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Rock concerts are meant to be noisy occasions.
Under normal circumstances even if the music goes quiet for a short spell, the audience amply compensate.
The critic, if he is prudent, develops a sort of internal geiger counter, and at the end of the concert writes his review accordingly: highest marks if it has gone off the top of the scale.
But something went wrong when Elvis Costello played at the Victoria Hall, Hanley, on Saturday.
If it had been possible to stop the music at what was probably the musical and undoubtedly the emotional — crux of the concert, even the hard of hearing could have heard a pin drop.
The funny thing is that "Shipbuilding" in its recorded form has in the opinion of many been sung better by co-writer Robert Wyatt.
But when Costello struck up the sad ballad's plaintive chords in the flesh it started to appear merely an electronic quirk of the studio.
Before long the entire full house were quietly concentrating on the singer's dark form with a rapt half-hypnotised admiration. Perhaps they were paying their respects to the war dead the lyrics recall.
"Shipbuilding" came bang in the middle of the concert. Costello was in sparkling form throughout. His vocal range and control put paid to rumours that he's got trouble getting up to the high notes.
But the most remarkable property of the gig was this. Costello's more recent songs are of such quality that he was able to concentrate on them almost exclusively without the listener missing the familiar old favourites. When the artist breaks the golden rules and succeeds the critic must follow. This was the best the Hanley venue is likely to hear this year.
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