Elvis , 'Detour', Houston , TX October 14th 2016

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johnfoyle
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Elvis , 'Detour', Houston , TX October 14th 2016

Post by johnfoyle »

Who's going?
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
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Re: Elvis , 'Detour', Houston , TX October 14th 2016

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/enterta ... 969141.php

Elvis Costello's deep catalog to drive show

By Andrew Dansby

October 13, 2016

Having made 27 varied albums over the past 40 years, Elvis Costello often has had his musical curiosities reductively referred to as "dalliances."

The shortsighted descriptor misses the fact that the 62-year-old Costello is the dalliance himself.


His biography "Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink," published last year, offered insight into Costello's writing process, revealing him as an old-school Tin Pan Alley type who traffics in melodic narrative. What style or genre that narrative fits comes across like an afterthought to him.

Instead of rock, new wave, country, soul, R&B, classical or jazz, his material instead fits more comfortably in the two masks of Greek theater: tragedy and comedy.

This should be evident when Costello comes Friday to the Revention Center. He'll have hundreds of his own songs at his fingertips, which he can play on a whim since the show will be largely solo - with Costello on guitar or piano - with some accompaniment late in the evening from the American roots duo Larkin Poe.

He plans to customize parts of each stop on the tour to that market's musical history. Considering Costello's affinity for Texas native and country-music legend George Jones, and the old R&B and gospel from the Houston-based Peacock records such as Bobby "Blue" Bland, the show could produce beautifully mournful results.


During a recent phone conversation, Costello shared some thoughts about serving as a bridge between British and American music, and one uncomfortable evening in Houston not too long ago.

Q: Was it Oscar Wilde who said something about America and Britain being two countries separated by the same language? I played a bunch of your albums in a row recently and thought your work functions as sort of an intercontinental dialogue. Undoing that Atlantic disconnect.

A: Ah, that's an old one, an old good one, as they say. Well, we learned like Vikings, coming in and running off with riches. Though our approach never involved wearing a hat with horns. But another way of looking at it is that some British bands shone a light on some music that might have been pushed out of sight. Because it seemed so unlikely for English bands to be playing American R&B at the time. Maybe it wasn't played as well as the originals, but it was played with fervor.

And it goes on to this day. I continue picking up clues that were left well before I came along. But it was always interesting, traveling in America looking for confirmation of things we'd heard in songs and movies. I had notebooks full of funny sayings. It's been rich that way. Though they're not always funny to everybody.

Q: How so?

A: Not too long ago, I was playing with the symphony in Houston. I came out on the first night and said, "It's so great you decided to name your beautiful music hall after George Jones." Tumbleweeds. (Laughs.) To me it made sense because he's from Beaumont. To them … not. (Laughs.)

Q: So this tour is an interesting one because it seems like you can draw from any point in your career - just guitar or piano, voice and maybe something by Cliff Edwards?

A: Ah, yes, Cliff Edwards. That's right, and true to a point. It's not a show with a full rock band. That doesn't mean it doesn't get loud. There's a lot of mayhem you can create with a couple of guitars and a few gadgets and a ukulele. About three-fourths of the way through, Larkin Poe, the sister duo, will join me to bring some songs out of the shadows with some three-part harmonies.

But there is room for us to change things, too. And I don't know what pictures will be there. We have a giant TV set, and we can project anything on it. So there will be some of me. Some of my family. And maybe some from each local scene. That offers a lot of possibility in Houston. I'm always curious to see the reactions. People lighting up the charts are too obvious. So I like to change things and see how people react night to night.

Q: I feel like you mentioned in the book that "Suspicious Minds" was an important song for you during your youth. That was written by (Mark James) from Houston.

A: That's an interesting song. Sometimes I will work that up with the band. But yes, I love it. It's one of my favorite Elvis Presley recordings. I'm not as big a fan of the Sun recordings, but I like a lot of the RCA songs.

Q: "Brutal Youth" has long been a favorite album of mine. I was wondering if you had thoughts on it 20-plus years later. I felt like your singing and phrasing was evolving there on some songs.

A: I don't think the songs were as good there as some on other records, though I still like the ballads. But it started as a rock thing with me and Pete (Thomas, drummer). "Kinder Murder" I played everything but the drums. Others were a bit more polished. But it's interesting you say that, and funny enough there are a couple that I've worked up with Larkin Poe: "Kinder Murder," "All the Rage" and "Clown Strike." As a trio, I hear it differently than when I wrote it. That's the nice thing about this kind of show: It can allow you to get to where the song originally wanted to go. You can find that thing you were looking for years before, something you wouldn't find unless you sing a song over and over again. This is a stand-up show we're playing in Houston, right?

Q: I believe so. Sometimes they set up seats but not often.

A: Playing it that way changes things, too. Sometimes when I play solo, I tend to have to hit a little harder rhythmically, especially in a standing venue. In a concert hall, I can take it down and get to the edge of the shave. But with people standing and milling about, it's closer to skiffle, where you have to beat on the guitar. But there's strength in that, too. Early Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, sometimes you had just two instruments. No drums. But they were driving still. So we still kick it out. And we still find quieter things like Cliff Edwards. Or something where Cliff Edwards would approve.
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And No Coffee Table
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Re: Elvis , 'Detour', Houston , TX October 14th 2016

Post by And No Coffee Table »

Setlist from Charles:

Start: 7:52
Radio Radio
Accidents Will Happen
Poison Moon
Ascension Day
Church Underground
EIWTB
Shot With His Own Gun (on piano)
DDTM (on piano)
A Face In The Crowd (on piano)
Walking My Baby Back Home (seated)
Ghost Train (seated)
Veronica (seated)
WTD w/ a long killer snippet of Alibi!!!
Alison w/ a snippet of Suspicious Minds, and some heavy foot stomping, no amplification
Blame It On Cain w/ LP
Nothing Clings Like Ivy w/ LP
Clown Strike w/ LP
Burn The Paper Down To Ash w/ LP and Rebecca on vocals
Vitajex w/ LP seated playing ukulele
That's Not The Part of Him You're Leaving w/ LP
Pads, Paws, and Claws w/ LP
Pump it Up (in tv)
Blood and Hot Sauce (on piano)
Big Stars Have Tumbled (on piano)
Big Fool of the Year
Good Year For The Roses w/ LP
PL&U w/ LP
10:05ish
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis , 'Detour', Houston , TX October 14th 2016

Post by johnfoyle »

Charles' photos -

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johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
Location: Dublin , Ireland

Re: Elvis , 'Detour', Houston , TX October 14th 2016

Post by johnfoyle »

Lea Ann's photos -


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