2012/05/25

Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Bournemouth, Nick Churchill's review.

Bournemouth International Centre 20.05.2012
Having resurrected his Napoleon Dynamite persona to compere this most engaging and illuminating entertainment, Elvis Costello also laid to rest another nom de stage in emphatic style. Much is made of his way with a lyric, a melody, even his stagecraft, but his guitar playing is frequently overlooked. Well, no more, for it is these days a thing of majesty, awesome in directness, fleet of foot and deft of touch. No more can he hide behind the Little Hands of Concrete credit he took on King of America, it simply won’t wash any more.
And neither does any suggestion that Costello can be a prickly performer – three decades ago maybe, but not now. This was pure showmanship.
On stage at eight sharp, Elvis and the Imposters – the incomparable Steve Nieve (keys), the resolute Pete Thomas (drums) and the steadfast Davey Faragher (bass) – broke down the walls of heartache with an opening four song salvo of I Hope You’re Happy Now, Heart of the City, Mystery Dance and Radio Radio. Love and affection indeed! TBC HERE

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good review, I was there at the show & loved it. There's always room for other favourite songs but he has such a large back catalogue it must be difficult to choose. He's a very good compare too.
Great show from one of my favourite artists.
Nick