http://listserv.surfnet.nl/scripts/wa.e ... net&P=7149
3 concerts in one week - the Eagles last Monday, Elvis Costello on
Saturday, Brian Wilson tonight.
Elvis Costello was brilliant! Amazing four piece band - drums, bass,
keyboards and Elvis on guitar. Only four of them, but what a powerful
sound - made me realise that it's the music and how it's played that
matters most.
It was an outdoor concert in the Barossa Valley, one of our premier wine
regions here in Australia. It was called A Day on the Green, with the
music starting about 4pm with 5 support acts, then Elvis and the
Impostors came on at about 8pm just as it was heading into dusk.
They played for over 2 hours, and over 30 songs. I'm told the reason he
was playing outdoor concerts was so there would be no "Elvis has left
the building" jokes at the end!
Anyway, I was wondering what to expect, given the variety of music he's
done in recent years but for the most part it was a really full-on hard
driving rock concert with lots of attitude. I wouldn't go so far as to
say it was "post punk" - for a start, it was too well played - but it
was just straight ahead, unpretentious good music.
Some highlights - Uncomplicated, which segued into I Want To Take You
Higher, epitomised the concert with its full force sound (I kept
thinking, these 4 guys are making louder music than the 12 piece Eagles
band!); Alison was beautiful and showed that you can be subtle as well
as strong, as did Good Year for the Roses; Monkey to Man, Accidents Will
Happen, I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down, What's So Funny About Peace
Love and Understanding were all powerhouses. Oliver's Army was well
received, as you'd expect, and for I've Got to Get You Into My Life he
conducted the audience in a singalong. Delivery Man and some other
tracks from the new album sounded great, so that might be one to buy.
Obviously there were lots more. At the end of Alison he segued into
Suspicious Minds, which I'm sure was a deliberate piece of irony - but
it did make wonder whether an Elvis tribute to Elvis might be his next
musical experiment!
The outdoor concert is always a bit of a mixed experience. This one is a
great day in a beautiful setting, but you have to take it as that and
not get too fussed about the fact people aren't always listening to the
concert, and there are other distractions. It was a pity though, in the
middle of the encores when the sound system started making a deafening
noise that had people holding their heads, putting their fingers in
their ears and then when it didn't stop soon, leaving. The band kept
playing and evidently couldn't hear it, because after a couple of songs
like this Elvis asked the audience what the matter was - he could see
people making funny faces and so on, but didn't know why. Thankfully
they fixed it, and he played about 5 more songs to close the show.
Overall a great concert!
Andrew in Adelaide
