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Costello's Traveling Carnival
23 JUN 09 DAVID VIENNA
Elvis Costello played an in-store at Hollywood's famous Amoeba Records last night (video), romping through many songs from his Hear Music debut Secret, Profane And Sugarcane. Amazingly, he played another in-store at the Amoeba in San Francisco earlier that day. Both gigs featured substantial sets full of shifty characters and cheap temptation.
Costello performed with minimal accompaniment -- bluegrass powerhouses Jim Lauderdale on acoustic guitar and Mike Compton on mandolin -- which lent itself perfectly to the sound he and producer T Bone Burnett created on Sugarcane. Aside from rousing versions of cuts from the album such as "Down Among The Wine And Spirits," "My All Time Doll" and "Sulphur To Sugarcane," Costello threw in a few surprises like a reworking of his own "Blame It On Cain," The Grateful Dead's "A Friend Of The Devil" and a sort of medley that blended one of his tracks with Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away."
During the set, Costello quipped jovially with the crowd and gave the occasional tip of his hat. He's always been a showman but, with these songs conjuring up images of southern scoundrels and backwoods piano bars, he seemed even more like a carnival barker urging you to step into the funhouse, reeking of tobacco smoke and cheap booze. With a wry smile, he offers a world of shady possibilities.
He's got a handful of gigs coming up in August. See all that can be yours. All you have to do is step through his door.
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Sulphur to Sugarcane
Elvis Costello, from Secret, Profane and ...
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They Didn't Believe Me
Elvis Costello, from Marian McPartland's ...
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Not Fade Away
James Taylor, from Covers
in this playlist.
