soon as he left the stage, and it wasn't long before he came back for an encore. He played four more songs, the highlights of which were undoubtedly "Accidents Will Happen" and "Alison," a tune he had suggested playing earlier (and then hadn't, in typical Costello fashion). He added a new segment to the latter song called "Tracks Of My Tears," which only enhanced the overall sadness. He ended with a waltz, "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4." During this song he came off the stage and walked into the audience, stopping about 15 feet away from me, encouraging people to sing along and dance. Unfortunately, he didn't come any closer and retreated back to the stage for the song's finale. The audience gave him another standing ovation at the song's closing and clapped for minutes on end before the lights went up again.
All in all, while I would have preferred to see him in a rock setting, I was very pleased with the concert. The orchestra played fine except for a few mistakes here and there, and the setlist, given the occasion, could not have been more surprising or exciting. Costello's singing was superb throughout, and I'm glad to have gotten to see him in a context that allowed him to use it to its full capacity. I will definately make every effort to see him again when he comes through. I've posted the setlist below.
01. Excerpts From "Il Sogno"
02. All This Useless Beauty
03. Still Too Soon To Know
04. The Girl In The Other Room
05. The Birds Will Still Be Singing
(intermission; Steve Nieve joins)
06. Veronica
07. Green Shirt
08. Shipbuilding
09. The River In Reverse
10. Bedlam
11. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?
12. The Scarlet Tide
13. Watching The Detectives
14. She
15. God Give Me Strength
(encore)
16. I Still Have That Other Girl
17. Accidents Will Happen
18. Alison / Tracks Of My Tears
19. Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4
I went with Kate Kennedy, my next door neighbor, who's been a rabid Costello fan since before I was born. I asked her if she wanted go in May, when I learned he would be coming to North Carolina. Naturally she said yes and I went about ordering tickets. By the time I got around to it all the regular seats had been taken and I had to settle for lawn seats, but this turned out not to be a problem because the venue was not a large one. A few days before the concert I worked out a plan to come home to Chapel Hill so that I could meet with her and make sure we had the tickets and directions in order before leaving for Cary. I also checked setlists from previous symphony shows and made a mix CD of the songs he'd picked. I left Greensboro right after Jazz Arranging and arrived home at about 4:40. I quickly changed into the green shirt I had bought at Kohl's the previous Sunday (because Costello has a song called "Green Shirt" and I decided to be a nerd) and at around five we headed off.
Due to rush hour, it took longer to get their than we had expected; we arrived shortly after the gates opened at six. We found a nice spot to sit at the very edge of the lawn about thirty to forty feet from the stage. We then ate and waited for the next hour and a half to pass. At around 7:45 we spotted him, standing at the very edge of the stage, looking over the crowd, which was much larger than I had anticipated for a symphonic concert. Then the lights dimmed and he strode out to the middle of the stage to introduce the orchestra as the crowd cheered. For a man who built his career on "guilt and revenge," his stage manner was much more relaxed and affable than I had been expecting; he joked with the audience and chatted pleasantly. After speaking briefly about "Il Sogno" he left and the orchestra began to play.
For whatever reason, the orchestra played only five minutes of the "Il Sogno" Suite (which is about 45 minutes in its entirety). Afterwards, Costello came back on and began to sing. As I expected, the first four songs were some of the more obscure in his repertoire. These were torch songs and he remained strictly in crooner mode during them, his voice remarkably expressive and assured, although he would occasionally gesture to the audience or pose in time with the music. After the fourth song he announced the intermission. A bit disturbed by the short length of the first half, I hoped that he would make up for it by increasing the length of the second. I went to the men's room, and noticed standing in line behind me was Mark Jacobson, who does those obnoxious Jacobson Toyota commercials.
The second half of the concert was when the real fun began. Joined by his longtime pianist Steve Nieve (who throughout the night not only played acoustic and electric piano, but melodica and theremin), he picked up his guitar and launched into an enthusiastic version of "Veronica," during which the orchestra sat silent until the coda. After this number he played "Green Shirt," which has never been one of my favorite Costello tunes but was still enjoyable. What followed was an exquisite version of the anti-war song "Shipbuilding." On the original recording Costello was joined by jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, whose lines formed the basis for the orchestral arrangement.
Then came the most surprising moment of the concert. Again the orchestra fell silent and Costello and Nieve began to play a rocking version of "The River In Reverse," a scathing indictment of the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina. Following this was "Bedlam," described by Costello as " about the nativity scene in a refugee camp." I couldn't believe it when they launched into "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding," one of my favorite Costello songs. Given that there were only two musicians playing, it was amazingly rhythmic and propulsive. It was during these numbers that Costello's rocker side emerged and I found myself wishing that the entire concert had been like this. Afterwards Costello gave a short speech about the freedoms allowed by our Constitution and how we should speak out against injustice - "Criticizing what you believe is wrong does not make you a traitor," he said to thunderous applause. Then the orchestra joined him for a beautiful song about soldiers' widows, "The Scarlet Tide."
The next song of the set was the unimpeachable "Watching The Detectives" (which ties with "Pump It Up" as my all-time favorite Costello song), recast into a '50s noir arrangement. The orchestra took it at a slower tempo than I was accustomed to, but it featured several excellent saxophone solos, including one by Gregg Gelb, who taught my jazz combo freshman year. The unabashedly romantic ballad "She" followed, and the set concluded with a gorgeous version of "God Give Me Strength," a collaboration with Burt Bacharach. He received a standing ovation as soon as he left the stage, and it wasn't long before he came back for an encore. He played four more songs, the highlights of which were undoubtedly "Accidents Will Happen" and "Alison," a tune he had suggested playing earlier (and then hadn't, in typical Costello fashion). He added a new segment to the latter song called "Tracks Of My Tears," which only enhanced the overall sadness. He ended with a waltz, "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4." During this song he came off the stage and walked into the audience, stopping about 15 feet away from me, encouraging people to sing along and dance. Unfortunately, he didn't come any closer and retreated back to the stage for the song's finale. The audience gave him another standing ovation at the song's closing and clapped for minutes on end before the lights went up again.
All in all, while I would have preferred to see him in a rock setting, I was very pleased with the concert. The orchestra played fine except for a few mistakes here and there, and the setlist, given the occasion, could not have been more surprising or exciting. Costello's singing was superb throughout, and I'm glad to have gotten to see him in a context that allowed him to use it to its full capacity. I will definately make every effort to see him again when he comes through. I've posted the setlist below.
01. Excerpts From "Il Sogno"
02. All This Useless Beauty
03. Still Too Soon To Know
04. The Girl In The Other Room
05. The Birds Will Still Be Singing
(intermission; Steve Nieve joins)
06. Veronica
07. Green Shirt
08. Shipbuilding
09. The River In Reverse
10. Bedlam
11. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?
12. The Scarlet Tide
13. Watching The Detectives
14. She
15. God Give Me Strength
(encore)
16. I Still Have That Other Girl
17. Accidents Will Happen
18. Alison / Tracks Of My Tears
19. Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4