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

[verbal gymnastics]

As did Elvis.

Interesting to see him scanning through his sheets. It's not as if he has many songs to remember

[johnfoyle]

I'm delighted for the various participants in the Long Honeymoon video but I had to stop watching it. That a song that , in its original context, is so full of pathos can become a soundtrack to a carnival turn is a leap I just cannot make. I guess you just had to be there!

[AlmostBlue]

we must know - did she know the meaning of the song? But she did a great job - daring, good sport, entertained the crowd. It was funny to see Elvis' reaction when that one guy as part of a couple wore Elvis' hat - he seemed to collapse it and toss it mouthing "this one's toast "

hopefully more videos will be posted- especially my friend up on stage - but especially hoping dime yields a bootleg - Monday is up (thank you!)

oakland missed let me roll it by one - but LA got it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUDtB4i5tQo
he does a gerat JOhn Lennon with Girl, but Paul does a better let me roll it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P2MOrWrsk8
- and your bird can sing would have been great to see

[johnfoyle]

A blogger reacts to Elvis' use of his blog -

http://andrewvanderkarr.blogspot.com/20 ... trate.html

(extract)

Yesterday I woke up to find that my post about The Elvis Costello Spinning Songbook show had been linked to/from the official Elvis Costello website! You can imagine how excited I was about this. They had used large portion of my text (though strangely not the part about how fantastic I am) and several of my photos. This was shaping up to be the best day ever!


They had included a link to the full post at the bottom of the page so some of the people who saw it on his site came here to visit my site. I'm sure they thought something else interesting might be here and they were thoroughly mistaken, but they were here none the less. So I checked my stat counter and it was at 322 page views for the day at 8:45 in the morning. I know this isn't a really impressive number for most people, but it's approximately 318 more hits than I get for an entire day. I don't have many friends.

[Man out of Time]

There is a link on ElvisCostello.com to this review which is here: http://spencerweddings.com/2011/05/elvi ... lver-tour/

It has been 25 years since Elvis Costello brought out “The Spectacular Spinning Songbook” where the audience is invited to participate in a one-of-a-kind concert. If you are lucky enough to live near (or travel to) one of the nine cities where Elvis Costello and The Imposters will play this month, you won’t be sorry.

Audience members will be invited onstage where they may spin “The Wheel” and then be offered a chance to enter the “Hostage to Fortune Go-Go Cage”, while their selection is performed.

Alternatively, they may choose to take a seat in the on-stage “Society Lounge”, where light refreshments will be served, during what promises to be a splendid and surprising evening.

–taken from http://www.ElvisCostello.com

This was actually my first time seeing Costello live (in-person that is). I’m perhaps what you might call a “casual fan” of sorts. My wife certainly has a deeper understanding of the catalog than I do. However, that didn’t stop me from having a great time. The music sounded amazing. Sure, there were tracks I recognized, but there were many more that – despite not knowing the words – I still danced and tapped along to the beat. It’s hard not to, the music is just so damn good, it’s practically infectious.

“I Can Sing A Rainbow” – Jackpot Spin

Spinning “The Wheel” makes for a custom playlist each show, and we were lucky enough to hit a special jackpot purple wedge on the second spin. “I Can Sing A Rainbow” yielded us songs about color, including Green Shirt, Blue Chair, and Red Shoes. Before Costello started the set, he asked the spinner what her favorite color was. She responded with a color not in his library, so he borrowed a few lines of Purple Rain from Prince – well done, I might add.

If you have ever seen VH1 Storytellers, then you’ll understand how pretty much of the remainder of show went. Costello told many tales of how certain songs were written, stories about when they would be on tour, and just lots of great humor in between. Each time someone got invited to the stage to spin “The Wheel” meant Costello would take on a new role as Master of Ceremonies, including a tiny costume change.

The entire set played that night of the tour (and other nights), as “borrowed” from the ElvisCostello.com website:

Overture
I Hope You’re Happy Now
Heart of the City
Strict Time
Mystery Dance
The Spectacular Spinning Songbook
Shipbuilding (SPIN #1)
“I Can Sing A Rainbow” Jackpot (SPIN #2)
Green Shirt
Blue Chair
Red Shoes/Purple Rain
The Other Side of Summer (SPIN #3)
Chelsea (SPIN #4)
This Wheel’s On Fire/River In Reverse (SPIN #5)
Monkey To Man (SPIN #6)
Counting Darkness – IMPROMPTU
Harry Worth (SPIN #7)
Alison/Wind Cried Mary/Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Somewhere (SPIN #8)
* Interlude *
A Slow Drag With Josephine
Jimmie Standing In The Rain
Pump It Up – in 6/8 – Busted
The Spectacular Spinning Songbook
“Girl” Jackpot (FINAL SPIN)
Girl
This Years Girl
Doll Revolution
* Finale *
You Belong To Me
Next Time Around
Peace Love And Understanding

The Bottom Line
Go see this show! If you can find yourself a ticket, you won’t be sorry! The sixth row made for a great up close and personal view, but I think that darn near any seat in the Fox Theater would have been great to enjoy the show. In some cases, it might have been better, as the podium and Society Lounge did block some views of the band.

The Imposters are: Steve Nieve (keyboards); Pete Thomas (drums) and Davey Faragher (bass).

There are some good pictures of the wheel at spencerweddings.com, just follow the link above.

MOOT

[Man out of Time]

Some nice shots of the band line up at the end are here:



and here is one of EC playing keys (apparently).



which song would that be on? Something in the Napoleon Solo segment?

[Jeremy Dylan]

STATIONS OF THE CROSS maybe?

[FAVEHOUR]

Some nice shots of the band line up at the end are here:



and here is one of EC playing keys (apparently).



which song would that be on? Something in the Napoleon Solo segment?

That's where he sits to play Pump it Up and Busted. It really is a different arrangement.

Dave

[sweetest punch]

Country Darkness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkNKL7cM7Y4
Girl Jackpot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88RMRGhK ... er&list=UL

[sweetest punch]

Shipbuilding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8JelhtQfoE

[Man out of Time]

Review of the second night show by Amy Palmer who has an eye for fashion:

http://apreviews.wordpress.com/2011/06/ ... l-fantasy/

"Elvis Costello: 5/9/11

Elvis Costello Creates Carnival Fantasy

A girl appears from backstage wearing white go-go boots, a pink plastic dress, and a pink bow in her impossibly shiny brunette hair. She nods to the band (already in position) and steps into a fringe-curtained pedestal esteemed the “Hostage to Fortune Go-Go Cage.” It is May 9, 2011, the second and final run of “Elvis Costello and The Imposters present ‘The Revolver Tour’” at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA. The Revolver Tour is Costello’s first tour in twenty-five years, and fans (of all ages) are seated in anticipation for tonight’s “game-show” carnival. A drum roll builds, lights flash theatrically, and Elvis Costello takes the stage while the girl spins effortlessly inside her Go-Go cage. (Apparently, this is not her first “carnival.”)

With no set list, a slight English accent, and multiple stories to share (some involving Donald Trump), Costello is calm and poised wearing a dapper black hat and his classic black-rimmed glasses. His band, The Imposters, is colorful in clothing and rambunctious in character – the group is a mix between The Beach Boys, The Partridge Family, and the Austin Powers 1960s power and love revolution. Costello runs through a few songs to start off the show – “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” “Heart of the City,” “Strict Time,” and “Mystery Dance” – before Costello calls his assistant onstage.

His assistant, fitted tightly into a teal, yellow, and black one-piece, bell-bottom spandex suit, motions to a ten-foot wheel situated at stage left. The “Spectacular Spinning Songbook” features 40 song-titles, is color coordinated with red, yellow, and purple ribbons to categorize selections from Costello hits, rarities, and (never before covered-by-Costello) covers. The Songbook, now spinning, is lined with frantically flashing light bulbs. You can cut the crowd’s anticipation with a knife. “Bring someone up,” Costello calls to his assistant, “The fun is about to begin.”

Costello is flirty, flashy, and charismatic. He is an entertainer with dirty wit and a genuine heart. Between spins, he tells stories to excite his chosen Songbook spinners. “Now, while I play, you will sit over there, in the ‘Society Lounge.’ But be careful on those chairs, they are special, they are a gift from Donald Trump.”

Like clockwork, Costello’s assistant summons fan after fan on stage to “give The Songbook a strong spin” and reveal the next hit of tonight’s set-list. After a powerful push, spinners stand back and watch fate unfold. This time the Songbook selects, “Purple Rain,” a revised upbeat groovy jazz melody, accompanied by tight calypso reggae rhythms.

Next, two ladies are invited on stage. One offers to spin The Songbook while her friend ogles the gigantic wheel. The Songbook stops at a sparkling purple section titled, “BONUS!” Costello probes the ladies, “Do you know what sparkling purple mean..? That’s the jackpot “bonus!” You girls have some good music to listen to up here.”

Post-spin, Costello’s vivacious assistant invites the two (and every spinner) to Costello’s “Society Lounge.” She encourages guests to sip a cocktail (delivered from backstage VIP), to dance in the “Hostage to Fortune Go-Go Cage” (if they have the courage), and to just experience Costello Magic up close and personal. The ladies make their way to Donald Trump’s chairs as the stage is intoxicated with colors – green, orange, yellow, and purple. The crowd turns quiet, and the band starts to play (what turns into) a mini set of, “I Can Sing the Colors of the Rainbow.”

Costello engages his fans in another story. This time it’s about the artwork in a hotel room he stayed at in Berkeley circa 1970. “On the wall of the room, there was a beautiful, painted silhouette of a couple fucking. I knew this was a reminder for me – ‘things to do today’.” Eyebrows and laughter rise from the weed-dazed audience.

Costello runs through the next few songs without a Songbook selection. Fans yell “Chelsea!” as soon as they pick-up the well-remembered note combination of “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea.” The band plays deep reggae tones, and the lighting engineer flashes starry lights just before the stage is swallowed in bright yellow-orange hues.

The crowd continues to cheer until Costello walks out from backstage, alone, wearing a sparkly gold jacket with a black collar and, no surprise, his classic black-rimmed glasses. Costello serenades the audience, “I’m just one lone man, traveling, with a suitcase.” He continues, “Somebody’s calling me again,” before walking back off-stage.

The night ends with a third hard-hitting chaotic-rock encore rendition of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.” Costello, still wearing the gold sparkling jacket, he claims is “a jacket you can cheat in,” is pleased with his production. He looks back to The Imposters, looks forward to his fans, and blows the Fox a kiss. The back lights flash frantically (vaudeville-finale style) and Costello is gone – off to perform his next outrageous musical carnival.

Amy Powell"

MOOT