I don't think I've ever not enjoyed seeing Elvis Costello, and seeing him in Liverpool always makes for a special night. Last night was no exception.The Revolver Tour involves a giant wheel with songs, jackpots and jokers listed on there. (The jackpots lead to a run of about three songs on the given theme and the jokers mean the spinner gets to pick anything on the wheel.) Audience members come on stage, spin the wheel and then remain on stage, either sat at a lounge bar or dancing in the go-go cage, for the duration of their songs. It's a great format. Everyone feels involved and there's a party atmosphere for the whole night.
The idea is that large chunks of the set list is left to random chance, but there's a heck of a lot of cheating going on, still as the man himself said "If you can't cheat in Liverpool, where can you cheat?"
A liberal smattering of hits and old favourites are usually required to keep an audience happy, and the show delivered not only these but a few other delights too.
Highlights then -
- First and foremost, if there's a theremin on stage, I'm a happy girl!
- Any song that ended with a strong vocal delivered without the aid of a microphone. This venue is amazing for sound and Elvis utilised this to great effect throughout the night.
- Girl's Talk in the middle of the "Girl" jackpot spin
- Watching the Detectives ending with Elvis walking through the audience, out the back of the hall and ending up on the balcony amongst the audience up there singing Almost Blue.- Tramp The Dirt Down (for personal reasons this made me a little over emotional, but this is not the time or place for the whys and wherefores of that.)
- The powerful finale of Pump It Up and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love And Understanding with the audience on their feet and dancing away.
I came away feeling elated and joyful, and that I had had a bloody good time. What more can you ask for?
Set list and other information here. (Elvis Costello Wiki page)
My photos from the show on flickr.
No comments:
Post a Comment