Elvis plays Kew The Music, London, July 2014

[terryhurley]

Jimmie standing.
Everyday I write the book

[bronxapostle]

awesome terry! thanks! you know, you can just keep editing your initial post here and VOILA! we have a live setlist thread.


awww shucks! but, now that we are on PAGE THREE here, you can just type it fresh and keep editing as the show goes. A+++

[terryhurley]

walking my baby back home#
She
Detectives (apparently sounds AMAZING)
shipbuilding

brothers on with him now

Olivers Army

My Brave Face ////////(WHATTTTTTT _ AWESOME?????)

and now some sisters (>>>) possibly not real sisters ( as V hot)



Good year for the roses
pads paws claws
love field
Alison
Long distance love
PLU


that's it

[bronxapostle]

gee, earliest JIMMIE ever???

EXCELLENT job..thank you Terry!

[Man out of Time]

Good to join so many forum members down the front in the "Mosh Pit" tonight. Full setlist now posted to the Wiki

01.(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
02. Accidents Will Happen
03. Green Shirt
04. Either Side Of The Same Town
05. Veronica
06. The Last Year Of My Youth
07. New Amsterdam/ You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
08. Jimmie Standing In The Rain
09. Everyday I Write The Book
10. Walkin' My Baby Back Home (played seated)
11. She
12. Watching The Detectives
Left stage (with effects pedal still playing the Detectives riff), then returned for
Encore
13. Shipbuilding - very dodgy sounding keyboards
14. Oliver's Army - with The MacManus Brothers
15. My Brave Face - with The MacManus Brothers (introduced as a song by the fifth MacManus brother - Paul)
16. Good Year For The Roses - with The MacManus Brothers and Larkin Poe
17. Pads, Paws And Claws - with Larkin Poe
18. Love Field - with Larkin Poe
19. Hoover Factory - with Larkin Poe (introduced as a song written on the 105 bus)
20. Alison - with Larkin Poe
21. Long Distance Love - with Larkin Poe
22. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding? - with The MacManus Brothers and Larkin Poe

MOOT

[The Gentleman]

Wow! "My Brave Face" is a huge return to the set.

[Neil.]

Great gig! 'Love Field' was the highlight for me. Such a great song! Pads Paws also great, and fab to hear My Brave Face (even though I'm not mad on the song) - I've never heard him do that before. And the new song, Last Year of My Youth, was great in an acoustic setting - better than the electric fuzz version on Letterman.

The atmosphere was great and the crowd seemed to love it. Alas, Shipbuilding didn't work tonight - keyboards should always be diagonal so that the singer doesn't looked blocked off from the audience - and Elvis was a bit 'Little Hands of Concrete', if truth be told! But he's a sodding genius, anyway, so I don't care!

[Azmuda]

Good Year For The Roses - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8GGa9BNPwE
Oliver's Army - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXrUOAOzxXg
New Amsterdam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df6dVxaxGoM

[Goon Squad]

All in all a very enjoyable gig. Considering I thought I had wrongly turned up to a Cliff Richard gig with all the fold up chairs, blankets and wine-coolers, the crowd did give a good reception and certainly in the "dancing area" there was a good atmosphere. Unfortunately there wasn't enough room for VG to "throw any shapes" but I'm sure there will be more room tonight at Bexhill !
It was good to see so many people from this forum there last night and to put some faces to pseudonyms !
Look forward to seeing more of you tonight ! Think it will be a cracker !

[Azmuda]

Watching the Detectives - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdkZhSb2qc8

Good Year For The Roses - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8GGa9BNPwE
Oliver's Army - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXrUOAOzxXg
New Amsterdam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df6dVxaxGoM

[verbal gymnastics]

It was a weird gig in some senses. Whilst we were in the mosh pit (on the front barrier) there were hoards (and I mean hoards) of people picnicking on the grass. We were pretty oblivious to what was happening behind us anyway so it didn't matter. However getting out of there was odd as it meant almost stepping through people who were still on their picnic blankets. Whilst walking through it was odd to see the bottles of wine, plates of meat and Scotch eggs etc being passed around by the least rock'n'roll audience you could ever imagine. Goon Squad was 7th in the queue but I don't think he would have had any difficulty overtaking most of the crowd to get a good spot. Indeed as Nicola76 and I walked down there was plenty of room at the front. There was a great turnout from the board and it was great to see Mr and Mrs Sheeptotheslaughter, johnfoyle, Neil., Nicola76, Goon Squad, MOOT as well as Ronnie Saetrum.

Larkin Poe were excellent and the affection Elvis has for them is clear. He introduced them as his sisters.

Their set went down well with the few of us at the front. I was pleased that Rebecca said "OK" to my request for Jesse from their fantastic new album, Kin.

I didn't see much of the MacManus Brothers but they both sang into the same mic which was very Beatlesque.

Elvis was really good except for a really awful keyboard sound on Shipbuilding. She was also sung whilst sitting down.

I'd like to pay special thanks to the drunk abusive woman who tried to elbow her way through to the front. She got nasty with me and, apart from waving her arms across my face, also told me to f*** off. I'd also like to thank her for elbowing me in the back. That was particularly classy.

[sweetest punch]

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/j ... ew-gardens

Elvis Costello review – pleasing blend of era-defining hits

Costello highlights his distinctive voice and songwriting prowess on nostalgic tour through his back catalogue

4 stars (out of five)

In 1969, a fledgling musician named Declan MacManus played his first gig at a folk club near his home in Twickenham. One name change and 45 years later, Elvis Costello is back in London, with the angry voice of new wave on genial form. "I'd like to thank the vicar for tea and pop," he says, looking out on a crowd of cuddling couples, excited tweens and discarded picnics. "It seems like it's a family occasion."

Costello spent his formative years in the capital and tonight, with only an array of acoustic guitars on stage for company, looks very much at ease: "This is both home and far away from home," the Vancouver Island resident muses. Despite his prolific, defiantly eclectic back catalogue, Costello wisely sticks to a festival-friendly blend of era-defining hits. He tears through Accidents Will Happen and Veronica, artfully layering his guitar to embolden the sparse sound, then wallows in his much-loved influences on two medleys. New Amsterdam melts perfectly into the Beatles' You've Got to Hide Your Love Away; Jimmie Standing in the Rain, from his 2010 album National Ransom, drips dolefully into the depression-hued bleakness of Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

The nostalgic mood continues with Walkin' My Baby Back Home. Costello peppers classics, including Watching the Detectives, She and Shipbuilding, with memories of his musical family, before introducing his stepbrothers, Ronan and Ruairi MacManus. Their fraternal harmonies blend soulfully on the still provocative Oliver's Army and My Brave Face, while Atlanta sister act Larkin Poe provide a country sweetness to Love Field and A Good Year for the Roses. Although Costello seems more than happy to share the spotlight, it never strays from his distinctive vocals and songwriting prowess.

A sudden flurry of fireworks threatens to overshadow (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, but it's the brotherly love onstage and affection from the charmed audience that illuminates Kew Gardens.

[FrankieJ]

So glad I managed to make my way through the hoard of middle class picnicers discussing their banal lives and get to the 'mosh pit' right up front. Only two people in front of me and both were short, so I had a very enjoyable time!

Highlights for me were: She, Good Year For The Roses, Pads Paws and Claws, New Amsterdam/You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and MY BRAVE FACE! What a great surprise. I've been wanting Paul McCartney to play this live for a long time and he never does. Very glad EC did it last night. Great song!

Such a shame EC couldn't have come on a smidge earlier to perform a longer show. I knew it was over with PLU and fireworks, but most of the crowd waited around to cheer for an encore and were disappointed he didn't come back on. Nevertheless, a great show! Closest I've been to the man!

I'd like to pay special thanks to the drunk abusive woman who tried to elbow her way through to the front. She got nasty with me and, apart from waving her arms across my face, also told me to f*** off. I'd also like to thank her for elbowing me in the back. That was particularly classy.

Was it a fat, rather tall, blonde lady who barged through to the middle front right before the show started? I think I noticed someone like that. I was roughly in the same area as you by the sounds of it.

[sweetest punch]

My Brave Face: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMuaOvER7xg

[MOJO]

middle class picnicers - interesting. Has potential as a band name. How does one picnic in the dark? headlamps?

[paysfortheprivilege]

What's so funny 'bout middle class picnickers...

[sheeptotheslaughter]

Great to see all of you.

Great show other than the sound on Shipbuilding. A varied set including a few songs I'd never heard him play before. I was surprised how big the crowd was. The way the gig was constantly advertised in the press I thought it would be half empty, Like the infamous Tower of London show a few years back.

If I can defend a couple of the picnickers, not all are just 'picnic wankers' as my cousin called them. We did know a few who are massive Elvis fans.

Former Sky Sports presenter Rob McCaffery was standing beside me and he had his glasses sellotaped a la Jack Duckworth.

I know we are all fans on here but I do believe Elvis should be held in higher regard here in the UK what a star he is.

[johnfoyle]

Funny blog account -

http://everyrecordtellsastory.com/2014/ ... rdens-gig/



Official Kew gallery

http://www.kew.org/discover/galleries/e ... ew-music-0

[Azmuda]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nigel-c ... 96819.html

Elvis Costello - Worth the Kew

Nigel Cannings
Entrepreneur and CTO of Intelligent Voice

Almost 30 years ago, I picked up a cassette that change my life. A photocopied yellow insert listed a whole load of unreleased, well call a spade a spade, bootlegged tracks. A singer songwriter I was already in awe of, but singing tracks a la Billy Bragg. Man and guitar and nothing else.

20 years later, the cassette long mangled and gone, the same tracks appeared as a "Bonus disc" on a CD I got for Xmas, and my love affair started again. Elvis Costello, one man and just a guitar, sounded better than any studio produced album I had ever heard.

Last night, courtesy of the annual middle class festival that is Kew the Music, Elvis was back on stage. I had bought the tickets partly because I go most years (Human League, Bjorn Again and Kid Creole all having featured), partly because I wanted my daughters to get more into Elvis Costello than they already are, but mainly because I saw him 20 years ago at the Albert Hall, having missed seeing him backing Bob Dylan in Brixton due to some dodgy tickets, and I really fancied seeing him again. I had missed the recent "Singing Songbook" Revolver tour, a wheel of fortune romp through his back catalogue, and could not turn up this chance.



Being a support act is a little like being Vice President of the United States: About as much use as a bucketful of warm spit (According to John Nance Garner, holder of the office between 1933 and 1941, at any rate). Frankly, no-one has come to see you, but mostly it's a good way of getting exposure, although I remember seeing Big Country backing The Jam in 1982: It's lucky the crowd weren't armed, as they may not have enjoyed their mildly successful later career.

The night kicked off with Larkin Poe, who are actually Elvis' long-time backing singers (two sisters from the Deep South (Atlanta, not Gipsy Hill)). Nice Southern sound. And that's about all I remember. Sometimes it would be great to get a set list as you walk in so you can tick off that one song you quite enjoyed but can't remember what it's called (if the PA even let you hear what was said) - Soundhound, not unsurprisingly, failed me.

Next up was a much more interesting proposition: the MacManus Brothers. Yes, DP MacManus is the name that Elvis went by before adopting his stage name, and we had on the same billing for the first time, three out of five of the brothers.

And how spooky it is that they sound like the man himself. There is no reason for genes to be that specific.

A few good tunes, and one great one, aimed at all of us how wanted to hit the big time in our twenties, but let life get in the way. "Stone in my Shoe" should be an anthem for about half of the people in the audience last night who ever picked up a guitar, the "stone" being that itch that never got properly scratched, a music career and Top of the Pops.

But on to the main event. EC himself.

Blow me away, but there is not band. No Attractions, no Imposters, no touring band. Just Elvis Costello, 6 guitars, and a keyboard.

Within minutes, I was transported back to the day I first heard that cassette, hit after hit stripped back to basics, and every one sounding better than the original.

"The Angels (Want to Wear my Red Shoes)", "Accidents Will Happen", "Green Shirt", and "Either Side of the Same Town", one after the other, keeping up my 100% record of knowing all of the songs. Then, from time to time, a little off-piste with a few more obscure numbers, but with a song book that is in the hundreds you can allow a bit of self-indulgence (or reviewer's ignorance)

One bum note, quite literally. "New Amsterdam" sounded like the brain was tuned differently to the guitar. A weird lapse in an otherwise great performance.

After about 45 minutes, he bounded off stage for a few seconds to return to sit down at the keyboard for just one song: "Shipbuilding", probably the one song of the night that could not have been done on the guitar. Elvis is no keyboard player, and so gave us just a handful of Hammond chords to carry to the tune, but it is testament to the true brilliance of the song that it just didn't matter. A true tear jerker.

But nothing compared to when the stage started to fill up, first with just the MacManus Brothers and then with Larkin Poe as well. Harmony layered on harmony: Guitar layered on guitar.

"What a Good Year for the Roses" is not one the greatest songs in his canon. A bit too steel guitar twangy for my liking. But to see all three brothers harmonising together, and then for Elvis to step out, and for it to still sound like him singing was one of the most moving musical moments I have ever witnessed. What a shame the brothers don't jam together a bit more often.

After a few heartfelt hugs, the two brothers stepped off stage, and the tempo upped a bit, helped along by Larkin Poe's mandolin and steel guitar.

And for the big close?

Like every Kew the Music, there is always (literal but not indoor) fireworks. A spectacular display, played out with "(What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding", a fittingly high-energy end to a fantastic concert.




A small note to the organisers: Pick a bigger spot. The concert venue has been moved around the gardens over the years, and last year there was actually enough room for most of the picnickers to get a spot and see the stage. This year, once you had crammed in the food stalls, the sponsors, the bar, the toilets and the (much hated) "VIP" area at the front of the stage (not a lot of moshing there), there was room for 4 picnic rugs and a hamper. With 300 acres to choose from, there has to be a better way!


The views expressed in this blog post are my own, and are not in any way connected with Intelligent Voice.

[verbal gymnastics]

I'd like to pay special thanks to the drunk abusive woman who tried to elbow her way through to the front. She got nasty with me and, apart from waving her arms across my face, also told me to f*** off. I'd also like to thank her for elbowing me in the back. That was particularly classy.

Was it a fat, rather tall, blonde lady who barged through to the middle front right before the show started? I think I noticed someone like that. I was roughly in the same area as you by the sounds of it.

No it wasn't - it was a dark haired woman who tried to barge through around the time of Detectives.

You can't buy class like this lady had....

[Offshoreram]

A link to some photos I took and posted on Facebook...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 1c70daef28

[johnfoyle]

A few of us visited St Elisabeth's church in Richmond before the nearby Kew show. The basement hall where Elvis did his first show of sorts in 1969 is now a coffee shop/occasional music venue. We pose in front of where the performance end used to be - it wasn't a raised stage. No one there knew about the Elvis association & were amused at our interest!























https://www.facebook.com/TBDRichmond

[mood swung]

VG, I was nowhere near. I pinky-promise. But did you not have an umbrella near at hand to smack her a good one? I am disappointed.

[verbal gymnastics]

No one there knew about the Elvis association & were amused at our interest!

[sulky lad]

The last photo looks like brad well boy and the other gentleman taking an inmate on a treat day out - say no more