Elvis (solo), Napa (CA), April 8, 2010

[sweetest punch]

(Thanks to Nick from listserv)
http://nvoh.org/index.php/component/content/article/438

Elvis Costello Solo
Thursday, April 8, 8pm
$120 / $135

The Napa Valley Opera House is pleased to present an evening with Elvis Costello solo. In one of the most intimate stops on his Spring 2010 tour, Costello will songs from his vast 30-year musical career.

Public sales: January 18, 10am
Prelude-member sales: January 11, 10am
(become a member today and order your tickets
before they go on sale to the public)

[ramalama]

Best seats in San Diego-$63
Worst seats in Napa-$120
I don't get it.

[sweetest punch]

Best seats in San Diego-$63
Worst seats in Napa-$120
I don't get it.

The Nappa Valley Opera House has about 400 seats. The Balbao Theatre has 1399 seats.

[johnfoyle]

Hic!

http://events.sfgate.com/napa-ca/events ... room-wines

[johnfoyle]

Anyone here going ?

[johnfoyle]

Preview -

http://www.thereporter.com/entertainment/ci_14806964

[johnfoyle]

From listserv-

Jumping Jehosophat! That was practically Australian! "Slow Drag on
Josephine" performed off mic, sitting at the edge of the stage,
skiddle daddle doo! More later!

And now, for your listening and viewing pleasure, one of the pre-show
tunes. It was so completely strange that I wrote down some of the
lyrics so I could g**gle it when I got home, and there it was, thank
you Internets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdKDYrUHqms

Goodnight,
Jean

[the_venus_line]

almost complete setlist, not in order:

45
Either Side of the Same Town
Veronica
Down Among the Wine & Spirits
Bedlam
Brilliant Mistake
Jimmie Standing in the Rain
The Spell That You Cast
Every Day I Write the Book
Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said
God's Comic
Watching the Detectives
Slow Drag on Josephine
Red Shoes
Alison
Sulphur to Sugarcane
Man Out of Time

I may be forgetting a song or two, but I don't think so. The entire show was under 90 minutes. Aside from an Imposters show in Reno a few years back, it had to be the shortest set I'd seen from Elvis in over 25 years. It was a shock to many when the house lights came up after Man Out of Time. We were told by the ushers when we came in that it would be a two hour performance straight through, with no intermission. By Costello standards, it was an oddly brief show, only compounded by this information given to us upon entering. That said, he was in superb voice and I'm sure my quibbles with song selection may be a bit too personal. It was a fine show, it just seemed kind of tentative and ended way too soon.

[johnfoyle]

From listserv-

Here's the setlist as written but not adhered too completely. I'll leave you guys to figure it out.

45
Either Side of the Same Town
Veronica
Down Among the Wines and Spirits
Brilliant Mistake
Bullets For the New-Born King
Indoor Fireworks
The River in Reverse
So Like Candy/Misunderstood
Motel Matches
Stations of the Cross
Everyday I Write the Book
Bedlam
Jimmie Standing in the Rain
Slow Drag with Josephine
High Fidelity
Watching the Detectives
Radio Sweetheart
God's Comic
Alison/In Another Room

Sulpher to Sugarcane
Red Shoes

All or Nothing at All
Almost Blue

The Spell That You Cast
One Bell Ringing

Peace, Love & Understanding
I Want You
My Three Sons/Man Out Time

[fierygirl]

Just curious . . . was there an opening act? If so, who?

[johnfoyle]

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/image ... c7aa7.html


Elvis Costello at the Napa Valley Opera House. Photo by Robb McDonough

[waterloosunset94]

Here's how I remember it, though one song on the list -- The Spell That You Cast -- I don't remember if he sang it or not. He did sing a number of new songs, just not sure if one of them is The Spell That You Cast.
The director of the place introduced him and announced it would be 90 minutes, no intermission.
There was no opening act.
He started a couple of minutes past 8; finished a few minutes before 10.
He was in a great mood, funny chatter etc
Highlight among many was whistling a verse of Slow Drag with Josephine, sitting on the edge of the stage.

45
Either Side of the Same Town
Veronica
Down Among the Wines and Spirits
Brilliant Mistake
Bullets For the New-Born King
The River in Reverse
Motel Matches
Stations of the Cross
Everyday I Write the Book
Bedlam
Jimmie Standing in the Rain
Slow Drag with Josephine
Watching the Detectives
Radio Sweetheart
God's Comic
Alison

(encore)
Sulpher to Sugarcane
All or Nothing at All
The Spell That You Cast
One Bell Ringing
I Want You

[Jeremy Dylan]

Sounds like a wonderful set.

Although....

Am I the only one who thinks Alison should be retired?

[migdd]

Love Alison.

He can definitely retire Radio Radio and Pump It Up, though. And Watching the Detectives, too, for that matter.

[johnfoyle]

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/enter ... 03286.html

Elvis Costello at the Opera House


By JENNIFER HUFFMAN

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

With a show that started with a standing ovation before the first song even began, it’s safe to say Elvis Costello had his audience wrapped around the neck of his multiple guitars.

Playing to a sold-out crowd last Thursday night at the Napa Valley Opera House, Costello wowed his fans with diverse arrangements of both old favorites and new offerings. Costello, playing solo with only his guitars for company, opened the show with “45” from his “When I Was Cruel,” album.

The musician moved deftly between all eras of his diverse career, covering some of his older songs while adding newer tunes from his new album “Secret, Profane and Sugarcane,” among others.

Costello fans that grew up with his music in the ’80s might have been surprised at his new versions of old classics such as “Radio Sweetheart” and “Veronica” but that didn’t stop them from giving the performer a standing ovation after virtually every song.

He’s certainly earned the adulation. Costello’s career has run the gamut from ’70s punk to creating music for opera. Along the way he’s worked with talents including George Jones, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett and most recently, T-Bone Burnett.

“I’m going to play a song for you I hate,” Costello joked at one point on Thursday night. “I really can’t stand it. But now I like it again,” he said, launching into the favorite “Every Day I Write the Book.”

At different points in the two-hour set, Costello alternated between singing in falsetto, whistling and even sitting on the steps of the Opera House stage and singing without any microphone at all. The audience willingly joined in for favorites including “God’s Comic” from the 1989 album “Spike.” Later the musician turned his classic “Alison” into a wistful ballad and “Watching the Detectives” into an eerie, almost psychedelic version.

The night with Elvis ended with a four-song encore including “From Sulfur to Sugarcane,” “The Spell You Cast” and a haunting rendition of “I Want You.”

Judging from a final standing ovation, Costello fans want more of the singer too.

[Jeremy Dylan]

Love Alison.

He can definitely retire Radio Radio and Pump It Up, though. And Watching the Detectives, too, for that matter.

I love all of those songs, but I think Alison has got to the point where it feels like a perfunctory part of the show, like Crowded House doing Don't Dream It's Over. He still plays and sings it well, but it's not exciting live anymore, whereas I think the others are. Maybe if he did a radical rearrangement like he's done with Detectives and some of the others over the years. Even the Sugarcanes version of Alison sounds pretty much the same as all the other versions.

Pump It Up I think he should keep playing, but preferably at the proper tempo, so he doesn't have to rush through the lyrics.