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WALLINGFORD — Elvis Costello and the Imposters played to an enthusiastic, yet mostly unenergetic crowd at the Oakdale Theatre on Saturday night. Costello is currently touring in support of his latest re-lease, When I Was Cruel, his first album in seven years, an album and a tour in which Costello proves that he can still rock after 23 years.
Costello opened his set with "45," the opening track of When I Was Cruel. The audience, a mixed one, mingling suit-wearing over-40s with punk rock and rockabilly kids, welcomed the performer with a striding ovation. Costello then moved quickly through "Waiting For The End Of The World" and "Watching The Detectives" before pausing to address the crowd.
"I always thought Wallingford was just outside of London," said Costello from the stage.
Costello took the stage, looking a little bit older than some people remember him, in a black-on-black suit only accesorized by his now-famous black-rimmed glasses and an assortment of funky looking Fender and Danelectro guitars. Joining Costello on stage was Professor Steve Nieve on keyboards, bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas, who make up the Imposters.
Each performer had their own musical station and each of them stayed there throughout the duration of the performance. The backdrop was an ever-changing sea of soft blue and purple lights. Nieve was surrounded on all sides by a vast array of keyboards, effects and a theremin. The sounds that came from his station were the glue that held the songs together. The sounds were the dynamics that gave each selection that distinct Elvis Costello sound.
Costello performed beautifully, executing each song with energy and passion. However, the same kind of energy was not present in the audience. It was a very "stand-up, sit-down, stand-up" audience. The crowd was on their feet when Costello took to the stage. Then halfway through the first song people began to sit back down.
The audience only stood again to express approval for the song selection being played at any given time throughout the night. Some people stood and danced, convulsing as if they were "Soy Bomb" himself, but they mostly annoyed the people sitting behind them. It was clear that the majority of the audience just wanted to sit and watch the show as if it were a Broadway play.
And one would think that the $50 ticket price was pocket change for some as many audience members repeatedly squeezed past and annoyed seated fans in their section then squeezed back in with their beer, Twizzlers, or $3 coffee. And this went on all night. Whatever happened to the days where being at a rock concert was an event? The days where people wouldn't dare leave to go get a snack in fear that he or she would miss something.
Costello's set included such favorites a "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" and "I Hope You're Happy Now" as well as many songs off of When I Was Cruel, including "Soul For Hire" and "Tart." Costello closed his set with the song that got him banned from Saturday Night Live for over 10 years back in 1977, "Radio, Radio." Costello said "good night," thus beginning the all too common encore chants for him to come back.
And he did come back. In fact, he came back to perform three encores consisting of nine more songs, including the title track, "Dust," and "Alibi" off of When I Was Cruel, and the crowd favorite "Pump It Up." A bit self-in-dulgent, yes, he could have crammed it all into one encore.
But the encores did put the audience back on their feet, and this time, the majority of them stayed there throughout the rest of the night. However, with every walk off stage, Costello lost many audience members who were overheard saying, "let's go beat the traffic." Perhaps rock shows are no longer great events after all.
The third, and closing, encore included "Episode Of Blonde" off of When I Was Cruel, "Lipstick Vogue," and an amazing performance of "I Want You," in which the entire stage, and the players on it, disappeared into an eerie dark blue light. The only visible figure on the stage was Costello himself lit only by a bright yellow light shining up at him from the stage. The lighting effect on Costello was reminiscent of a young boy with a flashlight to his chin telling a scary story in the dark.
Upon exiting the theater, one overheard several disappointed audience members.
"He didn't play 'Veronica,'" one said.
"He didn't play 'Alison' either," another replied.
What people sometimes fail to understand about Costello (who has released and re-released over 30 albums since 1977), or any performer with a lengthy career, is how difficult it is to try and please everyone while at the same time not getting bored himself, playing the same songs he has for 25 years. Without some variation from show to show, Costello would become nothing more than a jukebox that people pump money into to hear his greatest hits.
"The Imposters and I build the show using different songs every evening. The sound of the hall, the mood of the day and the way my voice is feeling all have something to do with the choices," said Costello on ElvisCostello.com. "I frequently spend some little time writing the 'perfect' set only to tear it up after five minutes on stage..."
In Costello's seven-year hiatus, he collaborated with Burt Bacharach on Painted From Memory and Anne Sofie von Otter on For The Stars amongst many other varied and intriguing projects. But it soon came time for Costello to make another rock 'n' roll record.
The result is a classic sounding Elvis Costello CD. When I Was Cruel is a collection of songs that could sound comfortable in any modern time period. It could have been released today, in the '70s, '80s, or 2020s, the fact is that Costello makes music that is timeless, and he has done it once again.
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