Costello applies speed, skill on tour through repertoire - Bronco Bowl 2002

BY THOR CHRISTENSEN, The Dallas Morning News, 10/07/2002

Elvis Costello was so wound up Saturday night at the Bronco Bowl Theater he sounded like a 33 rpm LP playing at 45.

Maybe he was trying to make up for lost time spent with mellow-pop guru Burt Bacharach. Or perhaps, at age 48, he's finally rediscovered his inner punk.

Whatever the reason, he devoted much of the marathon show to chasing the snarl, speed and rage of his early days. Jumping from the jack-rabbit new wave of "High Fidelity" and "Lipstick Vogue" to hyperspeed versions of "Pump It Up," "Beyond Belief" and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding," he spit out almost a dozen amphetamine rockers.

Elvis Costello proved himself by energetically revisiting all his styles of the past at the Bronco Bowl on Saturday night.
The singer got plenty of extra fire from keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas (of the Attractions fame) and bassist Davey Faragher (Cracker, John Hiatt). Although they're dubbed the Imposters, the band was the real deal – a spectacularly tight trio that made 20-year-old songs sound brand new.

Mr. Nieve was particularly impressive, stirring Tilt-a-Whirl keyboards into "Radio, Radio" and adding crazy carnival sounds to the new track "15 Petals." But Elvis was the undisputed ringmaster, working at the peak of his vocal powers – tortured and spasmodic one second, calm and soulful the next.

And as brilliant as he was pumping up rock songs to warp speed, he also did a fine job of covering every stylistic nook and cranny in his songbook during the 2 ½-hour concert (which included a whopping 80-minute, 15-song encore). He never dipped into the Bacharach material, but Elvis the Crooner did emerge during "Almost Blue," "Indoor Fireworks" – his haunting country ballad from King of America – and "Alison," which morphed beautifully into a tribute to the original Elvis on "Suspicious Minds."

Soul Brother Elvis also showed up. Before making a bluesy segue from "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" into Smokey Robinson's "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," first he recast "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" as a stunning Motown rave-up. And then there was Arty Elvis, playing minimalist jazz guitar at the end of "Watching the Detectives" and spinning scary trip-hop in "When I Was Cruel No. 2."

The latter was another new song from When I Was Cruel, which came out in April to glowing reviews but widespread public indifference. Onstage, Elvis called it the "record that escaped," and judging from the half-empty Bronco Bowl Theater, much of his fan base has also escaped lately.

That's what happens when you take a long vacation in easy- listening land. But his show proved it's never too late to get back to bare-knuckle basics.

Thanks to John Foyle