Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Pretty self-explanatory
User avatar
Man out of Time
Posts: 1823
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:15 am
Location: just off the coast of Europe
Contact:

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by Man out of Time »

Review by Dustin Schoof at LeHigh Valley live.com:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/music/i ... deliv.html

Elvis Costello digs deep, delivers stellar solo performance in Easton - REVIEW

Elvis Costello did not have to spend two hours playing "the hits" to prove his mettle as a singer, songwriter, storyteller, musician and entertainer Saturday night at the State Theatre in Easton.

He just did what came natural.

The bespectacled guitarist -- dressed sharply in a dark gray suit and matching fedora -- seemed at ease, and at home, playing to a packed house in an intimate, acoustically tailored room that suited his still strong and booming voice.

Costello strayed from playing the expected; he spent the first of his three sets unearthing and dusting off lesser-known material, such as "King Horse" from 1980's "Get Happy!!," "Wave a White Flag," "White Knuckles" and 2004's "Either Side of the Same Town," off of "The Delivery Man."

An early highlight was a punchy run through "Sneaky Feelings," an often-overlooked gem from his groundbreaking 1977 debut album, "My Aim is True." Halfway through his first set, Costello busted out his 1983 single, "Every Day I Write the Book," which he jokingly said he hated. (The audience, on the other hand, loved it.)

Costello later showed that he was more than just an angry New Wave-punk poet -- at one point recalling growing up a third-generation musician -- by incorporating the bluesy folk standard "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" (a tune originally dating back to 1930) and a cover of Bing Crosby's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" into his two-hour performance.

He made sure to touch on nearly every corner of his career -- taking the audience on a musical journey going as far back as 1979 with a powerful rendition of "Accidents Will Happen" to 1986's "Lovable" (from "King of America") and all the way up through 2010's "A Slow Drag with Josephine" (from the album "National Ransom").

Costello's guitar skills remain unsurprisingly impressive and impeccable. He still knows how to entertain and glean applause and appreciation from his fans with only a couple of acoustic guitars, two electric six-strings and a microphone.

For his first encore, Costello dropped a haunting, distortion-washed version of the reggae-tinged "Watching the Detectives." He followed it up with a slightly reworked version of his early hit ballad "Alison," which he used to segue into a cover of Bobby Charles' "I Hope."

He returned on stage for a third time for a longer encore. He started off fast and hard with a fiery one-two punch of "Green Shirt" and "(The Angels Wanna Wear) My Red Shoes."

Costello then wound down, closing out the night with the moody "Tripwire," which bled into a snippet of "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding"; following it up with "If I Could Believe."

He ended the night on the keyboard for two slower numbers: "For the Stars" and "The Puppet Has Cut His Strings."

The change in instruments was more evidence that Costello is much more than a prolific and talented singer-songwriter. He is a chameleon of musical talent, whose weekend stop in Easton proved just he doesn't have to play by the book to get appreciation and respect from his fans."

MOOT
User avatar
Man out of Time
Posts: 1823
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:15 am
Location: just off the coast of Europe
Contact:

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by Man out of Time »

Late promotional video using the template that we saw months ago IIRC.



MOOT
User avatar
verbal gymnastics
Posts: 13635
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
Location: Magic lantern land

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by verbal gymnastics »

And there's another great set list with a bunch of surprises 8)
Who’s this kid with his mumbo jumbo?
johnfoyle
Posts: 14851
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by johnfoyle »

Any recording yet?
User avatar
docinwestchester
Posts: 2321
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:58 pm
Location: Westchester County, NY

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by docinwestchester »

johnfoyle wrote:Any recording yet?
As with Philly, the taper will have it on Dime when his computer problems have been resolved.
johnfoyle
Posts: 14851
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by johnfoyle »

:D :D
FAVEHOUR
Posts: 1118
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 5:41 pm

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by FAVEHOUR »

Excellent and spot-on review :

http://www.theaquarian.com/2013/12/11/r ... ed-a-band/


Rant ‘N’ Roll: Elvis Costello Doesn’t Need A Band

—by Mike Greenblatt, December 11, 2013






Sauntering out onto the stage of the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania, Elvis Costello was impressed. “This place is beautiful,” he gushed. “When was it built?” “1873,” someone shouted out and they were right. The building, starting out as a rather grandiose bank, is a historical landmark in an area (the Lehigh Valley) filled with historical landmarks dating back to the 1700s. It’s also haunted. But that’s another column.

Armed with two acoustic guitars, two electric guitars, a piano and a microphone, Costello put on an epic two-hour solo performance. The cuts ran deep. “King Horse” from 1980’s Get Happy, three from 2004’s The Delivery Man, “Sneaky Feelings” from his 1977 debut and “Lovable” from 1986’s King Of America were amongst the many surprises of a 30-song night. Sure, he made sure to sing “Alison,” but he s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d it out so so slow, it was like hearing the song for the first time. Being the musicologist that he is, it was no surprise he reached back to the Depression Era for the 1932 Rudy Vallee hit “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime,” a song that Republicans tried to have banned from the radio for “anti-capitalist” sentiments. (The lyrics were written by Yip Harburg who also wrote all the songs from The Wizard Of Oz.) Another delightful cover was “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” from 1930.

With charming between-song banter from this eloquent and erudite Brit, Costello had the crowd in the palm of his hand. It helped to be able to understand every word he sang all night. The State Theatre’s acoustics are second-to-none. Unlike the nearby Sands Entertainment Center in neighboring Bethlehem, whose acoustics are muddled and hazy (at a recent Steve Earle Sands show, you could hardly understand a word he sang), Costello came off clear as a bell. That helps. A lot.

At one point, he was strumming his electric hard as hell to achieve a stunning rock ‘n’ roll synthesis, then put both hands over his head in a “look ma, no hands” gesture. The guitar obviously was equipped with a memory so he could then, while the rhythm kept chugging, play a mean, lean electric guitar solo filled with proper dissonance and feedback. He was rockin’. No band needed.

With enough deep cuts to keep himself satisfied, he made sure to play what the crowd wanted to hear. “OK, it’s request time,” he shouted as the shouts back came fast and furious. It was a good crowd. An Elvis crowd. And they made sure to show their love at the first few bars of every song upon the delicious shock of recognition. And he did ‘em all: from “Accidents Will Happen,” “Every Day I Write The Book” (which he admitted he now hates), “Watching The Detectives” and “The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes.”

“Request time is OVER,” he admonished the crowd at one point when the song titles still wafted through the air.

Here’s the clincher: I know it’s hard to believe, but, this guy, who rode in on the punk wave of 1977 as a pissed-off Buddy Holly type (and who played upon that image with a stand-out version of “I’m Not Angry”), sounded better vocally on this night than on any of his CDs.

As a writer, he’s always been influenced by people like Ray Davies of The Kinks, Randy Newman, Dylan and a kind of Beatles/Stones dichotomy that informs his rock. But it’s his roll that’s more interesting: he can’t help but be influenced by his own wife, Diana Krall, and he also has an affinity for New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint (with whom he recorded 2006’s A River In Reverse) and that whole Treme neighborhood in New Orleans (he acted a bit in HBO’s Treme series). So you put that punk/classic rock/Crescent City vibe/blues ‘n’ jazz/torch song balladry side next to his sensitive singer/songwriter side, plus his way with a country song, and you’ve got a renaissance man for the ages. It’s this very eclecticism that garners criticism but he couldn’t care less. He’s a one-of-a-kind musician and to see him go at it for two solid hours—a two-song encore preceded a second eight-song encore—was as spectacular a night as seeing him with the Attractions.

I won’t soon forget it.
FAVEHOUR
Posts: 1118
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 5:41 pm

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by FAVEHOUR »

docinwestchester wrote:
johnfoyle wrote:Any recording yet?
As with Philly, the taper will have it on Dime when his computer problems have been resolved.

What ever happened to these two recordings????????
johnfoyle
Posts: 14851
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by johnfoyle »

Any sign of these recordings?
User avatar
docinwestchester
Posts: 2321
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:58 pm
Location: Westchester County, NY

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by docinwestchester »

johnfoyle wrote:Any sign of these recordings?
Seems like the computer problems were never resolved....
johnfoyle
Posts: 14851
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by johnfoyle »

Just in case etc - any sign of the recording?
User avatar
docinwestchester
Posts: 2321
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:58 pm
Location: Westchester County, NY

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by docinwestchester »

johnfoyle wrote:Just in case etc - any sign of the recording?
I'll look into it.
User avatar
docinwestchester
Posts: 2321
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:58 pm
Location: Westchester County, NY

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by docinwestchester »

Update:

Nothing
johnfoyle
Posts: 14851
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by johnfoyle »

Thanks ! :D
Charles
Posts: 198
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2011 8:46 pm

Re: Elvis solo Easton Pa Nov 23, 2013

Post by Charles »

Just a bump as this recording is still sought after…
Post Reply