'W“I'm walking where Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, Frank Carson and Ken Dodd did,” Elvis Costello cried in Leeds' famous, now restored 19th-century music hall, touching on the venue's more comedic traditions between songs. There's the difficulty of describing Blackpool to Americans; there's the story of how, having pantomimed on Top of the Pops, “the BBC didn't know my voice until Live Aid, and then they never let me perform again.” There's also a cheeky tale about how his father, the late singer Ross McManus, “got to the age where men lose all manners” and revealed to a friend that he learned Spanish in bed. “That's all well and good,” Costello chuckles. “But my mother never spoke a word of Spanish.” There's plenty of laughs, but the esteemed singer-songwriter has no plans to quit his day job. Here he plays 15 songs from his five-decade saga. It's an astounding performance of 60 songs in total across four sets over two nights.
With longtime Attractions sidekick Steve Nieve alternating between exquisite piano, keyboards, melodica and electric accordion, and Costello playing a variety of guitars from expensive to cheap, the setlist ranges from 1977 (Mystery Dance performed as a slow blues) to 2024 (the theme song to the upcoming musical Mystery Dance). Faces in the crowd“Country Darkness” has gotten more of a reaction than any of his other songs. Costello just turned 70, and when someone yells out, “Happy Birthday, Elvis!” he jokes, “Don't remind me.” His voice starts to tremble at times, which gives the sublime “Country Darkness,” from the 2004 film “Delivery Man,” more melancholy and vulnerable.
Another hit could conceivably have been had, but “Almost Blue” and “Man Out of Time” are wonderfully intimate and sensitive. Costello picks up an electric guitar and shares a verse with Neve on the timeless “(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” and the crowd erupts for the chorus of “A Good Year for the Roses.” “Until next time,” he shouts, raises his hat and leaves the stage. And, of course, we hear Ken Dodd singing “Happiness.”
