Elvis Costello

1986-10-21 Elvis Costello and The Attractions

in ,

Broadway Theater

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This was my first of many great performances by Elvis.

This was the opening show of Elvis' 1986 run on Broadway. Previous to these shows, I had not heard of any rock bands playing shows in a true Broadway theatre (while the Beacon is on Broadway, it is not in the "theatre district"), and so this was truely a special event.

On the two nights I attended, he played with the original members of the Attractions, including Bruce Thomas on bass. This night was a regular show by the Attractions, while on other nights he did the Spinning Songbook show or played with the Confederates.

I was fortunate to have excellent Orchestra seats for N1.

News coverage of the Broadway run of shows.

News coverage of the Broadway run of shows.

 

1986-10-24 Elvis Costello and The Attractions (Spinning Songbook)

in ,

Broadway Theater

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This show took a different format than N1. Elvis would continue to do “Spinning Songbook” shows in later years; to my knowledge this was the first such show. There was a spinning “wheel of fortune” onstage with names of songs, and with some members of the audience having a chance to spin the wheel and/or dance with go-go dancer "Kitty" in a cage onstage. As Wayne Robbins mentions in the review below, the first line of “Accidents Will Happen” provided a perfect opening for this ‘Broadway’ show when the curtain opened. Looking back after seeing many later Costello shows, it was the only time I saw the Attractions in their original form, playing a regular set onstage.

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More news clippings from this run of shows.

More news clippings from this run of shows.

1999-06-25 Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve

in ,

Tower Theater

I had moved to the Philadelphia area only a few weeks before this show and quickly discovered that Philadelphia is a great place for concerts, with venues like the Tower and Electric Factory already familiar to me. I remembered how the Dead played at the Tower right around the time I first saw them at the Beacon in 1976, and was really excited to see my first show there.

At this "Elvis sighting", for the final song of the night, Elvis asked that all of the stage lights and the sound system be turned OFF completely. The Tower is a pretty large theatre, and Elvis invited everyone to come up close to the stage. Steve played an unamplified acoustic piano and Elvis leaned over at the edge of the stage and sang a touching song directly to the audience gathered below him, without a microphone.


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1999-10-22 Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve

in ,

Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Center

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After seeing Elvis and Steve at the Tower I grabbed at the chance to see them again, this time in Camden. I had excellent seats for this. Its a much bigger place than the others that Elvis might play; in any event on this night they only sold seats in the middle section of the Orchestra.

By this time I am happy to see Steve Nieve play keyboards with Elvis at any opportunity. I believe this was my first time at this venue, the name of which has changed over the years several times. It later became a favorite summer venue for me, with a trip there for Phish and many weekend excursions for DMB shows.

2016-11-07 Elvis Costello & The Imposters

in ,

Beacon Theater

The Beacon marquis and the moon above.

The Beacon marquis and the moon above.

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The Imperial Bedroom album was featured at this show, which is certainly not a bad thing. Actually something I always regretted not being able to see in the era the album came out. The one-and-only incredible Maurice Worm (also known as Steve Nieve) shines on all this material, as always.

Representing the songs were the large slides of artwork shown over the band, as seen below, some modified from familiar album cover shots.

Slideshow: Elvis Costello & The Imposters at the Beacon.

Photos: Elvis at the Beacon, each song represented by a different slide of artwork.