Cardiff thursday 24 June

Pretty self-explanatory
kevlew
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Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by kevlew »

Is the Cardiff show solo or is it Sugarcanes ?.

Ive seen conflicting reports.
sweetest punch
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Neil.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Neil. »

It's definitely solo, after initial confusion.

However, having booked thinking it was the Sugarcanes, I'm in no way disappointed. Elvis solo, for me, is something pretty special - you, his voice, and a guitar is an incredibly potent mix. I've been waiting for a solo gig for years, and I'm actually glad it turns out to be on his own!
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Neil. »

Great gig - I took my parents, and they loved it too.

I'm quite amazed to be still knocked out by Elvis, so many years into my fandom. He really does blow me away with what a great performer he is. He's STILL got it after all these years. His voice was as powerful as I've ever heard it, his attack, confidence, phrasing, etc were thrilling - this is one of the best gigs of his I've seen.

Highlight for me was the new song, Condemned Man, which I have never heard (I avoid internet leaks of new stuff as I like there to be some surprises when I see him live or get a new album). Yet another astonishing, blistering lyric - the condemned man going down with defiance - was it 'you'll hear my cold cackle?' or something - the searchlights of the prison tower, the clock ticking toward the appointed hour, the mob outside shouting 'repent, repent', then him resisting his killers as they drag him to the chair/firing squad/whatever. So dramatic - my neck hairs prickled. Maybe he'll do a judicial murder trio one night? Condemned Man, Let 'Em Dangle and One Bell Ringing (which I also thought was wonderful - he imagined honey dripping from a spoon as he died - it went something like that - was it about the Vauxhall shooting of an innocent man by the police? Heard it first on the Brodskys concert April 2009) I'm going to look up all the lyrics tonight, of the new stuff. Brilliant, brilliant, can't wait for the album. The guy's a sodding genius.

Also, another new song, which I think is called I Hope, which was ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL. I was nearly crying. Simple lyric about parting and hurting, and hoping that they meet again - SUCH a simple lyric - it was wonderful - the vocal was sheer, soulful perfection. Loved it - felt it was an instant classic unfolding as I listened. I really feel that this could be the song that is THE worldwide hit for him, if some miracle happens (simple lyric, heartbreaking melody, impassioned vocal). Just wonderful.

Everyday I Write the Book was great, Detectives was one of the best versions I've seen (though I guess all Elvis diehards have heard it to death).

All or Nothing at All was superb and sultry, and I love the sound of the other newies, Jimmy Standing in the Rain and Slow Drag with Josephine. I've never been crackers about Bedlam (apart from the exellent lyrics), but it sounded good in this setting.

Only fault I felt was that, after the climax of PLU, which brought the (very enthusiastic, all night) crowd to its feet, he should perhaps had stuck with up-tempo numbers - he returned to the chair for the last two songs,which were melancholy - including a rare outing for Poison Moon - has he been singing it lately? (I've been avoiding all recent setlists, as I always want to be surprised by the song choices when I see him live).

One of my utmost Elvis favourites, Suit of Lights, was a lovely surprise, but he did it along to a fast strum which didn't quite suit the melancholy metronomic swing of the album version - it diminished the song slightly, I felt.

But on the whole - this man just gets better and better! What is happening? No-one's meant to be this good, this late in his career!

Setlist - in very vague order (and did I miss anything)?

45
Either Side Of The Same Town
Veronica
Down Among The Wines And Spirits
Suit of Lights
Condemned Man
Good Year For The Roses
Everyday I Write The Book
Bedlam
Jimmie Standing In The Rain
A Slow Drag With Josephine - no mic
Watching The Detectives
Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said
God's Comic
Alison plus snippet of some other song I'd never heard of
I Hope
---something else?----
Sulphur To Sugarcane
All Or Nothing At All
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
Shipbuilding
Poison Moon
One Bell Ringing
Last edited by Neil. on Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:52 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Ypsilanti
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Ypsilanti »

Wow, Neil! Thanks for your beautifully written, vivid account of what must have been an amazing, thrilling show! Wish I had been there!
So I keep this fancy to myself
I keep my lipstick twisted tight
sweetest punch
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sweetest punch »

Setlist from wiki:

01. 45
02. Either Side Of The Same Town
03. Veronica
04. Down Among The Wines And Spirits
05. Suit Of Lights
06. Condemned Man
07. Good Year For The Roses
08. Everyday I Write The Book
09. Bedlam
10. Jimmie Standing In The Rain
11. A Slow Drag With Josephine - off-mic
12. Watching The Detectives
13. Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said
14. God's Comic
15. I Hope
16. Sulphur To Sugarcane
Encores
17. Girls Talk
18. Alison - including The Wind Cries Mary
19. All Or Nothing At All
20. Poison Moon
21. Black And White World
22. Shipbuilding
23. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
24. One Bell Ringing
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Neil.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Neil. »

Of course! Girl's Talk (done in the Dave Edmunds style - maybe done because he was in Cardiff - I believe Edmunds was born in the Welsh capital) and Black and White World - which I've never, ever heard him do before! Done slowly and tenderly, as in the Ten Bloody Marys version.
sweetest punch
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sweetest punch »

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... -26727842/

Review: Elvis Costello, St David’s Hall, Cardiff
by Kathryn Williams, Western Mail

MUSIC lovers have a list. Well, actually they probably have many lists, but the one I’m talking about here is the most important one. It’s about who you want to see in concert in your lifetime and for me Elvis Costello was definitely on that list.

I knew not to expect the Attractions, Costello’s former backing band, but I was rather taken aback to find no backing band at all.

Still, I was confident Costello would still put on a good show. And I was right, despite the audience being filled with slightly older fans who were up and down like yo-yos and an over-zealous attendant with a torch problem.

Somewhat a chameleon, Costello and his unmistakable voice ripped through St David’s Hall with an uncompromising emotion, including during the tracks Good Year For The Roses and Shipbuilding.

The latter is a breathtakingly-beautiful song, a favourite of mine, but it sounded quite odd without the forlorn trumpet solo that gives it its sombre edge.

There was nothing sombre about Costello himself, though, but while he was warm and chatty, it was a shame that, as hard as he tried, he failed to whip up the audience enough to sing along with his set-list – apart from the heckles demanding Oliver’s Army.

With just Costello and his guitars, you saw a new side to his most famous songs, including What’s So Funny ’bout Peace, Love and Understanding? and Everyday I Write the Book.

Watching The Detectives, where the underlaying beat trips over and over, went a bit hay-wire towards the end, but all is forgiven as Costello is a master of reinvention.

Jazz, folk, punk, rock, country and blue-grass – he even equals Burt Bacharach when it comes to romance.

It was hard to get your head around the stripped down nature of the performance, as some of his best known songs are a tour-de-force of strong piano/orchestral solos, hard-core pop-rock songs that have worn-out the rewind button on my CD player. But it was this kind of gig that showed off the endearing talent of Costello, who has worked with some of the world’s most prominent musicians and songwriters.

I’m glad he was on my list.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sweetest punch »

Interview with South Wales Evening: http://www.elviscostello.com/#/news/Int ... ng+Post/49

Interview with the South Wales Evening Post
Kate Clarke: South Wales Evening Post: 24.06.10

YOU might call Elvis Costello the ultimate magpie. He made venomous, tongue-twisting rock his calling card, before easing into sophisticated modern standards, smouldering through neglected R'n'B gems, teaming up with 1960s Bossa-pop maestro Burt Bacharach and exercising his classical ear.
But his love of all the colours of music remains a committed romance, rather than a flirtation to hold an audience's wandering eye.
He talks to Kate Clarke ahead of his show tonight at St David's Hall, Cardiff.

Does a solo tour flex different musical muscles?

"I probably have the greatest freedom to sing songs from every year and for every occasion, even numbers I've overlooked or just occur to me in the moment or are tunes yet to be heard on record.

There are obviously songs that announced you to the stage in the first place and that people would still like to hear.

"Time changes them in interesting ways and playing solo makes takes them out of any routine or ritual and gives them back to you like a prize."

You occupy an unusual space in music — you're a household name, your face on an album is a mark of quality, but many would consider your most recent albums niche.

"If I am really a 'household name' I hope it is a delicious one like Vimto and not something that stings the eyes like Vim.
"I've always thought of a niche summoning up an alcove in which you might place a Grecian vase."

You exercise your freedom to follow all musical routes. Having the freedom of the backbenches means also that when you remind listeners about Jesse Winchester and George Jones you can open up new audiences for those artists?

"Sounds as if I've aspired to be the Anthony Wedgewood-Benn of musical advocacy. Or perhaps the Dennis Skinner.
"Then again, it is always a surprise when people thank me for making them aware of, say, George Jones. Then I have to remind myself someone else had to make that introduction for me."

"The television programme Spectacle probably remains obscure to your readers but viewers in Canada and America seem to be looking forward to the proposed season three. If the show had achieved nothing else, one performance by Jesse Winchester, in the last series, would have made it all worthwhile."

Having said that you can fill the Royal Festival Hall. How was it playing in front of dad last week?

"The best possible way to spend Father's Day, other than being with all of my sons."

"Watching both my parents listen to new recordings remains one of the most interesting and important responses I can receive. They both immediately hear details that are intended to reward repeated listening."

Your skill for shoehorning phrases into lyrics, in odd, thrilling alliances is a Costello hallmark.

"Along with skills as parliamentarian, you seem to imply that the rest of the work is a load of cobbling.
"I credit Sister Mary Ninian (and my ma) for teaching me how to read and after that, everything else was easy."

I have to ask about North. If Chuck Berry had only written the one song in his lifetime — Nadine — he would still be a musical giant. You could hold North up to the same light.

"You might be in a minority there. Those songs mean a lot to me and some records have to wait a while for their time to come.
"If Chuck had only known one woman named Nadine and not another called Maybelline, we'd be stuck for a name for mascara."

I hear you often write with particular singers in mind — even if you don't tout them. Do you have one that got away? Would you like to have heard Dinah Washington cut Heart Shaped Bruise? Dion should certainly cut Alison.

"I could possibly imagine Dinah Washington singing Poisoned Rose. Dion writes some pretty good songs, so I don't think he needs my help."

Anything else we should know?

"I recently played a little loud electric guitar on someone's record but I can't say her name."
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Neil.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Neil. »

Eh? That Kathryn Williams Western Mail article was bizarre! The audience were whooping and cheering after every number, and he got a standing ovation, but she seems to imply he didn't manage, quite, to connect! Failed to whip up the crowd enough to sing along? What about the singalongs in Radio Sweetheart, Jackie Wilson Said, and God's Comic?

And who wants the whole audience to be singing along to every song, anyway, when we've come to hear Elvis sing?

It's not that I can't take justified criticism of Elvis - it's the fact that she's just plain wrong!

Nx
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sulky lad »

Elvis did make a quip about thinking that when he crossed the bridge he'd entered the land on song in Radio Sweetheart to try and get some singing back but after that the audience was great - in fact I'd swear the Morriston Orpheus choir was behind me in God's Comic !!
He definitely didn't act like he was struggling to connect with his audience .
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Neil. »

Yes, Sulky, you're right - the first attempt to get the crowd singing was met with embarrassment, but as soon a we were cajoled by our Elv, everyone really went for it! I thought it was a rapturous reception.

Didn't realise you were going, Sulky! Woulda hooked up for a beer! How do you feel it compared to the Festival Hall etc?

I was astounded by how good his voice was - you can't really appreciate it on YouTube, or even, to a degree, on record. It's when he's live, in a hall, that the impact really hits.

N
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sulky lad »

The two shows at the Symphony Hall and St Davids were superb because the acoustics emphasized just how good a singer Elvis is though Oxford was also surprisingly good considering it's a much older theatre rather than a concert hall. I nearly fell off my chair when Elvis did Poison Moon and then got a copy of the setlist which listed (though he didn't play any of these ) All This Useless Beauty, Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (lucky one, VG!!),Distorted Angel- Love Field, Stations Of the Cross, Point Of no Return,The River In Reverse,in another Room, Monkey To man (!!!), Man Out Of Time and I Want You. There's almost another show in it's entirety there !
Sorry I missed you Neil, wasn't sure if you were busy with your folks !
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by pophead2k »

I am just so happy that all of our British and Irish friends are able to see EC after such a long drought. I've been pretty spoiled, having seen him at least 6 or 7 times in the last few years. The voice live is a marvel.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

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http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-an ... -26727725/

Review: Elvis Costello, St David’s Hall, Cardiff
by David Owens, South Wales Echo

TWO musical greats hit Cardiff this week playing vastly different venues, yet both eagerly awaited by fans to whom both have acquired a somewhat god-like status.

Pre-empting McCartney at the Millennium Stadium this evening, the equally talented and highly acclaimed Elvis Costello played the smaller and more intimate St David’s Hall.

Unaccompanied and armed only with an array of fine guitars, his stripped down versions of classics from one of rock’s most celebrated and extensive bodies of work was a real treat.

There are very few figures from the era that spawned punk still treading the boards today as regularly as Costello, and certainly no one nearly as creative or as productive.

It was a low-key entrance from the man.

And with no need for grand introductions, it was straight into his first number 45, followed swiftly by Either Side Of The Same Town and Veronica, a number co-written by Costello with former Beatle McCartney.

It was proving to be the perfect setting which ideally suited what had become a laid-back, living room experience.

And Costello’s good-natured banter and chat about his songs and experiences was certainly an added bonus in what was quickly becoming a memorable evening.

The interesting thing about an evening with Elvis is the likelihood of hearing something never heard before or hearing an oldie dusted down and re-worked.

Costello didn’t disappoint, producing a manic version of Watching The Detectives before moving effortlessly into Radio Sweetheart, with a touch of Jackie Wilson Said thrown into the mix.

The encore produced some real gems with the excellent Sulphur To Sugarcane followed by a bitter-sweet Alison and then the classic anti-war anthem Shipbuilding in what was a quite exceptional evening.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by johnfoyle »

Catching up I see this -
Anything else we should know?

"I recently played a little loud electric guitar on someone's record but I can't say her name."
Wendy Bird . Why the big mystery? He's listed on the sleeve.

http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB2 ... Wendy+Bird


A most peculiar interview. It reads like a bad translation of a non-English text. Was it first published in Welsh? Maybe Ms Clarke just couldn't undersand Elvis' accent. The line, for instance, "I've always thought of a niche summoning up an alcove in which you might place a Grecian vase"makes more sense if it reads "I've always thought of a niche as something up an alcove in which you might place a Grecian vase".
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Top balcony »

According to the Wiki "an audience recording exists" and there's a fine example of artwork by Mr Blue.

I haven't spotted this on Dime, does anyone know where it can be obtained ? I'd love to hear Poisoned Moon

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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by EarlManchester »

Top balcony wrote:According to the Wiki "an audience recording exists" and there's a fine example of artwork by Mr Blue.

I haven't spotted this on Dime, does anyone know where it can be obtained ? I'd love to hear Poisoned Moon
I would guess this is on sulky lad's to-do list.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Top balcony »

EarlManchester wrote:
Top balcony wrote:According to the Wiki "an audience recording exists" and there's a fine example of artwork by Mr Blue.

I haven't spotted this on Dime, does anyone know where it can be obtained ? I'd love to hear Poisoned Moon
I would guess this is on sulky lad's to-do list.
I hope so, but I thought his cunning lapels let him down on this occasion...
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sulky lad »

Earlmanchester wrote
I would guess this is on sulky lad's to-do list.
Found out again - should be on dime by the end of the weekend, had my second recorder going for this and had to modify the stereo via Nero-- sorry for the delay !!
Thanks for the lapels reference Colin TB - I hope I don't have to wait another 12 months to see you !!
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Top balcony
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by Top balcony »

Fantastic news

Yes I agree, keep in touch, anyway perhaps EC will tour Liverpool again behind "King of England"?

Colin Top Balcony
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sulky lad »

Upping this on dime now.
Torrent #313299 Elvis Costello (Solo) St. David's Hall, Cardiff 24 June 2010
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by docinwestchester »

sulky lad wrote:Upping this on dime now.
Torrent #313299 Elvis Costello (Solo) St. David's Hall, Cardiff 24 June 2010
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-deta ... ?id=313299

Great job. Nice to hear B&W World.
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sulky lad »

As always, thanks for the appreciation, Doc !
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Re: Cardiff thursday 24 June

Post by sulky lad »

It would appear that I've uploaded this in glorious one channel stereo. If anyone has downed this and is disappointed (understandably) I'm prepared to snailmail an electronically enhanced stereo version(!!?!), I'm just waiting for dime approval to upload the correct torrent in the meantime. Really sorry for any let down, my fault for rushing to upload it over a hectic weekend !
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