Concert review: Elvis Costello (September 2)

by Mike Orren

GRAPEVINE — Elvis Costello brought his "Sulfur, Profane and Sugarcane" tour to North Texas, featuring country-tinged originals and reworkings of some of his classic songs.

It was tragic, really, that so few people turned out for this remarkable show. The top level at Nokia was empty, and the wings of the floor were blocked off to create an intimate, livingroom setting for the couple thousand enthusiasts who showed up.

Strangely, I must be the fairway of the demographic for such a show, as I seemed to know everyone in attendance, from local media folk to, well, local media folk. Elvis must have a very distinct demographic.

The crack band was made up of Nashville session players and country luminaries like Jerry Douglas and Jim Lauderdale. They worked their way through two hours-plus of standards, reworkings of Costello classics and new songs.

Given such a generous set, it is hard to feel shortchanged, but it was the shortest of the tour so far, by an hour. However, always the master editor, Costello only cut the more subdued of his new songs, favoring covers like "Mystery Train" and "Friend of the Devil," alongside original reworkings of classics like "Allison," "Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes," and "Mystery Dance."

The overall theme for the night was classic Americana, featuring dobro, fiddle, upright bass, steel guitar, and accordion.

Costello managed to bust out a couple of all-new songs, but stuck closer to his standards. Despite the stripped-down ethos, perhaps the best numbers were those, like "The Delivery Man," where he plugged in.

That said, the show had he vibe of a living room concert -- if that living room was in a palace. It featured a master at the peak of his powers, backed by a superlative band.

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