CostelloNews.com: Costello and Nieve score political points in song

The Chicago Sun-Times reports -

Excerpt - For trenchant political commentary, the nets should kick out insipid blowhards like Hannity & Colmes and install British pop-music iconoclast Elvis Costello instead in the pundit's seat.

Witness his withering take on the Bush administration, delivered between the verses of "God's Comic," in concert Tuesday at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, where he performed an alternately searing and tender semi-acoustic set, accompanied by longtime collaborator Steve Nieve. Riffing on the current U.S. political situation as ably as he riffed on guitar, Costello conjured images of veep Cheney partaking at "an all-you-can-eat buffet. Let's hope that he doesn't eat too much and die from a heart attack, because then there'll be nobody running the place. But first, though, he's got to get his hand out of the a-- of his Texan hand puppet."

Advantage, Mr. Costello! Moments like these proved that his recent marriage to Canadian jazz goddess Diana Krall hasn't tempered his satirical sting. When his latest disc, "North," which attempts to reinvent pop music as lieder, came out last fall, the Elvis faithful feared that he might be lost to the rock world, perhaps in part due to Krall's influence.

After artfully negotiating the stylistic signposts of the Costello songbook, the Elvis & Steve Show closed with "[What's So Funny] 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding," freeing the Nick Lowe standard from the faux irony of Bill Murray's tortured sendup in "Lost in Translation."

Then they settled in for four sets of encores, which ran longer than the actual show itself, for a total of 2-1/2 hours of pure, unadulterated Elvis. Sprinkling a little "Sgt. Pepper"-style sugar on his fans, Costello joked, "You're such a lovely audience, we'd love to take you home with us." He also thanked the crowd for "your kind attention to the songs from 'North.'"

Costello and Nieve score political points in song

March 18, 2004

BY LAURA EMERICK Staff Reporter

For trenchant political commentary, the nets should kick out insipid blowhards like Hannity & Colmes and install British pop-music iconoclast Elvis Costello instead in the pundit's seat.

Mixing up selections from "North" with quirky choices from his vast catalog (such as "Home Truth" and "Motel Matches"), Costello (often on guitar) underscored the classical structure of his body of work. By emphasizing the common threads running through his ouevre, he reminded us that "North" is not an aberration but an organic piece in his intricately woven artistic tapestry.

As an added benefit, the stripped-down treatment brought the emotional truth of songs such as "You Left Me in the Dark" to the fore. On "North," it sounds like a dirge; live, he reanimated it with genuine pain and passion.

Once again, Nieve proved the ready foil throughout, whether at the piano, on synthesizer or the melodica (a sort of combo keyboard-harmonica). At every turn, he demonstrated his extreme versatility, ranging from baroque filigree to Jerry Lee Lewis-style stomp in the course of one song, as he did on "Talking in the Dark."

With that, the duo went off to the races, thundering out "Alibi," "Suit of Lights" and "All the Rage" and then switching tempos for a gentle "Still" (another "North" song, on which Costello proved himself a master of phrasing and shading).

Mostly avoiding his "hits" (amen for skipping tired faves like "Alison") even during the encores, Costello previewed songs from his next disc, which appears to have an Elton John "Honky Cat" kind of vibe (don't shoot me, I'm only referring to the piano player).

He then accompanied himself on ukulele for a poignant version of the Oscar-nominated "Scarlet Tide" from "Cold Mountain" ("What are you cheering for? It didn't f------ win.") and finally closed with James Carr's soul classic "Dark End of the Street."

It was the kind of Election Day surprise that delighted all parties.