Elvis/Imposters, Oakland, CA, May 8/9 '11

[johnfoyle]

Who here is going?

[ramalama]

8 May row E seat 10 reporting for duty, sir

[johnfoyle]

Excellent!

[johnfoyle]

Potential review source -

http://www.mercurynews.com/music

[Dr. Luther]

I'm there.
Both nights.

[bronxapostle]

I'm there.
Both nights.

great to hear that you WILL be there CHRIS! enjoy the both, and please post setlists ASAP! i'm jonesing bad here on the EAST coast! thanks. peace, benny

[CraigatCoF]

From justinwdavis

[ramalama]

What's the challenge of doing a set list when the songs are written on a wheel in front of you? As Bill Murray said of Marsha Mason playing herself in "The Goodbye Girl," "That's not acting, that's behaving."

Sans Wheel
1. I Hope that You're Happy Now
2. Mystery Dance
3. Radio Radio

Wheein' in the Years
4. Chelsea
5. Bedlam
6. Beyond Belief
7. The Other Side of Summer
8. This was going to be the moment. The wheel ticks ever so slowly and lands on Joanna.
Joanna.
Not the Kool and the Gang "Joanna" (I hoped). "Joanna" by Scott Walker. One song in Oakland leading eventually to an Elvis Sings Scott disc and tour. Steve strikes up the piano, and we get . . .
Temptation.
A very nice version of Temptation, however not a song about Joanna, and recorded by neither Scott Walker nor Kool and the Gang.
9. A woman celebrating her 15th wedding anniversary spins Long Honeymoon. I kid you not.
10. PLU, even though it arrived as the spin after
11. Clubland
12. God's Comic
13. Tripped at Every Step
14. Girl

Wheeless
15. Spooky Girlfiend
At this point a man is led to the stage to spin, but Elvis instead launches into a "Girl" set, leaving the man in the wings. Does that make him a "spinster"?
16. Sulky Girl
17. This Year's Girl
18. Party Girl

Encore 1
19. Slow Drag with Josephine
20. Jimmie Standing in the Rain
21. Pump it up in 6/8 time/I'm Busted

Encore 2
22. I Can't Stand Up
23. High Fidelity

Encore 3
24. Alison/Over the Rainbow/Somewhere

[docinwestchester]

Very nicely reported. Fascinating set list. I don't get the Joanna-Temptation connection, is there one? The "Girl" sequence is amazing. Long Honeymoon is a personal favorite.

Can't wait til next week!!

[And No Coffee Table]

The official site's setlist indicates that "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" and "High Fidelity" were played as part of the "Napoleon Solo" Jackpot. Is that correct? It seems more likely that "A Slow Drag With Josephine" and "Jimmie Standing In The Rain" would be the solo spots.

I don't get the Joanna-Temptation connection, is there one?

The official site's description of the shows' format said "Joanna” "allow[s] for song with accompaniment by Steve Nieve to be chosen spontaneously from a large pile of sheet music." Elvis further explained in Reno that "Joanna" is meant to rhyme with "piano." (I thought it rhymed with Bloomington, Indiana.)

I assume "Temptation" was the Costello & Nieve arrangement frequently played in the mid- to late-'90s.

[ramalama]

Josephine/Jimmie were played solo without reliance on the wheel when Elvis came out for the encore. The Napoleon Solo set was the result of a wheel selection (with a bit of divine intervention to reach that spot)

[And No Coffee Table]

Clay on the listserv took some great pics. He said it's OK to post the link here:
http://tinyurl.com/elvisoakland

The wheel, with changes from Reno noted in bold:

Girl
Living in Paradise
Bedlam
You Tripped at Every Step
Monkey To Man
The Element Within Her
I Want You
I Can Sing A Rainbow
God's Comic
Everyday I Write The Book
Long Honeymoon (Reno: unidentified)
Turpentine
The Other Side Of Summer (Reno: unidentified)
Clubland
King's Ransom
Chelsea
Beyond Belief
And Your Bird Can Sing
Accidents (Reno: Oliver's Army)
Shipbuilding (Reno: Man Out Of Time)
Pump It Up In 6/8
Napoleon Solo
Black And White World
New Lace Sleeves (Reno: Either Side Of The Same Town)
Detectives vs. Hoover Factory
So Like Candy
Happy
Harry Worth
Brilliant Mistake
Earthbound
God Give Me Strength
Doll Revolution
Veronica
Joanna
Josephine
Alison
Let Me Roll It
Peace, Love & Understanding
The River In Reverse (Reno: Flutter & Wow)
Stella Hurt

[JONPD]

The official site's I don't get the Joanna-Temptation connection, is there one?

The official site's [url=http://www.e ... escription of the shows' format said "Joanna” "allow[s] for song with accompaniment by Steve Nieve to be chosen spontaneously from a large pile of sheet music." Elvis further explained in Reno that "Joanna" is meant to rhyme with "piano." (I thought it rhymed with Bloomington, Indiana.)

I assume "Temptation" was the Costello & Nieve arrangement frequently played in the mid- to late-'90s.[/quote]

Old Joanna is cockney rhyming slang for piano

[docinwestchester]

Clay on the listserv took some great pics. He said it's OK to post the link here:
http://tinyurl.com/elvisoakland

The wheel, with changes from Reno noted in bold:


The Element Within Her

Wow, that's interesting. Only performed once, according to wiki:
http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... Within_Her

[And No Coffee Table]

Aside from the two Beatles covers, the rarest song played so far is "You Tripped At Every Step," last played in 1994. I didn't think it worked too well on that tour, but it may have improved now that there's a second vocalist in the band.

[krm]

pump it up / Busted here - nice version in my eyes.... ears!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0klrz7Mv4s

[AlmostBlue]

If you see a song you like on the wheel , i.e. "Let Me Roll it"- the odds are as follows:
with 4 "unassisted" spins
average 3 songs being replaced from night to night,
and 10% chance of elvis not liking it
=0.9*4*(1/40)*(37/40) = ~ 8%
unless it is bedlam, clubland, beyond belief (the wheel is fixed!)
but I like the odds - wish I had a ticket for Monday!
I am hoping someone uploads more lounge photos and of course hope our tapers show up on dime!
!?please?!

[deerfried]

Can anyone report on how, exactly, audience participants are chosen to spin the wheel?

[ncalsurfer]

Hi all,

Long time EC fan, new forum member. I'm going tonight, May 9th. Orchestra Section reporting in!

Any drinks/meetups before the show?

[And No Coffee Table]

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showt ... p?t=250279

A report on the Fox Theater show in Oakland, May 8, 2011.

Elvis and the Imposters kick off their performance sometime after 8:15 and quickly play three songs. A go-go dancer, who apparently goes by the name of Katya Valentina Valentine, gyrates in a groovy, tight cylindrical “cage” on the left side of the stage.

1. I Hope You're Happy Now
2. Mystery Dance
3. Radio Radio

After that 1-2-3 punch, we begin with the gigantic wheel, situated at stage right. Elvis, as Napoleon Bonaparte, invites a woman from the audience to spin the Spinning Songbook loaded with (mostly) song titles.

4. (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea

Katya’s main job is to select and bring up audience members to spin the wheel. The chosen ones were mostly female, and the majority of them were game enough to dance around in the cage, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of pre-selection process to weed out potential duds.

Also on stage, a few chairs and a table with beverages in case the wheel participants didn’t care to dance.

5. Bedlam
6. Beyond Belief

For the next song, Elvis recalls the reaction from his record people when he first presented it -- “What’s with the f___in’ beard?”

7. The Other Side of Summer
8. Temptation

An arrangement with just piano and vocal. All evening, it was very enjoyable listening to the variety of sounds coming from Steve Nieve’s multiple keyboards. Those cheesy tones from the early records were reproduced along with ear-pleasing piano and organ touches (like on “Spinning Wheel”, used as background music while audience members got ready to spin). Nice accordian imitation, too, on one of the songs.

“Temptation” was not on the wheel. Rather, The Spinning Songbook had rested on “Joanna.” I don’t exactly follow this, but Elvis said that Joanna rhymed with piano, which meant a piano song with Steve Nieve was to be played.

Oh, and titles in purple on the wheel are special. There’s one named “Happy” in which the audience will get to hear songs from the 1980 album Get Happy!! I read that a sealed envelope will be brought to the stage, determining what is to be played.

A woman celebrating her wedding anniversary spins.

9. The Long Honeymoon

Well, the title fits. The lady really got into the dancing.

10. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
11. Clubland

A younger couple spun the above two. Some people had two spins to help keep the show moving. Elvis spun once, too.

12. God's Comic
13. You Tripped At Every Step

Elvis moves the wheel so it lands on “Girl”, a purple selection.

14. Girl
15. Spooky Girlfriend
16. Sulky Girl
17. This Year's Girl
18. Party Girl

The above five are played uninterrupted, one after the other. Nice version of the Rubber Soul song. I wanted the song to go on, but it ended after Elvis’ slightly embellished rendering of the guitar solo…that even eighth-note staccato figure, if you know what I mean.

-Encore
19. Slow Drag With Josephine
20. Jimmie Standing In The Rain

The Spinning Songbook gets a rest, or perhaps Elvis sets it on “Napoleon Solo.” Elvis plays the above two alone with a hollow-body guitar. Great performance on these Tin Pan Alley-like tunes. At one point he sings a verse away from the mic, his voice unamplified. With the design of the Fox Theater, it made me think of another time. I just wish the sound was better in my nosebleed-level seat.

Elvis moves over to Steve Nieve’s piano, and the band comes back to join him on one that was on the wheel as “Pump It Up In 6/8.” Song #19 was also on the wheel, by the way as "Josephine."

21. Pump it Up/Busted

Snippets of other songs were played throughout the concert (that guitar melody that Elvis played before the third verse in “Clubland” is on the tip of my tongue), but in this case, Elvis segued right into a nearly full-blown “Busted”, the Ray Charles tune. Was that really 6/8 for “Pump It Up”? Sounded like brisk waltz-time to me.

-2nd Encore
22. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
23. High Fidelity

My memory’s failing me, but I’m pretty sure “Happy” didn’t come up on the wheel, if it was even spun, and there was definitely no sealed envelope.

-3rd Encore
24. Alison

Other selections on the wheel, in case you’re wondering:

Living in Paradise
Monkey To Man
The Element Within Her
I Want You
I Can Sing A Rainbow
Everyday I Write The Book
Turpentine
King's Ransom
And Your Bird Can Sing
Accidents
Shipbuilding
Black And White World
New Lace Sleeves
Detectives Vs. Hoover Factory
So Like Candy
Harry Worth
Brilliant Mistake
Earthbound
God Give Me Strength
Doll Revolution
Veronica
Let Me Roll It
The River In Reverse
Stella Hurt

The wheel changes a bit every show. For example, “The Other Side Of Summer” apparently wasn’t on the wheel for the opening tour date the night before in Reno.

[ncalsurfer]

Thanks so much for the detailed review! Now I'm even more stoked to see the show tonight! Sounds like an absolutely fun evening with EC/Imposters and Nieve

[slobin]

Waiting for the show to start here in Oakland.
For your amusement, some changes to the wheel:
- 45 replaces Bedlam
- Deep Dark Truthful Mirror replaces You Tripped
- End of the World replaces Doll Rev
- Flutter replaces Josephine

[And No Coffee Table]

An addition to the "I Can Sing a Rainbow" segment?

is elvis costello soundchecking purple rain at the fox right now? yes. yes he is.

http://twitter.com/#!/TMReilly/status/67767828484325376

[MOJO]

Tonight's show was the best. They did Blue Chair. That was all I needed to hear. I had the VIP set up and I thought the package included a meet/greet... I don't know what I was reading or smoking that made me think there was some sort of meet up, but I walked around the venue to suss out the scene and it was sort of lame. Two Fox employees, me and another girl... weak... Conversation was had with Fox employees which led to the agreement that the Disco Biscuits truly suck and the possibly of meeting Elvis and the band wasn't happening. The one Fox employee asked for my phone number (potential action???) and I left. Great show. Anyone checking out the rest of this tour is in for a real treat. It's a total blast!

[lieutzip]

Okay - I'm sure this is missing a couple songs and a few tidbits that others can fill in, but here's a good chunk of what was played. Sorry for any errors or problems with the song order.

*****************************
<Opening Volley>
I Hope You’re Happy Now
??
??
Mystery Dance
<Spinning Songbook>
Shipbuilding
The Other Side of Summer
<”I Can Sing a Rainbow” Jackpot> EC turns on the "request" light. The audience can't decide whether it wants "blue" songs or "red" songs. EC does one of each.
Blue Chair
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes -> Purple Rain. One of the spinners mentioned her favorite color was purple. EC says it's the first time the band has ever played it, and that the refrain/chorus bit is the "only part he knows."
Chelsea
The River in Reverse
Monkey to Man (right next to "Element Within Her"... just barely missed hearing that one.)
Country Darkness (added by EC, not picked on the wheel)
Harry Worth (preceded by long origin story)
Alison/Somewhere
<encore break>
A Slow Drag with Josephine (E.C. solo)
Jimmie Standing in the Rain (E.C. solo)
<encore break>
Pump It Up in 6/8 -> Busted
<encore break>
<”Girl” Jackpot> EC wills this into existence with some creative manipulation of the wheel.
Girl
This Year’s Girl
You Belong to Me
Tear Off Your Own Head (It’s a Doll Revolution)
Next Time ‘Round (I think)
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?

**********************************

Both nights were terrific and a lot of fun. First night stage participants were a little more enthusiastic in the dancing department, but tonight's crowd was great with the singalongs. Lots of people dancing up front for the finale. Band seemed to be having more fun tonight, but maybe that's because I was closer (was in the balcony last night, on the floor tonight) and could actually see their expressions/emotions. Quite a few of the wheel-spinners were from Berkeley, and EC had some funny anecdotes about some of the mischief he had caused over the years whilst in Berkeley.