BERKELEY — British singer/songwriter Elvis Costello returned to Berkeley's Greek Theater Friday night with a nearly two-hour show that indicated quite a turnabout in the mercurial performer's attitude toward both performing and the audience.
As he and the Attractions (Pete Thomas on drums, Bruce Thomas on bass and Steve Nieve on keyboards) took the stage, they were augmented by the four-man TKO Horns and the female vocal duo Afrodiziak.
The ensemble hit the ground running with "Let Them All Talk" from Costello's latest LP, Punch the Clock, following with a stately but passionate reading of "Possession" from a few years back.
Costello was talkative throughout the show, seeming more intent on giving the fans their money's worth than single-handedly transforming their political stance, or lack of one. (Costello's arrogant rants against what he saw as American apathy have ruined some potentially great shows in the past.)
The band worked out on revamped versions of "Watching the Detectives," "Watch Your Step," "Shabby Doll," "This Year's Girl" and Costello's hilarious ode to teenage sexual ineptitude, "Mystery Dance."
Throughout the show, Costello drew from a catalog of songs that was amazing in its wealth and variety. He is one of rock's foremost tunesmiths, with an intelligence and verbal wit to match his skill with a melody. This was especially evident on the pairing of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" with his poignant ballad opposing the Falklands war, "Shipbuilding," which was also the best-sung song of the evening.
Costello's singing was the weak link in the band's sound; his delivery was pinched and his range limited. Barely enunciating, he either slurred his words beyond understanding or strangled them, spitting them out so rapidly that they were unintelligible even to those who knew them. This forced style ruined some of his best songs, especially "Man Out of Time," on which he mutilated the gorgeous chorus.
Among the other songs the band performed were "Clubland," "Alison" (with a tender and uncharacteristic, "I love you, I love you" refrain); "King Horse," with the O'Jays' "Backstabbers" in tow, and a verse and chorus from the late, great English Beat's "Stand Down, Margaret" during "Big Sister's Clothes."
Scotland's Aztec Camera, who opened the show, shared some of Costello's strengths and weaknesses. Fronted by 19-year-old singer/songwriter Roddy Frame, the group is quite a contrast to the synth-pop bands now being rushed over from Britain.
Dressing in plaid shirts and blue jeans and playing as much acoustic guitar as electric, the group is the first in a welcome backlash against the electronic elves, but Aztec Camera has been rushed over and still needs a lot of work. Though Frame's songwriting is particularly well-developed for his age, he is better at writing a melody than carrying one.
|