Elvis solo, Amsterdam (Holl.), November 10, 2011

[Boy With A Problem]

Great to catch up with Sulky Lad and Verbal Gymnastics last night. Really nice to meet Mr & Mrs Sweetest Punch as well.

What a fun show! Not exactly a solo gig as the Larkin Poe folks played on a good chunk of songs - and were absolutely fantastic in their musicianship and enthusiasm. Perfect venue - we were able to stand comfortably a couple of feet directly in front Elvis.

Since the set lists are being made available on the official site; we didn't feel we had an obligation to write things down. I never do anyway and then when I try to recount things I'll mess things up.

Highlights for me:

All the stuff with Larking Poe -but especially-

Love Field - I had almost completely forgotten that song.
Crooked Line - sweet harmonies from the young ladies
Chelsea - the mandolin stood out on this - out of the ordinary version
I Turn Around - Apparently this was suggested by Larkin Poe and Elvis said let's do it!

Highlights from the solo set -

I can never get enough of Good Year for the Roses
I Want You was almost Shakespearian


The only two bits I could have done without were She (though after Allison; this one received the biggest applause from the crowd) and National Ransom (#5 it was agreed).

Looking forward to more this Spring.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.elviscostello.com/news/beyon ... elkweg/251#


Amsterdam: Rabozaal: 10th November 2011

Greenshirt
Bullets For The New-Born King
Rocking Horse Road/Wild Thing
Good Year For The Roses
New Amsterdam/You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Everyday I Write The Book
The Stations Of The Cross
All Or Nothing At All
Radio Silence
She
A Slow Drag With Josephine
Who's The Meanest Gal In Town, Josephine
Jimmie Standing In The Rain
Blame It On Cain
Love Field
I Turn Around
Red Shoes

Watching The Detectives
Alison/Suffering Face
After The Fall
Oliver's Army
I Want You

National Ransom No.5
Shipbuilding
Chelsea
Peace, Love And Understanding
The Crooked Line
Brilliant Mistake

The Scarlet Tide

[verbal gymnastics]

All I can say is...what a show!

Firstly the Melksweg is a fantastic venue. It's a new venue added onto the side of the existing Melksweg and has very good acoustics.

As BWAP said, we were only a few feet away from Elvis and what struck me is what a good shape he's in.

The show itself was great and a great deal of credit for this has to go to Larking Poe. Their opening slot was very enjoyable and they seemed delighted to be there. Their set was well received by the audience. From looking at the setlists up until Antwerp, it seemed to me that the shows were struggling a little bit, mainly because Elvis wasn't playing any new songs. Many of the setlists did not vary very much and I think Elvis has a tendency to try and shake things up.

The opening of Green Shirt was unexpected as was Rockinghorse Road/Wild Thing. There was an incredibly comical moment during Bullets for the New Born King when a bartender was moving around collecting the plastic glasses. He had a stack about 8 feet high and walked right in Elvis' vision. Elvis had seen him moving through and closed his eyes to carry on singing so he didn't lose concentration. We couldn't believe the bartender was doing it No harm done though.

After All or Nothing at All (seated), Elvis put his hand on his chin and scanned a few pages through his book and then decided to play Radio Silence in which he repeated the "Do those drug dealers..." verse. It seemed to me that this wasn't deliberate. Indeed a few times in the show there were lines transposed.

Larking Poe came on for the last 4 songs to close the opening set.

Blame it on Cain was great whilst Love Field is my favourite song on Goodbye Cruel world. The next moment was probably the Elvis shock of the year when he said he was going to play a song he had never played before and had been knocked up that afternoon. This put a few songs into my head but I would never have guessed it would be I Turn Around. Open mouth time. As BWAP said, we spoke to their drummer afterwards and Elvis basically gave them carte blanche to pick any song so kudos to Larking Poe for picking out something never ever played before.

The Alison segue into Your Suffering Face was an unexpected bonus.

Personally I felt National Ransom #5 is messy but Elvis seems to see something in this song. It reminds me of the numerous versions of Seconds of Pleasure where he's put this song/snippets of this song into various guises. This experimental version didn't work in my view.

Larkin Poe came out for the last 4 songs of this encore and for the final song.

It was wonderful to see the youthful delight of Rebecca Lovell not only playing with Elvis but the admiration she had for him. She stood there in wonder at times and couldn't believe her luck.

Indeed we spoke to the two sisters and the drummer afterwards and they were really enjoying it, as was Elvis.

He was on fire and we appreciated Larkin Poe's contribution to that.

I be they'll rehearse some more songs so there'll be more treats for the rest of the tour.

[Yanyna]

Thanks for a great review. I have to say I really like National Ransom Nr.5 as he did in Prague. I love when his music goes messy and wierd And great setlist. It seems to me he is better and better with every evening. And with a tie for the first time on tour. Nice.

[And No Coffee Table]

Oliver's Army: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sulD8AtG9c
Watching The Detectives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BUa6qGRu7Y
The Crooked Line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N8f77AMWok

[Jack of All Parades]

VG- really happy for you that you had a 'special' show with your friends. The more I view these set lists for this solo tour the more I am impressed with how he is opening up his show reportoire. Nice spacing and, outside of the ones you noted[NR5 and She] which I too could easily skip, an expansive trip through the catalog with due consideration given to some of the stronger material off of the last album. To be able to hear him accompanied only by himself or this small backing unit is a unique experience, I would think. Glad you have the chance to catch a few of these shows.

[verbal gymnastics]

Thanks for your comments.

One song I would like to see them all tackle is Femme Fetale - I think they'd do a great version.

I could also do without She (which got the biggest cheer when it started) but this is a song he does in Europe.

I hope sulky lad gives his thoughts on the show as well as sweetest punch, who it was a pleasure to see again along with his wife.

The trip was capped off by a pilot friend of mine upgrading sulky and myself to business class for our flight back.

[Jack of All Parades]

Sounds like 'win,win' all around!

[VonOfterdingen]

The tour seems amazing at this moment. For how long will Larkin Poe be part of the tour?

[And No Coffee Table]

Three more shows: Oslo on the 12th, Brussels on the 17th, and Eindhoven on the 18th.

[Otis Westinghouse]

What fun! The opening 5 would have blown me away. What a sequence. Would love to hear Green Shirt live. I don't think |I've heard him play that since... April 1980. Surely a clip of solo 'After the Fall' is going to surface soon?

No chatting to Elvis afterwards? Presumably he acknowledged your familiar faces?

[VonOfterdingen]

Three more shows: Oslo on the 12th, Brussels on the 17th, and Eindhoven on the 18th.

Damn it! Was hoping for Malmø. Thanks though.

[sulky lad]

I've got some good news and some even better news !!
On returning to the West Midlands after yesterday's brilliant concert, i found a package with a recording of the Belfast show, at Amsterdam Sweetest Punch ( who is always a joy to meet along with his lovely wife ) asked me to put up his recording of the Antwerp show and gave me a DVD containing his wav files from that concert and I also have a really decent recording from last night with no distortion and not much in the way of disruptive chit-chat. best of all, I've got it and all you lot haven't Obviously they will appear on dime sooner rather than later but I'm starting a new job on Monday week and I'll not have a PC with me for 5 days in a week as I'll be commuting back to Brum from Plymouth at weekends.
Anyway, after Sligo I felt things could only improve. Sligo was, I feel was probably given a "safe " setlist with crowd pleasers and no room left for anything "out of the ordinary". Amsterdam was superb and such a contrast to the Irish show. VG and I eventually met at Gatwick and flew to Amsterdam through some nasty fog and arrived at a dismal,damp Dutch capitol. We alighted from our train and found our hotel was only a few hundred yards from the Central train station. We booked in, freshened up and then met BWAP and headed for the concert hall. Fortunately BWAP had performed a reconnaissance earlier in the day and led us directly to the locality of the hall. A brief stop for drinks and a snack before making our way in. We presented our tickets at the door and were then sent back - we had to purchase membership for a month before we could go in !!. As VG said the hall was magnificent with a large area for standing and seats further back in the hall. Almost as soon as we walked in, Sweetest Punch came over and started the evening off with a real thrill as he presented his recording to me from Antwerp the previous evening which had given rise to considerable conjecture from me and VG as to what our setlist might be in comparison to the fantastic set Elvis performed then.
My memory of the barman incident is slightly different to VG (who had earlier commented on Dutch beer being like making love in a canoe ( not really !)). I was surprised when Bullets came second in his set and as he continued through the song, there was an increased noise from the bar to our left which began to permeate into my consciousness. As it did so, Elvis dropped his voice and began to sing more quietly which had the effect of silencing the bar staff and had me gasping at his ability to " control " the situation. It wasn't the only time the crowd became a little noisy but generally it was fairly brief and episodic.
The main solo fraction was fine and I was stunned by Stations Of the Cross,as somehow it seems full of meaning I can't begin to decipher. however when Larkin Poe arrived, the whole gig jumped several levels higher in excitement and intensity.
I saw The Sugarcanes several times last year and they were wonderfully accomplished and polished musicians who listened so intently to Elvis and didn't waste a note or a phrase and perfectly accompanied the covers and originals from SP&S and NR but the kids ( and to my eyes, these are definitely kids) played their parts with a joyous enthusiasm and passion that just blew The Sugarcanes out of the water. I doubt that any of them could play as well as the Sugarcanes individually or collectively but together they were truly inspirational. I must ( as a bass player) pay a huge mark of respect to the guitarist who essentially played bass for many songs on his six string. he told me afterwards that he had a pedal which made his guitar more "bassy" and he played the bass to Chelsea in an entirely different pattern to the way i finger that part.
The Lovell sisters too played a huge part in the backing of Elvis and for the most part I spent more time watching them than
Elvis. Rebecca's harmonizing was truly exquisite and she had a phenomenal range which seemed effortless and her mandolin playing was percussive as well as being a lead instrument and Megan's playing of slide ( or Dobro) during Love Field changed the song entirely and whilst never doubting it's quality, this version has become my definitive one - I'll listen to this again and again, I know. What's more, Whilst the girls and Rebecca in particular were almost transfixed by being on stage with Elvis, they obviously had no idea how much he seemed to relish playing along with them. This looked like the most fun EC has had on stage for a very long time - quick get into a studio and record all those songs you're bottling up with these fine musicians now !! The encores kept coming and then the final Scarlet Tide was on a par with some of the I Want You finales I've seen and heard in the past. Rebecca's voice was purer, clearer and heavenly as she harmonized with Elvis and reminded me of Emmylou when she recorded with Gram - a young woman's voice of such tonal fineness all the most amazing at the end of a long night on stage. I thought I was going to blub like a baby. This has been one of my top 5 (easily ) EC concerts and it might just have been my 100th so that pretty much sums it all up !
We stayed outside for about half an hour as the temperatures dropped and eventually met the Larkin Poe crew again and discovered Elvis had already left and so we made our way back to grab a bite to eat and try and come down from cloud 99.
Only blot on the journey home was VG having his "MR Keepitup" cream, (cunningly disguised as Chanel body lotion ) confiscated by an officious and unhelpful security official at Schoppel airport
I hope you will all love and enjoy the concert when I up it on dime. if you haven't a dime account PM me and I'll do a hard copy

[johnfoyle]

Fabulous account Sulky and great news about the recordings.


Some neat photos here -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26142531@N ... otostream/

[Top balcony]

Wow

Sulky and Verbals - fantastic accounts of what sounds like an epic night, thanks very much.
Can you attend more gigs on our behalf so you can a) write them up so entertainingly b) aquire cassette tapes of other's recordings along the way and c) top the lot as you proceed to record the aforesaid gig yourselves ? For the latter I assume that VG was on lookout and camouflage duties as his contribution.

You've not told the whole story though. Seeing this bit :

The trip was capped off by a pilot friend of mine upgrading sulky and myself to business class for our flight back.

makes me think that you also found time to visit those nice coffee shops and imbibe some of their special recipe chocolate brownies.

Colin Top Balcony

[sulky lad]

to be honest, Colin TB, I was so high after this show, I didn't need anything to make me fly any higher

[Jack of All Parades]

Great 'recounting'- I had an intimation from the set list and videos with Larkin Poe from earlier nights that you were at something 'special'- thank you for 'remembering'.

[Top balcony]

I thought that recording of the Lovell Sisters ( as they were then ) at that Canadian Folk Festival sounded wonderful too. The Crooked Line is such a great song - must have been heart-stopping to hear live.

[fred darden]

can anybody youtube or mediafire "i turn around"? would be sweet.

[verbal gymnastics]

Colin - I would love to attend every show. Perhaps we could set up a bank account for your donations.

If you want the service, you gotta pay. Funnily enough that wasn't the first time I heard that in Amsterdam

There were not any visits for coffee and cake and nor was there any window shopping or taking in films or shows. This is a family forum!

[reviR]

Great reports and hopefully great audio!

I am heading out to Brussels next week - anyone going?

[bronxapostle]

so happy to read what you've written about your great thursday night sulky. i do look forward to your recording. surely doc will help me when its up, otherwise i would have to bother you for a hard copy indeed. you sure make it sound like the NEXT different touring band for EC WILL BE larkin poe, huh? from the small bits i have thusly seen/heard, i have to admit the potential is there for certain. was it your 100th appearance? or do you not keep accurate notes? keep an eye peeled as i will post my own thread later today recapping my first one hundred for the statistician freaks amongst us who might enjoy my tale. cheers all...here's to MORE SHOWS FOR EVERYONE!

[sweetest punch]

http://www.roarezine.nl/2011/11/12/elvi ... amsterdam/

Elvis Costello @ Melkweg, Amsterdam

Elvis Costello, inmiddels 57 jaar, heeft in zijn jonge dagen tijdloze nummers geschreven die vandaag de dag nog net zo relevant zijn als toen de haren van hem en zijn fans nog geen sporen van grijs bevatten. Costello is immer productief en brengt eens in de zoveel tijd nog een nieuwe plaat uit. Zijn publiek is hem door de jaren heen trouw gebleven en na een show in de Groningse Oosterpoort is vandaag de Rabozaal van de Melkweg volgelopen voor de Brit. De show is al maanden van tevoren uitverkocht en voor een artiest van zijn formaat is dat geheel vanzelfsprekend.

Vanavond staat Costello helemaal alleen op de planken. Geen Imposters of Attractions om hem te begeleiden, maar enkel zijn eigen stem en gitaar, met als logisch gevolg dat de nummers klein en minimaal worden gebracht. De cover ‘Good Time For the Roses’ wordt door een groot deel van de zaal voorzichtig meegezongen. Costello blijkt nog altijd net zo charmant en innemend; veel praat hij niet, maar wanneer hij dat wel doet is hij gevat.

Google translation:

Elvis Costello @ Melkweg, Amsterdam

Elvis Costello, now 57 years, has in his younger days timeless songs written today are just as relevant as when the hair of him and his fans do not contain traces of gray. Costello is always productive and brings once in a while a new album. His audience is his loyal over the years and after a show in Groningen Oosterpoort is now Rabozaal of the Milky flooded for Brit. The show is already sold out months in advance and an artist of his size is quite naturally.

Tonight Costello alone on stage. No Imposter of Attraction to guide him, but only his own voice and guitar, with the corollary that the numbers are small and minimally charged. The cover "Good Time For The Roses" by much of the audience sang along cautiously. Costello appears still as charming and likable, he does not talk much, but when he does he is caught.

Given the location may be "New Amsterdam" is not missing. As he does this for years, here he throws a piece of 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away "in. The Josephine trilogy shows the hero of the evening that he was a born storyteller. The story begins in 1924, 'A Slow Drag With Josephine "and ends in 1937, a bad year for cowboy music. "As if there was ever a good time for cowboy music," he added as the main character he ascribes a sad fate.

The girls and boys Larkin Poe, who cared for the program, are more than once tonight Costello's backing band. This is where the action, which anyway never really flawless or perfect, it disappoints. The voice of the charming Rebecca Lovell not mix with those of Costello and while her microphone is too little too loud in the mix. Larkin Poe is a band simply not strong enough for such a quantity on the podium so you get an uncomfortable edge performance.

Elvis Costello has an impressive stage presence, and although he seems not always focused, he knows better and better as the evening progresses the audience to get silent. The set up is varied, but was for the average fan even after "I Want You" can be degraded. This remains, perhaps reluctantly, a number of signature or the signature song of Costello.

Costello gets exhausted and not come back for three encores! Where he assisted some of these numbers by Larkin Poe, he closes the concert as he started, alone. The song "The Scarlet Tide", however beautiful, is not exactly the climax of the evening. Next year, Costello, or assisted by The Imposter, return to our capital. For now we are following a set of nearly two and a half hours is saturated, but left after decades of Elvis Costello still irresistibly good. It therefore seems likely that those in the Milky Way tonight were again will return.
Gezien de locatie mag ‘New Amsterdam’ niet ontbreken. Zoals hij dit al jaren doet, gooit hij hier een stukje ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ in. Met de Josephine trilogie laat de held van de avond zien dat hij een geboren verteller is. Het verhaal begint in 1924, met ‘A Slow Drag With Josephine’ en eindigt in 1937, een slecht jaar voor cowboy-muziek. “As if there ever was a good time for cowboy music”, voegt hij toe als hij het hoofdpersonage een treurig lot toeschrijft.

De meisjes en jongens van Larkin Poe, die het voorprogramma verzorgden, vormen vanavond meer dan eens Costello’s begeleidingsband. Dit is waar het optreden, dat sowieso nergens echt foutloos of perfect is, teleurstelt. De stem van de charmante Rebecca Lovell mengt niet goed met die van Costello en daarbij staat haar microfoon ook iets te hard in de mix. Larkin Poe is als band simpelweg niet sterk genoeg om met zo’n grootheid op het podium te staan en daardoor krijgt de performance een ongemakkelijk randje.

Elvis Costello heeft een indrukwekkende stage presence en hoewel hij zelf niet altijd even geconcentreerd lijkt, weet hij naarmate de avond vordert steeds beter het publiek muisstil te krijgen. De set is gevarieerd opgebouwd, maar had voor de doorsnee fan ook na ‘I want You’ afgebroken kunnen worden. Dit blijft, wellicht tegen wil en dank, één van de signatuurnummers, dan wel hèt signatuurnummer van Costello.

Costello raakt maar niet uitgeput en komt terug voor drie toegiften! Daar waar hij op sommige van deze nummers bijgestaan wordt door Larkin Poe, sluit hij het concert af zoals hij begon, alléén. Het nummer ‘The Scarlet Tide’, hoe mooi ook, is echter niet bepaald de climax van de avond. Volgend jaar zal Costello, dan wel bijgestaan door The Imposters, terugkeren naar onze hoofdstad. Voor nu zijn we na een set van bijna tweeënhalf uur wel verzadigd, maar Elvis Costello blijft na decennia nog altijd onweerstaanbaar goed. Het lijkt dan ook meer dan waarschijnlijk dat zij die vanavond in de Melkweg aanwezig waren ook dan weer zullen terugkeren.

[sweetest punch]

She: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sPoYrybPGk
Alison / Suffering Face: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPuK-GCjJ2E
She: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-DzgGT03LA

Larkin Poe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5fZ5tCpig4

[johnfoyle]

http://www.roarezine.nl/2011/11/12/elvi ... amsterdam/