Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Pretty self-explanatory
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johnfoyle
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Location: Dublin , Ireland

Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

Anyone here going?
johnfoyle
Posts: 14852
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainmen ... 37117.html

The Buffalo News

Elvis Costello offers a platter that matters

Elvis Costello releases new music on old-fashioned vinyl

Jeff Miers: Sound Check
05/02/08



I have a photograph, somewhere, of my first rock critic hero, Lester Bangs, slouched in his rather disgusting New York City apartment, surrounded by immense piles of records, presumably ones sent to him gratis by record labels, to be considered for review.

Many would probably find this photo unappealing, redolent as it is of the scattershot chaos that permeated Bangs’ life and his writing. Me? I love that picture. It somehow symbolizes the “I refuse to grow up” glory of what I do for a living.

By the time I got around to following in Bangs’ footsteps, those beautiful record albums had been zapped by the consumerist shrink ray. CDs were immediately convenient, but they sounded like garbage, and they were much more difficult to fetishize over than their big, bold, gatefolded forebears. It has been difficult to feel like a Bangs, a Richard Robinson, a Robert Christgau, while holding these tiny little digitally encoded Frisbees a few inches from my face to compensate for increasingly poor eyesight. The things don’t look as cool scattered all over one’s living space, either. Just ask my wife.

I have much to thank Elvis Costello for. We named our only son after the guy — Declan, not Elvis, mind you. He’s given us quite a catalog of beautiful songs, some raging and self-righteous, some frightened and lost, some shimmering with compositional and lyrical beauty. Costello concerts are, more often than not, breathtaking.

I’m most grateful to Costello, however, for affording me my first opportunity to review a new release on thick, fat vinyl.


I’m too old to live like Lester Bangs at this point — cough syrup and Budweiser, the late critic’s cocktail of choice, holds no appeal as an after-work wind-me-down — but this week, I imagined what he must have felt like when he first sat down with a 33 RPM copy of, say, Lou Reed’s “Transformer,” preparing to scribble some inspired thoughts.

Costello has released “Momofuku” — the title, certainly obscure, is not actually some thinly veiled obscenity, but rather, a tribute to the inventor of the Cup O’ Soup, apparently — as a vinyl-only double album. As of Thursday morning, purchasers of that album could proceed to www.momofukudownload.com and punch in their personal code for a digital copy of the record. As far as blows against the empire go, this one may not amount to much. Costello, after all, is hardly Beyonce when it comes to album sales or commercial clout. But man, what a cool gesture it is. Oh, and guess what? As good as the digital download does sound — it’s got warm low end, none of that brittle high end and over-compression that make so many downloads border on the unlistenable — the vinyl sounds much better.

If you’ve grown up in a world where people are actually downloading and listening to music on their cell phones, (ugh!) this vinyl business might seem wholly pointless. Why go through the trouble? Record albums are big and unweildy, and you can’t skip straight to the one song you like with the press of a thumb.

If you care about sound quality, however, this is a mini-coup. You really haven’t heard anything recorded prior to 1990 properly until you’ve dropped the needle on the vinyl, cranked the volume and let it all wash over you. “Momofuku” underscores the point that modern-day recordings can sound just as good as their old-school counterparts.

None of this would mean much, of course, if “Momofuku” was a less-than-great Elvis Costello album. Happily, it’s a simply outstanding effort from a brilliant artist who has been a bit inconsistent in the album department for a good while. All Costello long-players since 1991’s “Mighty Like a Rose” have their moments of transcendent brilliance. But “Momofuku” is packed with them.

The Imposters — Costello mates Pete Thomas, Steve Nieve and Davey Faragher — perform with the same elastic wallop evident on the best Attractions albums of yore. Guests Jenny Lewis, Jonathan Rice, Tennessee Thomas, “Farmer” Dave Scher, David Hidalgo and Jonathan Wilson add significant ambience and supple flesh to Costello’s songs. The album’s production — courtesy of Costello and Jason Lader — is dark-hued, thick and enveloping. The songs are instantly memorable. “Momofuku” feels like a classic, immediately.


Will Costello’s vinyl-only salute have any impact on the industry as a whole? No. It might be meant as a shot across the bow, but ultimately, it’s just a gift for those of us who love the way music used to sound before everything went digital. Thanks, Elvis.•

Elvis Costello & the Imposters open for the Police inside HSBC Arena at 7:30 p. m. Saturday. jmiers@buffnews.com
bronxapostle
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by bronxapostle »

ready for your setlist PLEASE! thanks, ba
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

Brief account from a Police forum -

http://www.stewartcopeland.net/forum/vi ... caaecabacc

(extract)

EC's set was also good. His set was about 50 minutes and he went bang-bang from one song to the next. No stopping for chit-chat between songs. His was also a high energy show.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainmen ... 38544.html


Buffalo News

Buffalo show reveals The Police still have what it takes

By Jeff Miers
NEWS POP MUSIC CRITIC

Updated: 05/04/08 7:05 AM

(extract)

All of this would’ve been enough even without a torrid opening set from Elvis Costello and the Imposters. That band might’ve stolen the show, had not a trio as hot as the Police followed.

Happily, Costello and his cohorts — drummer Pete Thomas, keyboardist Steve Nieve and bassist/harmony vocalist Davey Faragher — offered a serious dose of “Momofuku,” the album released (on vinyl only) last week. The new material simply kicked butt, and Costello fearlessly opened with a tune from it, the bluesy “Stella Hurt.”

There were the hits, of course, in the form of “Watching the Detectives,” “Allison,” “Every Day I Write the Book” and the slightly more obscure “I Don’t Want To Go To Chelsea,” to satisfy the crowd, which accorded Costello and company a warm reception.

This was a truly wonderful show.
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Lester Burnham
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by Lester Burnham »

"(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" is obscure?! :shock:
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

http://j01nm31nd34th.livejournal.com/59266.html

j01nm31nd34th's LiveJournal -

(extract)


Elvis Costello sounded great, too. It was my first time seeing him with his band [The Imposters, not The Attractions- different bass player]. It was bunk, though, because they didn't turn on the screen for him. We had great seats- section 122 I think... but I still would have liked to see that classy fellow's face.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

Some great photos -

http://dirtymartiniii.smugmug.com/galle ... DmD#P-1-15

including -

Image

This Police forum comment -

http://www.stewartcopeland.net/forum/vi ... c&start=45

Elvis Costello was excellent. I don't know a lot of his music very well, but I had no problem getting into the unfamiliar tunes at all. He and his band worked really hard, and I absolutely loved that EC really connected to the audience; he looked people comfortably in the eye and did so with a genuine -- "warmth" is the best word that I can think of. That was extremely cool. No fourth-wall separation: he smiled through the set like everyone in the room was a guest at one big party. About 30 minutes into the set, I looked around to find that the arena was quite full for him.
johnfoyle
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Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2003 4:37 pm
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Re: Elvis/Police , Buffalo, NY May 3

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2008/05/0607.cfm

Tuesday May 06, 2008 @ 04:00 PM

May 3, 2008
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, NY
by Steve McLean

Elvis Costello started his set five minutes early, but I got to my seat during his first song, one of a handful from his new Momofuku album. Though I don't know any of the titles, and Costello didn't mention them (aside from the acoustic ballad "My Three Sons," which unfortunately had no Uncle Charlie references), I enjoyed them all and look forward to hearing the new rock-oriented LP.

The rest of the performance was filled with familiar songs from the earlier part of his expansive 30-year career, which was a fine fit for current band The Imposters (composed of original Attractions members Steve Nieve on keyboards and Pete Thomas on drums, along with former Cracker bassist Davey Faragher, while the black suit-clad Costello handled all the guitar parts). Nieve's keyboard genius was especially evident and his flourishes were the musical highlight of most songs.

"(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" was slower and funkier than the original. A reggae vibe was present in "Everyday I Write The Book" and it's always been there in "Watching The Detectives." Things ended on a high with energetic runs through "Radio Radio," "Pump It Up" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding."

I made the trip across the border to see Costello as much as The Police, since a 2005 performance I caught was one of the most memorable shows I've attended. I was under the impression that he'd play more than the 55 minutes we got, but the sharpness of the set list overcame the disappointment resulting from the relative brevity and somewhat muddy sound early on.
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