More Thoughts on Elvis Costello: The Boy Named If

Elvis Costello and the Imposters

Elvis Costello continues to charm the pants off his audiences. It’s something he’s done successfully in a music career that’s spanned more than five decades. He’s one of his generation’s greatest songwriters and performers – and one of many reasons I never tire of seeing him perform live in concert. 

Costello has worked diligently at his craft to attain a special place in the music world. Whether with a simple wink of the eye, a friendly smile or just the right choice of words and upbeat tone of voice, the bespectacled and iconic English musician, who was once described by a critic as a “pop encyclopedia,” has become a master of the craft of storytelling.

Last week at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va., near Washington, D.C., in what was my 13th time to see Costello in concert since the early ‘80s, Costello delighted the baby-boomer crowd with disposable money that flocked to see him and his band, the Imposters (Steve Nieve on keyboards, Pete Thomas on drums, Davey Faragher on bass, Charlie Sexton on assorted guitars) and joined by guest vocalist Nicole Atkins – plus special guests Nick Lowe and Los Straightjackets – with his good-natured manner and geniality of performing. The singer-songwriter, who turns 68 on August 25, has taken great care of himself and of the stories he shares with his audiences, through his musical lyrics and interpretation.

Nick Lowe and Los Straightjackets

Musically, throughout his 105-minute performance, Costello moved freely between playing a canon of his most-recognized hits – “Accidents Will Happen,” “Watching the Detectives,” “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea,” “Pump It Up,” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” which he performed with Lowe – and also a quartet of new songs from his most recent album, “The Boy Named If.” The set list on this night totaled 17 songs. Throughout, Costello’s material was filled full of rich characters loaded with plenty of desire mixed with heartache. 

What one learns from going to so many Elvis Costello shows through the years – and whether seeing him perform with his original band the Attractions, current band the Imposters, with special guests such as the late great New Orleans pianist Allen Toussaint or backed by a symphony orchestra – is that Costello is truly a music fan. He also delights in championing the works of other musicians, whether it be from country star George Jones or rock guitarist and producer T Bone Burnett – or even the influential Philadelphia hip-hop band The Roots. Through the years, Costello has also collaborated with Burt Bacharach and duetted with Tony Bennett. 

Filene Center at Wolf Trap, Vienna, Va.

Looking back, Costello has immersed himself in pop, rock and roll, country, Americana, soul and jazz, among the many genres that he’s mastered. In a Costello show, he’s not afraid to share many of the lessons he’s learned growing up in a Liverpool music family and we’re rewarded with songs that are as literate as they are artful. I am reminded of when my wife and I took the train to Philadelphia last October just to see Costello perform at The Met, an old opera house in north Philly, and he charmed us with a hauntingly beautiful minor-key tango that blended his own song “Brilliant Mistake” with the 1930s Al Dubin-penned “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” that was a hit song for Bennett among many.

Throughout his Wolf Trap performance, Costello showed he can be acerbic and witty, as well as lamenting and sad. There’s always a fine balance between rock and balladry in a Costello performance and this one was no different from the other 12 shows I had seen over the past 40 years in that regard. Yet, he also reminded us that this was no exercise in nostalgia and pastiche, either despite the age demographic of the audience – about 55 to 70 years-old – that’s been around to enjoy Costello from the beginning of his rock-n-roll career in the late ‘70s.

Collectively, Costello’s body of work is that of an adept storyteller who’s learned more than a few things from the past. On this summer night in northern Virginia, Costello took his audience on a musical journey through his expansive songbook that was as intimate as it was entertaining – and it was inspiring, too.

Elvis Costello and the Imposters

Elvis Costello’s Wolf Trap set list:

Accidents Will Happen / Green Shirt / Either Side of the Same Town / Hetty O’Hara Confidential / Mystery Dance / Watching the Detectives-Invisible Lady-Isabelle in Tears / My Most Beautiful Mistake / Still Too Soon to Know / Just About Glad / The Man You Love to Hate / Penelope Halfpenny / What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love? / Magnificent Hurt / (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea / Pump It Up / Indoor Fireworks (with Nick Lowe) / What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding (with Nick Lowe).

All photographs: © Michael Dickens, 2021.

It was a memorable night for a "detour" with Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello / Pumping it up after all these years.

Elvis Costello is an extraordinary songwriter and performer. He's worked diligently at his craft for the past 40 years to attain a special place in the music world, listening to songs from many years ago to the latest hits. He's stayed relevant. Now, in his latest adventure, aptly called "Detour," Costello takes his audience on a musical journey through his vast songbook that's not only intimate and entertaining, but also humbling and inspiring. 

Elvis Costello / Performing "Watching the Detectives."

On March 30, at the Nob Hill Masonic in San Francisco, in just the second night of his current solo "Detour" tour – and in what was my 11th Costello adventure – I saw a show like no other he's given, and I've seen Elvis perform with his various backing bands, including the Attractions, the Imposters, and the Sugarcanes; in a duet show with his longtime keyboardist Steve Nieve; accompanied by the extraordinary New Orleans pianist Allen Toussaint backed with a brass horn section – even dressed in black tuxedo performing with the San Francisco Symphony. 

Elvis Costello / Performing "Town Cryer."

Musically, throughout the two and a quarter-hour performance, which began in near darkness with "Complicated Shadows" and concluded with three encores – the first and third joined by twenty-something sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell of the Georgia roots-rock duo Larkin Poe, whom added beautiful harmonies to classics such as "Blame It on Cain" – the 61-year-old, bespectacled Costello moved freely between a variety of acoustic and electric guitars lined up behind him and a baby grand piano off to the side, digging deep into his catalog to share his classics like "Accident Will Happen," "Watching the Detectives," "Alison," and "Pump It Up" as well as covers by Los Lobos ("A Matter of Time") and Bob Dylan ("Down on the Bottom"). There were also poignant renditions of some of my personal favorites, "Shipbuilding" and "Town Cryer," and his lovely rendition of "Ascension Day" was a fitting tribute to Toussaint, whom he collaborated with on the 2006 album The River in Reverse in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Elvis Costello / Joined by Larkin Poe during the first encore.

Conceptually, in "Detour," the rectangular stage was arranged to resemble a 1960s living room with its focal point being an oversized retro Lupe-O-Tone TV set that served as a delightful prop to show candid, never-before-seen black-and-white family photographs, portraits of personal heroes – including Toussaint and the Bay Area cowboy swing-bluesman Dan Hicks, both recently deceased – and a filmed performance of his father, the band leader Ross MacManus, enthusiastically singing the Pete Seeger-Lee Hays folk standard "If I Had a Hammer" with a Latin dance twist to it. Costello even climbed inside the TV set to perform "Alison" and "Pump It Up" during his second encore.

Elvis Costello / Sharing a conversation with his audience.

In between songs, Costello – ever the raconteur – showed why he's also a wonderful conversationalist and gifted storyteller, too. His acerbic banter and delightful repartee was evident as he shared with his audience many intimate stories and anecdotes about his music family – both his father and grandfather were professional musicians and inspired him – growing up in Liverpool at the same time that The Beatles were becoming international rock-and-roll superstars, the origins of his music, parenthood as a father to twin boys with his wife, jazz pianist Diana Krall, and life on the road, that were both revealing and humorous. There were funny reminisces about coming to play San Francisco for the first time in his early twenties back in the 1970s. Much of this was covered in detail in his recent 670-page memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, which showed Costello to be an intelligent, thoughtful, witty and lyrical writer. 

In explaining the name he picked for his current group of shows, "Detour," Costello deadpanned, "Where I come from, when people would ask 'Where are you going?' the answer was always 'We're going on de tour.'" It drew nice laughter from the sold-out audience.

Elvis Costello / Performing "Shipbuilding."

With a career spanning four decades – and a few detours along the way – Costello has morphed from "a snotty, defiant New Wave hell-raiser into a distinguished gentleman," wrote the Huffington Post. Now, ever the progressive thinker, mover and shaker, Costello does as he pleases, and these days he's place an emphasis on performing rather than recording. This has given him a chance to gain a new perspective and musical point of view in his celebrated repertoire and to share a nightly, intimate conversation with his audience. Always an in-touch tunesmith, it's reflected in rearranged renditions of many of his old songs, such as "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes", "(What's So funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," and the blistering guitar loop and distortion in "Watching the Detectives." Costello even found a place  – a detour – to cover a few Tin Pan Alley standards, such as the 1930's "Walking My Babe Back Home" (which he dedicated to Krall and his twin boys), his own introspective "Jimmie Standing in the Rain" (including a coda of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", which he sang un-miked and a capella) and a downbeat version of the 1927 classic "Side by Side."

"Oh, we don't know what's coming tomorrow / Maybe it trouble and sorrow / but we'll travel the road sharing our load / Side by side."

One of the many highlights for this most Baby Boomer crowd included Costello singing "Everyday I Write the Book," which he nicely wrapped into a lovely cover of Nick Lowe's "When I Write the Book."

"Now I can remember like it was only yesterday / Love was young and foolish like a little child at play / But, oh how lovers change, I never dreamed how easily / 'Cause now I'm just a shadow of the boy I used to be."

Elvis Costello / Biding his San Francisco audience good night.

On this memorable night of musical expression in San Francisco, Costello was as spontaneous as he was entertaining – his set list changes from night to night – and on this night he slipped in the Grateful Dead's "It Must Have Been the Roses" joined by Larkin Poe during one of the encores. It's easy to see why Costello is such a music fan and champions the works of others.

Elvis Costello's Nob Hill Masonic, San Francisco, set list:

Main set (solo): Complicated Shadows / Red Shoes / Hope You're Happy Now / Accidents Will Happen / Ascension Day / Church Underground / Radio Soul / Motel Matches / Matter of Time / Shipbuilding /When I Write the Book – Everyday I Write the Book / Walking My Baby Back Home / Ghost Train /Town Cryer / Watching the Detectives / It's Not My Time to Go.

First encore (with Larkin Poe): Pads, Paws, and Claws / Love Field /Blame It on Cain / That's Not the Part of Him You're Leaving /Down on the Bottom.

Second encore (solo, performed inside TV set): Alison / Pump It Up.

Third encore (solo): Side By Side / Jimmie Standing in the Rain – Brother Can You Spare a Dime? / It Must Have Been the Roses (with Larkin Poe) / Peace, Love and Understanding (with Larkin Poe).

All photographs © Michael Dickens, 2016.