Hero Ain't Nothing But a Singer-Songwriter
A few month ago, when this show was announced, I had my doubts. That night my wife, interrupted yet another of my dinnertime rants and said, “Maybe he’ll play more of his old songs if he’s going to use the spinning wheel.” We considered going to see Elvis Costello on his Revolver Tour after all, even bringing our boys. It might be the last, decent Costello show the world will ever see, we concluded, ominously, envisioning a similar future scenario a friend experienced a few years ago, when he took his son to see a battered Bob Dylan, the Shell of His Dylan, making no effort to engage his audience, playing barely recognizable versions of any songs people wanted to hear and a bunch of stuff off his last half dozen “comeback” albums, that is, albums that have had the good sense not to tone it down and not stomp out the remaining sparks that fly off an artist who once shone as bright as the sun.
Three songs into Thursday night’s Elvis Costello & The Imposters’ show at Philadelphia’s Tower Theater, with a setlist dictated, in large part, by the the Spinning Songbook I realized the joy and sense of satisfaction that I was feeling would carry me through whatever post-Nick Lowe–produced lowpoints the wheel might dictate. After storming out of the gates with a 4- or 5-song pub rock reaffirming segue that included “Hope You’re Happy Now,” Lowe’s “Heart of the City,” and “Radio Radio” he called his first audience member up to spin…”Human Hands”! The wheel was especially giving to fans of Get Happy!! and Imperial Bedroom, culminating in a 4-song “Time” set of “Clowntime Is Over” (slower, B-side version), “Strict Time” (!!!), “Man Out of Time,” and The Rolling Stones‘ “Out of Time.” The majestic “Man Out of Time” is a song that has ever-increasing personal relevance as the high heel that was a young me is ground down. Hearing it helped me put a lot of my emotion-packed day’s events in perspective. At this point in the set I knew that the initial burst of joy would not be exhausted.
