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.

Thoughts on Elvis Costello: Look Now and Then

Elvis Costello / The master storyteller at the
DAR Constitution Hall, in Washington, D.C.

Elvis Costello knows how to charm the pants off an audience. He’s done it successfully for more than 40 years as one of his generation’s greatest songwriters and performers. He’s worked diligently at his craft to attain a special place in the music world. Whether with a simple wink, 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.

Now, healthy again after recovering from surgery for a small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy, Costello once again is delighting crowds with his good-natured manner and geniality of performing. He’s taking great care not only of himself, but also the stories he’s sharing with his audiences, through their lyrics and unusual combination of musical instruments.

On November 4, at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., in just the third night of his current 20 city “Look Now and Then ...” tour – and in what was my 12th Elvis Costello adventure – I saw a show like no other he’s given, and I’ve seen Elvis perform solo; 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 late extraordinary New Orleans pianist Allen Toussaint backed with a brass horn section – even dressed to the nines in a black tuxedo performing with the San Francisco Symphony.

Musically, throughout the evening’s two-and-one-half-hour performance, accompanied by the always sharp and in-form Imposters (Nieve on a variety of keyboards, drummer Pete Thomas, and bassist Davey Faragher) and joined by vocalists Kitten Kuroi and Briana Lee, who added soulful backing harmonies to new songs such as “Unwanted Number” and the classic “Alison,” the 64-year-old Costello moved freely between introducing 10 new “uptown pop” songs from his recently-released album ‘Look Now’ such as “Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter,” which he co-wrote with Carole King; “Don’t Look Now” and “Under Lime.” There’s a little bit of swagger in Costello these days and as one critic recently remarked, the new material is “full of rich characters loaded with desire and heartache.” Costello also dug into his vast catalog of spinning-wheel classics to share “This Year’s Girl,” which has been remade into the theme song for the HBO series “The Deuce;” “Clubland,” “Green Shirt,” “Watching the Detectives,” (performed as a spacey solo under a green spotlight for full visual affect); “Pump It Up,” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.”

Truly a music fan, Costello delights in championing the works of other musicians, from country star George Jones to rock guitarist and producer T Bone Burnett to influential Philadelphia hip-hop band The Roots – even former Beatles icon Paul McCartney – to name just a few whom he’s collaborated with over the years. Whether immersing himself in pop, rock and roll, country, Americana, soul or jazz, among the many genres that he’s mastered over many years, in concert Costello shares many of the lessons he learned and we’re rewarded with songs that are as literate as they are artful.

On ‘Look Now,’ Costello has revisited his partnership with Burt Bacharach, himself a master songwriter, on three impressionistic tunes, “Don’t Look Now,” “Photographs Can Lie,” and “He’s Given Me Things.” Bacharach’s piano lines, as interpreted and performed live by Nieve, are both poignant and beautiful – and reminded me of some of Bacharach’s brilliant late ‘60 pop collaborations with lyricist Hal David.

Throughout the show’s 27 songs, Costello showed he can be acerbic and witty, as well as lamenting and sad. There’s a fine balance between rock and balladry in a Costello performance. As his Washington, D.C. concert reminded us, his shows have become more than an exercise in nostalgia and pastiche. I have no doubt that this tour will be a triumph for Costello, providing him with an opportunity for enlivening his mastery of the songwriting form – and with a keen dramatist’s eye, too.

Because of Costello’s desire to showcase his new songs, his show is now very much of the present. Collectively, his body of work is that of adept storyteller who’s learned more than a few things from the past. On this night, Costello took his mostly baby-boomer audience on a musical journey through his expansive songbook that was not only intimate and entertaining, but also humbling and inspiring.

Elvis Costello’s DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C., set list:

Main set: This Year’s Girl / Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind? / Clubland / Don’t Look Now / Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter / Green Shirt / Photographs Can Lie / Temptation / Brilliant Mistake / Why Won’t Heaven Help Me? / Under Lime / Watching the Dectectives / Deep Dark Truthful Mirror / He’s Given Me Things / Unwanted Number / High Fidelity / Alison / Everyday I Write the Book.

First encore: Stripping Paper / Suspect My Tears / (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea / Mr. and Mrs. Hush / Pump It Up.

Second encore: A Face in the Crowd / Blood & Hot Sauce / American Gangster Time / (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.

All photos: © Michael Dickens, 2018.

Ambition with talent: Costello is back with “Look Now”

In a recent Q & A with the London-based Financial Times, Elvis Costello was asked: Which matters more to success, ambition or talent? The 64-year-old English troubadour answered matter-of-factly, “Once upon a time, I would have said ambition without talent was worthless. Now I’m not so sure.”

Earlier this month, the ambitious – and extraordinarily talented – Costello released his first new album with his band The Imposters in 10 years, the cohesive Look Now, on Concord Records. One critic mused that “it’s not just craft but touch, not just energy but sensitivity. On Look Now, Costello and The Imposters have both.”

After Costello revealed earlier this year he had survived a bout with a “small but very aggressive” cancer, word of a new album was very welcome news. Produced by Costello and Sebastian Krys, the songs comprising Look Now represent some of Costello’s best career work. His sophisticated and transforming songbook runneth over with simplicity and immediacy. 

Elvis Costello

Whether immersing himself in pop, rock and roll, country, Americana, soul or jazz, among the many genres that he’s mastered over many years, Costello shares many lessons learned and we’re rewarded with songs that are as literate as they are artful. The gifted storyteller has returned in fine form.

Costello, who paired with Burt Bacharach on 1998’s Painted From Memory, has reunited with the master songwriter on three impressionistic tunes, “Don’t Look Now,” “Photographs Can Lie,” and “He’s Given Me Things.” Bacharach’s piano lines are both poignant and beautiful – and reminded me of some of his brilliant late ‘60s pop collaborations with lyricist Hal David. Costello also penned “Burnt Sugar Is So Bitter” with another songwriting giant, Carole King, that is soulful with its female choir. Throughout the album, Costello can still be acerbic and witty, lamenting and sad in his lyrics. There's a fine balance between rock and balladry in Look Now.

As one critic noted, "Look Now is much more than an exercise in nostalgia and pastiche. As the title implies, it’s very much of the present, and the work of a master storyteller who’s learned more than a few things from the past.”

In a recent Pitchfork review, its critic concluded, “As a collection of tunes, Look Now is a triumph for Costello, a showcase for how he can enliven a mastery of form with a dramatist’s eye. But as an album, Look Now is a success because of the Imposters. ... They are a sharp, supple outfit that can swing and sigh, sometimes within the same number, as when they effortlessly pivot between boss’s nova verses and a radiant chorus during 'Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?' This subtle sophistication and palpable flair make Look Now more than a mere set of songs – it’s a record worth getting lost within.”