Thoughts of Detour

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verbal gymnastics
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Thoughts of Detour

Post by verbal gymnastics »

In my view this has simply been a stunning tour. It was everything last year's short solo tour wasn't. It was relaxed, Elvis seemed a lot happier, the show's base of his family life presented some great and interesting stories (which I didn't tire of hearing), and, for me most importantly, there was a terrific variety of one off songs and songs which have not been played in a very long time.

Larkin Poe continue to invigorate him and their importance can't be understated. They are extremely talented musicians and can learn songs incredibly quickly. They add good harmonies and Elvis is not shy of letting them have a forward role.

The shows themselves have been varied. The TV has been a welcome distraction. The projected lyrics didn't distract me much and I was interested to see who came up on the screen. Elvis seemed to rely less on the screens towards the end of the tour except to check the projections were in the right places for his dad and grandfather.

I loved him playing inside the TV and at first it was like watching Elvis at home in 1977 coming onto your TV screen.

The manner of the show has led to a number of staples but that's not a criticism. I haven't tired of can't stand up, the sublime Jimmie, Watch your step, Pump it up inside the TV, and the sets with Larkin Poe have been varied and entertaining, particularly Love field and the Lost on the river songs. I've also not tired of Ross' If I had a hammer.

I love the way that he interchanges the way he sings Alison, depending upon his mood - outside the TV, inside the TV, totally unplugged or partly off mic.

I'm sure there'll be opportunities for the rest of the world to see Detour. I hope so as this is a show not to be missed.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
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Otis Westinghouse
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Well that all squares of the one measly (if utterly brilliant) show I saw, but why didn't I get to more? (Oh yeah, son at university in London with a £1,600 second year rent deposit to be paid, etc. etc.) A DVD of it would be nice.

An additional reflection from me would be that much as I love the Imposters, it was great to be able to watch a show without any hearing protection trying to stop my tinnitus from worsening, apart from in the loudest bits, like the applause at the end.

Certain memories of the one show I did see will stay with me as much as any from previous Elvis shows, with Alison (on mic with very low key but effective use of the signature Fender) and Shipbuilding as highest contenders.
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
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A rope leash
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by A rope leash »

I did not get to see this show at all, even though it passed fairly close to me. I have enjoyed visiting this site daily for all the updates and reviews. The reviews have been almost universally glowing, both here in the states and across the pond. I do hope this show will be presented in some sort of professional video form for all to see...you know the YouTube stuff just doesn't do justice.

I can't think of any other performer ever who has been able to do a retrospective tour of his own career. When I do think of a performer who might have been able to do this, it's the greats like Frank Sinatra or Willie Nelson. It's a weird sort of pride I have in my fandom...I could not have made a better choice as to whom to love in the world of music.

I salute all you lucky people and thank you for posting the details of this historic tour!
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Jack of All Parades
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by Jack of All Parades »

I thank both of you, VG and Otis, for your personal self reflections on the shows you took in during this tour. Those comments, and from other board members, have aided in the revival of a flagging interest on my part for taking in a live show over the last few years. My own recent experience with a 'Wheel' show in Boston a few years back combined with various comments on this site about last year's solo shows in England had tempered my enthusiasm for 'live' viewing. I echo Mr. Leash's sentiments toward all the positive comments about this latest incarnation of his road show. It is a catalog of both great depth and overall quality from which he can pick and choose at random depending upon his mood. I was straying in my affection; you have restored my 'union' with this man's live work. I take particular pleasure in seeing that 'Jimmy' retains a firm place in each night's set. It is a song I have been giving sustained thought to over the past months, it having become a touchstone for me as I try to put thought to paper.
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Otis Westinghouse
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

jimmie was fantastic. Can't get enough of:

Forgotten man
Indifferent nation
Waiting on a platform at a Lancashire station
There's more to life than books, you know, but not much more
sulky lad
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by sulky lad »

And for me the bridge with "Her soft breath was gentle on his neck" is pretty much the apex of anything he's written - anyone who's had the delight of feeling their love in repose sleeping gently next to them must recognise that sublime sense of peace and bliss - as good a place to die as any. It made me cry the first time I heard it and continues to move me every time I hear Elvis sing it - though the song stands as good as anything Bob has done ( and I've told him that), I could do without the off mike "Brother Can You Spare A Dime" now !
The tour itself has come to me as a confirmation of the reasons I love Elvis and his music after all this time. I was worried that the death of Ross had robbed Elvis of some of his "raison d'etre" after last years paltry 2 shows that I saw. I had hoped that Swansea was a blip partly caused by an amplifier problem and he certainly pulled out the stops with some of his songs "The Comedians being a particular gem but then I heard reports of other mediocre (by his standards) performances and in Paris, VG and I felt only the arrival of Steve saved us from an ordinary show. We may be greedy or expect too much in expecting extraordinary performances from Elvis but we've been given that over and over again in the past.
Having attended 10 of the U.K Detour shows I feel the format has enabled Elvis to come to terms with some personal history - it's noticeable that the longest periods that he talks in the shows or indeed ever on stage have both been relating stories about Ross and Pat McManus respectively. Maybe it's been just a little cathartic for him to be able to do that but there's been a sense of joy and acknowledgement in these shows that's been missing for some time and that too has been enhanced by his sharing of the stage with Larkin Poe. Of all the people I've seen Elvis share a stage ( and a microphone with) I can honestly say the that the harmonies and vitality of the Lovell Sisters have been the best I've witnessed. Seeing the adoration that Rebecca has when she leans over to share the mike in the TV has been moving and revelatory and Megan's slide playing and lower harmonies have often transformed songs that otherwise seem too familiar - I'm thinking of "Love Field" and GYFTR here. The playing of "Blame It On Cain" at the end of their too brief set has been one of the constant delights throughout the 10 shows.
I had hoped for a few more obscure songs from the 10 shows I did attend and those I missed including Southend, Leicester, Basingstoke and Glasgow all provided performances I would have killed to see but that's the luck of the draw and the disadvantage of moving to the sticks away from my previous central position in the Midlands - my bad if you like,
but there has still been a massive range of performances. Maybe one downside has been the reluctance of audiences to participate - the call and answer of Red Shoes rarely got enough space to take off and the "I Know" in Accidents often got a very limited response. Add to that the fact that only in Bristol and Cardiff did people get up and crowd to the front near the end and even in St. David's Hall, many were inhibited by over zealous security/ushers. In fact there were 3 different venues ( Stoke, Cardiff and one I can't remember) where the ushers actively intercepted anyone making phone videos or taking photos using cameras rather than quick snaps on phones. I've had a few scary moments when I thought I might be nabbed especially after the show in Southampton when I walked to the stage following VG with a microphone still attached to a lapel in full view of a security chap who eyeballed it rather belligerently and caused me to beat a hasty retreat.
Elvis still needs to resolve the issue of whether he wants an audience on their feet dancing the night away or sitting appreciating his amazing repertoire and talents and, having stood for the Cambridge gig, I think the sad fact is most of his audience ( though not all by a long chalk) are of an age when too many standing gigs might just prove a bit much. I flopped into my car at Cambridge after the gig with a huge sense of relief and drove back to Birmingham in bare feet as my arches were killing me - and I'm not the most likely dancer in this situation.
Having mentioned his talent, I must say that his voice has been the best I've heard in a very long time if ever. he's stopped that awful over-singing that took over in the mid to late 90s after Painted From Memory and The Juliet Letters and even in Nottingham when he started off raggedly and he admitted he'd had some of that Cumbrian air, he seemed to power his voice through the problems until his voice reached peaks and there were sublime moments in songs like "Either Side", "After The Fall", "The Comedians", the low notes in "GYFTR", the off mike sustained notes at the end of "Alison" and complete performances of (for me) "Church Underground", the picked "Stella Hurt" and of course "Jimmy" that still made my heart sing with joy and relief that the musician I've adored and dedicated so much of my time and money to could still thrill me to my core.
Furthermore, Elvis the musician should not be in any way diminished. His guitar playing can be sublime at times - the "Little Hands Of Concrete" managed to break strings twice in my recollection including maybe a "G" or "D" string on one occasion instead of the usual top "E" but his picking on the sit down songs and on Stella Hurt and Beyond Belie were magnificent and he was faultless on the ukelele ( which obviously isn't his first instrument and he seemed to temper his piano playing and his performances on "Shipbuilding" meant he was able to concentrate on the singing without the air of a man waiting for his first mistake on the keys. We've been ruined by having Steve provide faultless accompaniment and I'd be mortified if Elvis never tours as a duo at least once more in his career with Steve but this tour the playing was a vast improvement on previous attempts where mistakes proved to be so distracting for him and generally resulted in poorer vocal performances.
finally the singing of the piano ballad "I Let the Sun go Down" or whatever title we feel is right ( I didn't call it that in my head when I listened to my playback of the show) signals the arrival of a new song by Elvis which is the first since "Last year Of my Youth" and also a return to a very political offering. I think a new thread is probably necessary for the debate about the meaning of this ( "don't start me talking ") but it was a powerful and emotive reflection of "The state of the nation " as I've heard since "Tramp the Dirt Down" or "Pills And Soap" or "Sign O' The Times "
Overall then, it's been a good place to be for me personally and for Elvis and a relief to find he's found a degree of peace and consolation or so it appears. I hope the tour has proved financially successful for him and that perhaps now is a good time for him to consider a tour with a band - perhaps the memoir will exorcise some ghosts and Bruce can take his place back on bass ( dream on, Sulky!) but a tour without the distraction of the SSS and with perhaps a few new songs to showcase in the next 12 months might not be too much of a pipe-dream. Sorry if this sounds greedy so soon after a tour here and I hope the Steely Dan tour reinvigorates his enthusiasm for playing with a four piece again.
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verbal gymnastics
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by verbal gymnastics »

Great post sulky. I would add Ghost Train to the great songs performed on the tour. The story itself remained funny as did the having finished the song today routine.

I loved the way he used his used the body of his guitar as percussion.

Once again, great post.
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
Neil.
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Re: Thoughts of Detour

Post by Neil. »

Great stuff, guys!
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