Back in Dublin my tired head is dealing with jumbled impressions of two evenings of Elvis Costello. It was , as always, great to see him, see how he cast his spell over a crowd and sent them away happy. Similarly it was good to engage with the wider community of Costello fans , hear all their news and get to spend some time in the country side , walking , with Sulky Boy , the banks of the Garavogue river - photos here -
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... a8fa55c8f2
Elvis was, on the whole, in good voice. The croakiness was still there , never getting as cleared up as it did in Belfast the day before. It was good to hear fresh takes on some songs and heartfelt renditions of some of the , to these ears, hackneyed ones. Which brings me to my one reservation about the two shows - the lack of new materiel. Elvis has, of course , been upfront with us about his personal situation that makes him not inclined to write new materiel. It would, however, be inaccurate of me to say that I'm totally accepting of the lack of same. Elvis' shows have always been a pleasing mix of material for the the general music fan and something new for those of us more immersed in his work. The lack of the latter is , therefore, notable. Harsh as it is to state it, I like to flatter myself that I'm sufficiently familiar with Elvis' mind set that he would appreciate as specific a stating of that opinion.
Getting Elvis' autograph was a happy chance. I had established the possible stage door before the show . Sulky and I came out of the show and were waiting to be joined by others to go and stake it out. In the confusion of a large, enthusiastic crowd it was hard to find them. Sulky and I decided to go ahead and, literally as we came to it, Elvis and one other man came out. Dark clothes, dark-tinted spectacles, hat on head, he saw us with setlists in hand and came over. 'It's fucking freezing' he says. It wasn't really but then we hadn't been sweating buckets under stage lights. As he scribbled I gabbled something about ' the soft Irish weather' . 'No, it's not !' he corrected me. Sulky started joking about some crazy Daily Mail theory about the weather which seemed to puzzle Elvis...he wasn't alone! And then Elvis was being lead of by the man , I shouted 'good luck with the tour ' , he half turned saying ' Yeah!' and was gone.
Since I posted this photo on Facebook last night -
- some confusion has been caused. I had the
Belfast setlist and
Sligo setlist with me, hoping to get both signed. Hurried , however, as things were I only got the Belfast one done. Hence the assumption that Last Boat Leaving was done in Sligo etc., like it was in Belfast.
Here is the Sligo setlist, taken by me from the ground beneath the Wurlitzer organ-
Now, to the setlist. Yet again , I decipher it from my notes. The bad news is that , though it was definitely performed, I have not noted when
Everyday I Write The Book was performed. I'm resolved to accepting the thrashing that doubtlessly I will incur over the matter from Verbal but take heart in the hope that Sulky's recording will , eventually, clarify the matter. For the moment I've slotted it in where the setlist placed it.
01. Oliver's Army ( acoustic)
02. Either Side Of The Same Town ( acoustic)
03. Veronica ( acoustic)
04. Good Year For The Roses ( acoustic)
05. Bullets For The New-Born King ( acoustic)
06. New Amsterdam / You've Got To Hide Your Love Away ( acoustic)
07. Everyday I Write The Book ( acoustic)
08. Bedlam ( acoustic)
09. All Or Nothing At All( acoustic, seated)
10. Beyond Belief ( acoustic, seated)
11. She (acoustic, seated)
12. Watching The Detectives ( backing track intro., electric)
13. Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said ( acoustic)
14. Gods Comic ( acoustic)
15. Alison ( acoustic)
Encore 1
16. A Slow Drag With Josephine ( acoustic)
17. Jimmie Standing In The Rain ( acoustic)
18. Don't Bother Me / It Don't Bother Me ( acoustic, seated )
19. Green Shirt( backing track intro., Wurlitzer)
Encore 2
20. I Hope ( acoustic)
21. National Ransom No 5 (backing track intro., Wurlitzer, klaxon)
22. Shipbuilding ( Wurlitzer)
23. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? ( acoustic)
24. All These Strangers ( acoustic)
25. Pump It Up ( acoustic)
Some photos -
....................and , to wrap things up for the moment, here's one of the more quaint features in our b 'n b !
![Image](http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/391257_10150347772847957_655322956_8241399_357409845_n.jpg)