Elvis Costello & the Imposters with Emmylou Harris and Larry Campbell @ Wolf Trap, 7/31/05
(I'll add the setlist later if it shows up on this site, but it was pretty similiar to this show's setlist, except some of the first few songs were different or in a different order.)
Last week, I got a call from my friend/ex-roommate/ex-bandmate Mike, asking me if I wanted an Elvis Costello ticket. His dad had bought a few, but then the people he was going to take fell through, and since Mike knew I'm a big EC fan, they extended the offer to me, which was pretty nice of them. I wanted to see him when he came to the new Ram's Head in Baltimore a couple months ago, but by the time I decided I could afford a ticket, they were sold out. And the only other time I saw EC before, 3 years ago on the When I Was Cruel tour, was kind of a weird experience. I bought a ticket to see him in Philly, and then had car troubles a couple days before the show, and out of desperation asked for a ride on an EC newsgroup. I ended up hitching a ride with this weird bickering couple who was following Elvis around the country on tour. It was real nice of them but still an odd experience.
So anyway, on Sunday, me and Mike and his girlfriend and his dad went to see EC at the Wolf Trap, which is this gigantic wooden outdoor theater in northern Virginia that I'd never been to before. It's so rare that I see a show at a seated venue, it's an odd experience for me, but nice, and we had a good view. It was the last show of Elvis's summer tour with Emmylou Harris, playing both as part of the same set, singing each other's songs together.
The first 30-40 minutes of the show was just Elvis and the Imposters doing their usual rock show, starting with "Uncomplicated" and "Clown Strike", which was kind of a pleasant surprise since that's one of my favorites off Brutal Youth but not a real obvious one to play. Also good versions of "Chelsea" and "Clubland", which had an extended guitar solo that concluded with Elvis playing the melody of "I Feel Pretty" on guitar. "Country Darkness" might've been my favorite performance of the night, though, really subtle shifts of dynamics from loud to soft in the band. Then Larry Campbell came out and played slide guitar on "Waiting For The End Of The World", and after that Emmylou came out and accompanied the band for about an hour.
The part of the set with Emmylou was nice and laid back, some of her stuff, some covers, and some of Elvis's more countryish stuff from King of America and Almost Blue. Elvis also seemed to talk and tell stories a lot more than I think he usually does, which was nice, some funny anecdotes that I probably shouldn't bother trying to re-tell effectively. Steve Nieve is generally my favorite part of the band to watch, and even on the more subdued material he can be kind of animated, running around switching from one keyboard to another to accordian to melodica. The melodica in particular was a nice touch, especially playing that melody on "American Without Tears".
After an hour or so with Emmylou, she left the stage and Elvis and the Imposters played for a while longer, focusing heavily on The Delivery Man material. That album has kinda grown on me since last year, I didn't listen to it much when it came out, but it's pretty likeable. And those songs came across really well live, even ones I didn't like much on the album, like "Needle Time" and the title track. "Bedlam" is still my favorite off that album, though.
They came back out with Emmylou Harris for the encore, and the best surprise of the night was the cover of "Wild Horses", which was great, I love that song. Elvis laid it on the anti-war sentiment a bit thick, closing with "Peace, Love & Understanding" and "The Scarlet Tide", and got a lot of applause for it. By the end, the show ran at almost exactly 3 hours, with only the breif pause before the encore. Good show, although definitely a bit exhausting. Thanks again to Mike and his dad for inviting me.
(I'll add the setlist later if it shows up on this site, but it was pretty similiar to this show's setlist, except some of the first few songs were different or in a different order.)
Last week, I got a call from my friend/ex-roommate/ex-bandmate Mike, asking me if I wanted an Elvis Costello ticket. His dad had bought a few, but then the people he was going to take fell through, and since Mike knew I'm a big EC fan, they extended the offer to me, which was pretty nice of them. I wanted to see him when he came to the new Ram's Head in Baltimore a couple months ago, but by the time I decided I could afford a ticket, they were sold out. And the only other time I saw EC before, 3 years ago on the When I Was Cruel tour, was kind of a weird experience. I bought a ticket to see him in Philly, and then had car troubles a couple days before the show, and out of desperation asked for a ride on an EC newsgroup. I ended up hitching a ride with this weird bickering couple who was following Elvis around the country on tour. It was real nice of them but still an odd experience.
So anyway, on Sunday, me and Mike and his girlfriend and his dad went to see EC at the Wolf Trap, which is this gigantic wooden outdoor theater in northern Virginia that I'd never been to before. It's so rare that I see a show at a seated venue, it's an odd experience for me, but nice, and we had a good view. It was the last show of Elvis's summer tour with Emmylou Harris, playing both as part of the same set, singing each other's songs together.
The first 30-40 minutes of the show was just Elvis and the Imposters doing their usual rock show, starting with "Uncomplicated" and "Clown Strike", which was kind of a pleasant surprise since that's one of my favorites off Brutal Youth but not a real obvious one to play. Also good versions of "Chelsea" and "Clubland", which had an extended guitar solo that concluded with Elvis playing the melody of "I Feel Pretty" on guitar. "Country Darkness" might've been my favorite performance of the night, though, really subtle shifts of dynamics from loud to soft in the band. Then Larry Campbell came out and played slide guitar on "Waiting For The End Of The World", and after that Emmylou came out and accompanied the band for about an hour.
The part of the set with Emmylou was nice and laid back, some of her stuff, some covers, and some of Elvis's more countryish stuff from King of America and Almost Blue. Elvis also seemed to talk and tell stories a lot more than I think he usually does, which was nice, some funny anecdotes that I probably shouldn't bother trying to re-tell effectively. Steve Nieve is generally my favorite part of the band to watch, and even on the more subdued material he can be kind of animated, running around switching from one keyboard to another to accordian to melodica. The melodica in particular was a nice touch, especially playing that melody on "American Without Tears".
After an hour or so with Emmylou, she left the stage and Elvis and the Imposters played for a while longer, focusing heavily on The Delivery Man material. That album has kinda grown on me since last year, I didn't listen to it much when it came out, but it's pretty likeable. And those songs came across really well live, even ones I didn't like much on the album, like "Needle Time" and the title track. "Bedlam" is still my favorite off that album, though.
They came back out with Emmylou Harris for the encore, and the best surprise of the night was the cover of "Wild Horses", which was great, I love that song. Elvis laid it on the anti-war sentiment a bit thick, closing with "Peace, Love & Understanding" and "The Scarlet Tide", and got a lot of applause for it. By the end, the show ran at almost exactly 3 hours, with only the breif pause before the encore. Good show, although definitely a bit exhausting. Thanks again to Mike and his dad for inviting me.
Labels: concerts, Elvis Costello
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on Friday, August 05, 2005 at 9:03 PM.
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