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Was it me, or was the mighty Elvis Costello feeling just a little bit jaded at his recent gig at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall?
The venue was packed enough for this leg of his world tour, but somehow things just never took off the way they should.
Perusing the crowd, the reason was perhaps something to do with the concentration of first generation fans who turned up.
A glance at the zimmer frames suggested that some of them must have bought their ticket out of their pension money.
But apart from the fact that a few solo shoulder sways were the closest the audience got to a crescendo, old Elvis battered out the goodies solidly enough. And applause was certainly aplenty — he was appreciated.
Despite Elvis referring to the poor condition of his voice (which didn't seem to pan out really) the quality of belting oldies like "Oliver's Army" and "Shipbuilding" ensured success.
Strength in depth is Elvis's trademark and each song on the set, right through to a selection from his latest Brutal Youth album, was a worthy contribution.
Intelligent and tender songwriting may not really lend itself to raucous stage antics, but Elvis, plus the good old Attractions, seem to have succumbed to nature, happy to dwell under their personal stage spotlights while they modestly shook their thangs.
Nonetheless, as expected, the gig was well worth checking out, as you're never going to go far wrong musically with top-notchers like these.
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