Elvis Costello

Old people can make good music, too!  Elvis Costello and the Imposters played a free midnight show at the El Rey after two straight nights of shows at the Hollywood Bowl opening up for The Police. While slightly strained voices betrayed their chaotic schedule, the show was altogether awesome.Four receding hairlines bopped to the beat of their own incredible musicianship: Pete Thomas rocked on drums, got groovy and hollered along with Elvis at the top of his lungs; Davey Faragher held it down with steady melodic bass lines and decorated the higher end with some sweet backup vocals; Steve Nieve’s Wurli/keyboard combo quaked beneath his hands as he manipulated a swath of pedals to create some very strange sounds, pausing a moment to execute a masterful theremin solo; and, of course, there was Elvis. Boy, can he ever croon!  He owned the room, prompting claps and coaxing woo-hoos. The show started with some classics—my favorite was “Everyday I Write the Book,” which riled the audience into a lyrical call-and-response.  The second hour featured several songs off the new album, Momofuku. “Flutter and Wow” got me right in the belly (“You make the motor in me flutter and wow…”) and “Pardon Me, Madam, My Name is Eve” is a dusty ol’ jewel he co-wrote with Loretta Lynn. Just before 2, the crowd cheered the band into an epic encore which featured several guest starts: Jonathan Rice and Jonathan Wilson (on a 12-string Rick!) and Father Dave on pedal steel.  The best guest was Pete Thomas’ daughter, Tennessee, who came out to play drums alongside her dad.  They smiled at each other, sang along and laughed when she seemed a bit lost as he yelled out instructions. All age jokes aside, Elvis Costello and The Imposters played an incredible show in the middle of the night after two huge gigs in a row—they put y’all young’ns to shame!