|
New wave concerts attract the weirdest crowds. There are still those who refuse to acknowledge the musical term "new wave" as anything other than punk, and their attire supports their beliefs.
Punk apparel of every conceivable denomination was available if you were at Shea's in Buffalo last Thursday night. There were the observers, those who sported cropped hair and ties and casual Jackets. Then there were the bonafide true blue punks, wearing leather jackets and gloves, freaky glasses, chains, army outfits and even the odd safety pin through the ear. New wave certainly was the fashion as a near capacity crowd gathered to witness the Elvis Costello experience.
Costello and his band The Attractions were less than receptive to the collection of assembled kooks. Elvis played his set without so much a smile or even a grin. Apart from a quick "Good evn'in" and a "It's nice to be in Buffalo again," warmth eluded the sweaty musicians.
The concert wasn't entirely cold-headed. The opening act, Berserkley recording artists the Rubinoos, provided a millennium of good feeling with their carefree brand of rock 'n' roll. Made up of two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, the Rubinoos began poorly with a boring vocal arrangement in which a number of wild African bird calls offset the nice harmonies they sought to establish. Confusion spread through the audience and stayed through the next four numbers.
During an active version of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," however, everything changed. Suddenly the lead guitarist seemed vibrant, turning loose a number of fiery solos prancing around the stage like a maniac, and sharing some jokes with the crowd. He even took a few moments to chat with people isolated in the balcony, allowing them to feel right at home. And it worked. All apprehension thus contained about the Rubinoos totally disappeared.
Although their vocal harmonies were deadly, the Rubinoos capture the audience with their biggest weapon — fun. And that's truly what rock 'n' roll is supposed to be about. Expect to be hearing their name a lot more often in the future.
Elvis Costello, on the other hand remained his same old lovable, hateful self.
Spinning through most of the numbers from his latest Columbia album, Armed Forces, he refrained from exposing most of his inner feelings until he learned that firecrackers were being thrown by one pinhead in the audience. He then threatened to stop the show, and from then on his addresses to the crowd were divided between threats and name-calling.
Costello moved around the stage, often running with his knees bent together, while strumming his shoestring guitar, which looked hilarious. The organist was very active, jumping in every direction. The bassist seem paranoid, since he barely moved. The drummer was a huge skinny fellow who attacked the skins with a passion.
"Accidents Will Happen," "Senior Service," "Oliver's Army," "Green Shirt," "Party Girl," "Goon Squad," "Two Little Hitlers," "Big Boys" and "Peace, Love and Understanding" all filed through the speakers in a little less than an hour. Elvis also featured "The Beat" and "Radio, Radio" from This Year's Model, and a stunning version of "Watching The Detectives" which was the climax of the show.
The sound was fuzzy, and the words which Costello puts so much emphasis on in his compositions weren't comprehensible. The lighting was excellent, with colors beamed from even' imaginable angle on the stage.
It was amusing to watch Elvis Costello perform. and especially the man's tight-lipped attitude towards life. He is no more threatening than a candlestick, yet his lyrics containing wounding bites of anger against society. It's not constructive criticism: Elvis is against everyone except those few he has chosen to wrap himself around.
An entertaining evening, Festival East promises another musical night with the arrival of Roxy Music and Sad Cafe at Kleinhans', April 8.
| 
