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I had the enormous pleasure of attending what surely has to be one of the BEST live musical performances I have ever had the pleasure of attending last night, when just two blocks from my house, Elvis Costello brought down the house playing with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for 2+ hours and more than four standing ovations.
Elvis is a musician's musician. His variety of styles and his depth both musically and lyrically leave everyone else in the dust.
He opened the evening with a 30 minute piece from a full length ballet he wrote, called Il Signo, interpreting "Mid Summer's Night Dream". In his dream, Puck is a jazz fairy who wails on a pinpoint trumpet. While the style was decidely his own, it was also very reminiscent of Henry Mancini with the brass melodies, Aron Copland with the dissonant harmonies and sharp syncopation, and even a little John Williams thrown in when the score soared into almost anthem like pieces better suited to a movie epic. Before the piece was barely over, he launched into an acoustic guitar and voice rendition of "The River in Reverse", which is a decidely anti-war, anti-administration piece from his upcoming album of the same title, which focuses on Katrina and other issues of late, and is a partnership with legendary New Orleans jazz great, Allen Toussaint.
He did a lot of the classics, "Watching the Detectives" (which brought the house down), "Veronica", "Alison", and perhaps my alltime favorite, his take on the Charles Mingus classic "Hora Decubitus".
A totally unique voice, and a totally unique artist. His final encore was an acapella sing along with the crowd, and was a really intimate end to an already intimate evening.
I would really love for him to collaborate on more albums, or better yet a tour, with his wife, and another favorite artist of mine - Diana Krall.
Sadly, I don't have the $2,000 readily available to attend tonight's performance in Vancouver, BC, where Elvis will help his wife host a private black tie charity benefit: "An Evening with Diana Krall & Friends" with Tony Bennett, Elton John, Elvis Costello and former U.S. President Bill Clinton at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
Elvis's performance last night was not over till about 10:45 PM., and today he has to travel all the way to Vancouver to perform this evening with a three hour time change? He's got to be exhausted. I'll bet it will be a terrific show.
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