Elvis Costello and The Imposters , Toronto , March 2004

Pretty self-explanatory
User avatar
Toy Soldier-Scaremonger
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2004 8:06 pm
Location: NORTH

Elvis Costello and The Imposters , Toronto , March 2004

Post by Toy Soldier-Scaremonger »

What an unbelievable performance :!: There's something about Massey Hall in Toronto that always brings out the absolute best in Elvis and Steve. It was a magnificent concert filled with incredible beauty thruout the night. I experienced emotions hearing the songs from NORTH that I didn't even know I had. Steve was a phenomenon! These two men are far more gifted than other teams such as Simon & Garfunkel, Jagger & Richards, & well... I won't say Lennon & McCartney but it was a wonderful evening. So many songs from NORTH including the title track! During a quiet moment between songs of one of the encores, Scaremonger yelled out 'Play NORTH Elvis: you're in Canada!'. EC looked right at me seeing where it came from and grinned. When Steve came back Elvis spoke to him for about ten seconds and sure enough, they did NORTH! The crowd loved the piece particularly the references to our maple leaf, polar bears, and speaking en francais. Seeing him perform 'Let Me Tell You About Her' solo on piano was spectacular. I would have paid hundreds of dollars just to see him do that alone! 'The Scarlet Tide' was very emotional for me for personal reasons and brought tears to my eyes hearing him sing it live with ukelele in hand. I could go on and on but Blue'll tell you more! I've gotta get some sleep! Here's the setlist which is accurate until the second encore where I slipped into another dimension!


1. 45

2. I Hope You're Happy Now

3. Suit of Lights

4. Home Truth

5. Shot With His Own Gun

6. You Left Me In The Dark

7. Someone Took The Words Away

8. This House Is Empty Now

9. Motel Matches

10. No Wonder

11. For The Stars

12. Veronica

13. You Turned To Me

14. Fallen

15. God's Comic

16. Shipbuilding

17. What's So Funny 'Bout (PLU)


ENCORE 1

18. Poisoned Rose

19. Brilliant Mistake

20. When It Sings

21. Still

22. Can You Be True?

23. Inch By Inch/Fever

24. Watching The Detectives


ENCORE 2

25. The Delivery Man

26. new song (Country)

27. new song

28. Either Side of the Same Town

29. new song

ENCORE 3

30. Almost Blue

31. Let Me Tell You About Her

32. new song

33. The Scarlet Tide

34. NORTH

35. Pump It Up

36. Dark End of the Street



....a few mistakes towards the end but you get the picture. Tell 'em more Blue & Red!


Thank you Elvis! Toronto loves you and Steve so come back soon!
I can't remember being any younger.
martinfoyle
Posts: 2502
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:24 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Contact:

Post by martinfoyle »

Sounds magical, thanks for sharing your thoughts, just about the next thing to being there.
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Post by BlueChair »

It was wonderful hearing stuff like "Motel Matches", "North", the new material (which is fantastic), the stuff from King Of America, and even "Veronica" simply cause he rarely plays it these days.

Massey Hall is a wonderful venue too, so that helped.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.canoe.ca/JamConcertsA2D/cost ... 31504.html

Tuesday, March 16, 2004


Elvis was pumped!
Costello treated fans to a brilliant night of versatility
By MARY DICKIE, TORONTO SUN -- Toronto Sun

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ELVIS COSTELLO
Massey Hall, Toronto
Monday, March 15, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TORONTO -- There are those who say that the best music comes from the broken-hearted, but Elvis Costello certainly disproved that theory last night. The Anglo/Irish singer/songwriter -- and the proud new husband of Canadian jazz pianist Diana Krall -- showcased the breadth of his songwriting and the power of his voice with an exhilarating two-and-a-half-hour show at Massey Hall.

The quiet songs on Costello's latest album, North -- which are mostly about the breakup of his previous marriage and the beginning of his relationship with Krall -- were written specifically to spotlight his supple, warm voice, using only minimal instrumentation and a '50s pop approach. As such, they are well suited to the stripped-down presentation that saw Costello accompanied only by his longtime keyboardist, Steve Nieve.

But Costello's enormous body of work encompasses punk, new wave, jazz, orchestral music and country, and on his albums he's added all manner of instruments to his songs, from the Brodsky Quartet's strings to Chet Baker's trumpet to Nashville session players' pedal steel and fiddle. The fact that Costello and Nieve managed to create so many moods and colours with their limited palette was testament to their musical proficiency -- and, of course, the fact that the songs held up was evidence of their simple brilliance.

The set list straddled all the abovementioned genres and more. Costello and Nieve made I Hope You're Happy Now work even without its main riff, and added loud, dissonant guitar and fiercely banged piano to match the early fury of the reggae-ish Watching The Detectives and the high-energy rock and roll of Pump It Up.

Costello accompanied himself on ukulele to recreate the Celtic-tinged folk of The Scarlet Tide, the Oscar-nominated "anti-fear" song from Cold Mountain. And for the sad, passionate country song The Poisoned Rose and the fireside pop of Let Me Tell You About Her, Costello's voice took centre stage. Other highlights included Motel Matches, which showcases Costello's awesome facility with lyrics, Almost Blue -- which Krall covers on her upcoming album -- and Brilliant Mistake.

He broke for a good-humoured rant or two during a high-spirited rendition of God's Comic, making digs at George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, The Passion Of The Christ and CMT's black-hatted non-cowboys, and describing heaven as a bad nightclub from 1985 in which Duran Duran's Hungry Like A Wolf is stuck in the stereo.

After his most famous cover, Nick Lowe's (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding, Costello and Nieve came back to do a handful of brand-new songs, which mark a turn away from the personal material of North back to his more characteristic, often vitriolic tales of disappointed lives and frustrated love. And let's face it -- although North was great, that's where Elvis Costello belongs, whether he's happy or not.
WhipsnSpurs
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:57 pm
Location: Santa Maria, CA

Re: Toronto review

Post by WhipsnSpurs »

[quote="Toy Soldier-Scaremonger"] During a quiet moment between songs of one of the encores, Scaremonger yelled out 'Play NORTH Elvis:

quote]


You and the "Radio Radio" guy at UCLA should get together! :lol:
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Post by BlueChair »

We had an "Alison" and a "Radio Radio" guy, but they only tried it once... after which Elvis replied "You'd sooner hear 'Radio Ga-Ga' at this point
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
WhipsnSpurs
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 2:57 pm
Location: Santa Maria, CA

Post by WhipsnSpurs »

You gotta love the guy's wit. Typical Liverpool! :lol:
User avatar
Otis Westinghouse
Posts: 8856
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: The theatre of dreams

Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Oh wow, Motel Matches. I wonder has he played that on this tour. Or before with SN? Would love to that badly, and that's one for a top 50 list for sure.
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2004/03/1616.cfm

LIVE: Elvis Costello Shines Up North
Tuesday March 16, 2004 @ 05:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Massey Hall
Toronto, ON
March 15, 2004
By Elizabeth Chorney-Booth


Since moving to Toronto three years ago, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Elvis Costello play live four times — and each time he’s come on stage as a completely different man. Touring behind his 2002 album, When I Was Cruel, Costello was a curmudgeonly rocker; a year later at the Hummingbird Centre he was toned-down, smooth and stylish; later that same week at Ottawa’s Blues Festival he was playful and populist; and this last show, set in Toronto’s splendid Massey Hall, showcased yet another side of the musician.

Touring behind North, his widely panned piano album, Costello is on the road with his long-time collaborator, keyboardist Steve Nieve, without a rock band. Now, the thought of Costello touring without a rhythm section, crooning love songs about new wife Diana Krall set many Costello fans on orange alert. Luckily, while Costello did restrict himself to what he called "the quietest songs I’ve ever written," this show was neither pretentious nor dull. Chalk it up to the man being in love — it was the warmest I’ve seen Costello yet.

Rather than coming off as a blown-up crooner, Costello struck the pose of a dapper singer-songwriter, humbly presenting himself and his songs to an adoring audience. He and Nieve adopted several configurations throughout the nearly three-hour long set: Nieve on piano with Costello on acoustic guitar, Nieve on piano with Costello on electric guitar, Costello alone on piano, Costello alone on ukulele... but, surprisingly, the best set-up had Nieve on piano with Costello instrument-free at the mic. While the guitar hero approached this unlikely position with gusto, making dramatic hand gestures and passionate facial expressions, not once did he come off as a schmaltzy torch singer. While just about any other rock singer would have looked like a fool trying to pull off these songs, Costello was completely natural and believable throughout the entire show.

Although North is a far better album than most critics would have you believe, on record Costello’s newest batch of songs don’t reach the same emotional level as much of his rich back catalogue. But, when performed live, with the songwriter standing openly in front of the piano, many of them — particularly the bittersweet numbers like "You Left Me In The Dark" and "When It Sings" — came to life marvelously. In addition to Nieve’s skill at the keys, it helps that Costello’s voice is in terrific form — at several points, he even stepped away from the microphone to take advantage of Massey Hall’s acoustics, a move so intimate it brought much of the audience to tears.

Not everything was so dark and intense. Costello ripped through stripped-down versions of many of his classics, like "(What’s So Funny About) Peace Love And Understanding," "Veronica," "Watching The Detectives" and a lackluster and unnecessary version of "Pump It Up." He was also uncharacteristically chatty throughout the show, giving an extended and politically juicy monologue in the middle of "God’s Comic" (from 1989’s Spike). He brought out a ukulele to do his Oscar nominated "Scarlet Tide" (from Cold Mountain), asking the audience to hold their cheers, saying "You don’t have to applaud. We didn’t win... fucking Hobbits!"

But after three hours and four encores (during which he played a set of brand new songs, including some thematically linked ballads), it was the intensely emotional moments — in both the North songs and old heartbreakers like "Shipbuilding" and "Almost Blue" — that left a lasting impression. "Sometimes people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, Elvis! I love your albums. Especially the early, angrier ones,’" Costello quipped. While records like My Aim Is True and This Year’s Model will go down in history for many as Costello’s essential albums, he should also be recognized as what he has been for the past two and a half decades — an uncommonly versatile artist capable of much more than one single trick.
User avatar
mood swung
Posts: 6908
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 3:59 pm
Location: out looking for my tribe
Contact:

Post by mood swung »

I'd have to agree whole-heartedly with the comments on the songs from North (tho I wasn't at this show). They sounded exactly like the cd, note for note, but in 3-D or something. I can't quite describe it. I liked them ok before, but hearing them live was like hearing life blown into them. Can you hear that?
Like me, the "g" is silent.
User avatar
spooky girlfriend
Site Admin
Posts: 3007
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:19 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Contact:

Post by spooky girlfriend »

I'M SO FUCKING JEALOUS - YOU GOT SUIT OF LIGHTS!!!!!!!!! :twisted:
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... ment/Music

Elvis shows why fools fall in love


By CARL WILSON
Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - Page R3

Elvis Costello with Steve Nieve

at Massey Hall

in Toronto on Monday

Usually, when Elvis Costello sings (What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, the accent is on the peace and understanding. His take on the Nick Lowe tune -- so definitive it's better called a steal -- is a protest cry for brainy, bitter idealists, rueful that intelligent co-operation is so scarce in this wicked world.

With long-time pianist Steve Nieve at Massey Hall on Monday, Costello got in his political shots, mainly at U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney. But his sharpest arrows struck nearer home. Suddenly his anthem demanded to be heard the way Bill Murray serenaded Scarlett Johanssen with it in the karaoke bar in Lost In Translation: What is so funny about love?

Till recently, nobody knew the answer better, and how to couch his mockery in multilevel puns, through two dozen albums after 1977's My Aim Is True. But in the course of Costello's second divorce and third marriage (to B.C. jazz-pop singer Diana Krall, of course), he had an epiphany it takes certain men 50 years to reach: What if sophistication is unsophisticated? What if surrendering wholly to love is not for chumps?

And so the onetime punk, later known for his expeditions into various styles, tries a more hazardous, emotional experiment -- a CD called North, of crooner piano tunes that bluntly confess his terror and pleasure in going ga-ga, with no escape clauses. As Costello told Monday's crowd, "These are the most extremely quiet songs I've ever written, love songs every one of them, and they generally make people furious."

North is the grownup version of emo, in which howling teens natter on about their girlfriends. But the grownup part matters: As Costello's self-ribbing in Let Me Tell You About Her shows, he's aware why you may cringe and scoff. Fine. If fools fall in love, he'll be a fool.

Nieve and Costello have done duo shows between band gigs for years. But now the stripped-down context left the singer especially unguarded.

Often he was without a guitar, leaning at the microphone, and several times even stepped away and sang unamplified into the hall. It was as nervy as walking out on a tightrope, and it brought the room onto the wire with him.

Beforehand, I'd heard one guy mutter, "Where's the friggin' drum kit? If there ain't no friggin' drum kit, I'm leavin'. " There was no friggin' drum kit. But the man stayed, like everybody else -- for three hours.

Costello repaid the audience's embrace of his risk-taking with a spectacle of Springsteen-worthy proportions: 36 songs, including three encores averaging six songs each.

Besides nine from North (including the joshing title tribute to Canada, left off the official release), Costello and Nieve performed eccentric reinventions of everything from 1977's Watching the Detectives to Costello's recent Oscar-nominated song for the film Cold Mountain (on ukulele) and much more, with a stress on rarities and occasional comic monologues.

Floppy-haired Nieve's flashy rococo flourishes on piano, melodica and synthesizer helped give away how his partner pulls it all off: Costello is more brilliant music-hall showman, like his bandleader dad, than he ever was a punk.

He finally closed with Memphis soul classic At the Dark End of the Street, including an audience sing-along and the unaided-voice effect again. I lost count of standing ovations.

Yet lest fans fear he's gone permanently runny, Costello also unveiled five new songs with a beat and a bite. Delivery Man, for instance, concerns three elderly ladies lusting for a figure who recalls the blues' "candy man," yet also "seems a bit like Jesus." Oh, and "in a certain light, he looks like Elvis."

Rest assured, Elvis Costello still gets the punch line to his signature tune: What's so funny? Nothing. And everything, too.
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Post by BlueChair »

Carl Wilson is still alive!?

Still reeling from the excellent show. I've been dying to listen to the new songs again, but since they aren't out in any recorded form... I guess I'll have to wait!

Hopefully I'll get the photo of RedShoes, Elvis, and I posted later tonight. RedShoes is on her way back to Indiana right now.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
User avatar
Gillibeanz
Posts: 1697
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 1:28 pm
Location: England

Post by Gillibeanz »

'Motel Matches' AND 'Suit of lights'??? you lucky bugger!!!! I envy you what a fantastic set list! :D
COME ON YOU SPURS!!
User avatar
RedShoes
Posts: 820
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:49 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

And here it is (finally)

Post by RedShoes »

Me, EC, and Blue after the Toronto show:

Image

Apologies for the delay :oops:
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Post by johnfoyle »

Hey Blue - you wear the exact same spectacle frame as me! Of course , on you they look much better - probably helps that you`re such a handsome chap!
selfmademug

Post by selfmademug »

Nice pic! E seems to be leaning into the picture, as if he might not be in the frame or something...
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Post by BlueChair »

johnfoyle wrote:Hey Blue - you wear the exact same spectacle frame as me! Of course , on you they look much better - probably helps that you`re such a handsome chap!
I'm flattered, John. Are your frames Toki as well? It took me forever to find frames that I liked, though it was only recently that I started wearing them all the time. I was naive in thinking that I could actually see properly for a while.
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
User avatar
oily slick
Posts: 1864
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:07 pm
Location: st louis

Post by oily slick »

FABULOUS photo! congrats!
I'm not concerned about the very poor.
User avatar
spooky girlfriend
Site Admin
Posts: 3007
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:19 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Contact:

Post by spooky girlfriend »

Excellent photo, Blue and Red. I'm so excited for you both.

We should start some kind of virtual scrapbook of all the board members and their pictures with Elvis.
User avatar
mood swung
Posts: 6908
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 3:59 pm
Location: out looking for my tribe
Contact:

Post by mood swung »

yes, very nice photo!! you've been blessed by elvis.
Like me, the "g" is silent.
User avatar
RedShoes
Posts: 820
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2003 10:49 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by RedShoes »

I had to dig this thread out again.

Remember this picture?

Image

Well, I have this picture on my desk in my room....and 4 different people have now asked me if the guy in the middle is Blue's dad.

I'm not sure if I should be upset that people don't know who EC is, or excited because my guy apparently looks like him. :lol:
User avatar
Poppet
Posts: 939
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:49 am
Location: Boston, MA USA

Post by Poppet »

that's so cute!!!

be both. :)
... name the stars and constellations,
count the cars and watch the seasons....
User avatar
BlueChair
Posts: 5959
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2003 5:41 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Post by BlueChair »

hahahaha

you never told me that!
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
bobster
Posts: 2160
Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:29 am
Location: North Hollywood, CA

Post by bobster »

It actually sort of makes sense, since EC and Blue (who's physiognomy has been the subject of some speculation on my part of late) seem to have almost identical noses.

Blue, maybe it's time for a long sit-down with mom.
http://www.forwardtoyesterday.com -- Where "hopelessly dated" is a compliment!
Post Reply