CONCERT REVIEW: Elvis Costello, Brighton, England, November 23
- Tim Kennedy
Elvis has been touring for a couple of years with Steve Naive, the keyboardist from his old band the Attractions. The crowd here were almost silent until he took the stage - reflecting the fact that his widespread audience have gotten maturer with Elvis. Aging punks rubbed shoulders with chin-stroking intellectuals, many a middle aged couple of no particular description and amongst them many youngsters came to see the man who is doubtless the greatest songwriter of his generation and a giant of popular music. The Brighton Centre is a conference hall used by British political parties on their annual seaside conferences and more than a little antiseptic, so atmosphere was always going to be a little short at the start of proceedings.
The set consisted of a sprinkling of songs from each of his classic albums, "Man Out Of Time" and "Beyond Belief" from Imperial Bedroom, "Clubland" and "New Lace Sleeves" from Trust, "Temptation" from Get Happy, the early classic singles "Watching The Detectives" and "I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea"; "Alison" and "Red Shoes" from My Aim Is True, "Oliver's Army", "Green Shirt', "Big Boys" from Armed Forces and "Everyday I Write The Book" and "Shipbuilding" from Punch The Clock. However there were songs from some of the less lauded albums - "Pads Paws And Claws" and "God's Comic" from Spike were fine versions of songs with particularly feisty lyrics. There was new material in evidence too, which fitted in well with Elvis' solid gold back catalogue. So many great songs have emanated from this artist. He wheeled out "A Good Year For The Roses" from his country covers album of 1982 Almost Blue but his country song "Stranger In The House", which he then played, is at least the equal of the old chestnut. Every now and again he switched into jukebox mode, at one point playing Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Says" (made a hit in the '80s by Dexy's Midnight Runners).
Elvis is one of the most intelligent and coherent performers rock has ever had, but tonight he was the bluff Liverpudlian of yesteryear albeit without the gigantic chip on the shoulder of the punk years. His bonhomie grew as the night wore on: he egged on the seated audience to 'fill the dancefloor' and despite halfhearted objections from the stewards the gap in front of the stage was soon thronged with people. The atmosphere got substantially warmer from here on in. The darker side of Elvis provided a particular highlight as he performed "I Want You", a song of malevolence, seething with the horror of love gone wrong. He sang several songs from hisuperb recent Burt Bacharach collaboration including "God Give Me Strength" - another high point in the proceedings.
Elvis frequently mugged and clowned around the stage, pointing idiotically around and stumbling about like a Buster Keaton. Clearly, he really enjoys this style of show, and the rapport between him and Nieve was telepathic. Nieve clowned about too, occasionally slamming his piano lid in time with the music and generally ad-libbing like crazy.
At times Elvis was a 50s rock'n'roller hammering out rhythm with his green and white Gibson semi acoustic. At other times Steve Nieve would belt out manic blues-jazz-classical piano, or even Kraftwerk-style synth, proving that he is one of the greatest keyboardists of the modern rock era. Latterly, Elvis took up his acoustic guitar and Steve left the stage for a spell - to return shortly before the end.
Elvis occasionally strayed into the lounge club style of singing as perfected by Tony Bennett with exaggerated vocalising, and even performed the Charles Aznavour standard "She" - his contribution to the soundtrack of the tedious micro-celeb vehicle 'Notting Hill'. Of course he did a good job on it, but such was the momentum of the evening that he was dragged back three times for encores by the now-ecstatic crowd, eventually playing for a staggering two and a half hours.
