Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

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sweetest punch
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Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by sweetest punch »

http://www.winnipegfolkfestival.ca/wp/2 ... -building/

Elvis Is In The Building

Elvis is alive and he’s in the building. Well, make that the field.

British music legend Elvis Costello, joined by his band The Imposters, will make his Winnipeg Folk Festival debut Wednesday, July 8, kicking off an expanded five-day festival at Birds Hill Park. It will be Costello’s first Winnipeg appearance since 1978 when he performed at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre.

“Elvis Costello has made substantial contributions to the music world and continues to pump out vibrant, relevant and cutting-edge music,” says Artistic Director Chris Frayer. “He’s not resting on his laurels. He’s never stopped making music: even now, he has four bands on the go and is hosting a new television show. He’s working just as hard as ever.”
Last edited by sweetest punch on Wed May 13, 2009 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
woz
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 10 July 2009

Post by woz »

I checked out the link and I believe the correct date for Winnipeg is July 8, 2009. I got concerned as I saw that he will be in Rancho Mirrage, CA on the 10th of July and was afraid he was going to blow off his desert date.

Cheers.
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by sweetest punch »

Thanks for the correction.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

Anyone here going?
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

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johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/entert ... 17582.html



Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

REVIEW: Costello gives folk fest 3 decades of musical mojo

By: Rob Williams

8/07/2009



BIRDS HILL PARK — Elvis Costello’s aim is still true, and tonight he shot three decades worth of musical mojo towards the crowd at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

The iconic British singer-songwriter and his band the Imposters headlined the first night of the 36th annual mini-Woodstock, an expanded five-day affair that began a day earlier than usual.

Attendance figures weren’t available tonight, but Costello’s appearance drew several thousand music fans to the park, ranging from families to neo-bohemians to grizzled veterans who filled hundreds of blue and orange tarps in front of the mainstage.

"It’s fantastic, the people are out and everyone’s having a wonderful time," said executive director Tamara Kater, surveying the site during her first festival as head of the event. "There’s phenomenal music, the audience, the volunteers and the audience are happy. Everyone’s smiling and that’s what we want."

Costello sure put a lot of grins on the faces of the crowd, many who have been waiting since the late 1970s for the legend to return to the city.

Taking the stage wearing his signature Fender Jazzmaster, Costello and his three-piece band the Imposters gave the audience what they wanted early, starting with a loose version of Accidents Will Happen and following it up with Mystery Dance, two classics from his New Wave period.

From there he remained in the past, with the wonderfully noisy I Don’t Want to go to Chelsea, and the bouncy You Belong to Me kicking off one of the most rocking sets Birds Hill Park has ever seen.

He stuck in the mid and early 1980s, and switched to a Telecaster, with I Hope You’re Happy Now and Man out of Time. The Imposters acted as the perfect foil for Costello, coming across as a rowdy kick-ass bar band who made their presence felt, but never overshadowed their leader.

After the rollicking opening, Costello strapped on an acoustic and slowed things down with Motel Matches and Complicated Shadows, the later off his new roots album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane.

"You want to hear a new song? This isn’t on a record yet — you have to come out here to this beautiful location in Winnipeg," he said before Condemned Man, a slow burning tale of a man at the end of his life.

The new led to the old as he pulled out Blame it on Cain off his 1977 debut My Aim is True.

He urged the crowd to sing along to Radio Sweetheart.
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migdd
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by migdd »

So his aim is still true, then? Who would've thought.
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainmen ... 1-sun.html

King Elvis rules at first night of Folk Fest

By DARRYL STERDAN


9th July 2009


Elvis Costello & The Imposters

Wednesday, July 8

Winnipeg Folk Festival, Birds Hill Park

With Martha Wainwright, Lovell Sisters, Bahamas, Amelia Curran

Sun Rating: 4.5 out of 5

If you missed Elvis Costello's last visit to Winnipeg, it's probably not your fault. After all, it was more than 30 years ago, and he was just a snotty young upstart on his first North American tour.

But if you missed Costello's visit to the Winnipeg Folk Festival this week, you have only yourself to blame. And you might as well start kicking yourself now — because you passed on a real winner.

Capping the festival's inaugural Wednesday night installment, the 54-year-old musical legend put on a richly varied, career-spanning show that will surely rank as one of the musical highlights of this year's event — if not one of the most exciting and historic local concerts of 2009.

Along with his band The Imposters — featuring longtime drummer Pete Thomas and MVP keyboardist Steve Nieve, plus more recent recruit Davey Faragher on bass — Costello turned in a 105-minute set that balanced classic hits, deep album tracks and fare from his new Secret, Profane and Sugarcane CD, along with a few surprises.

Taking the stage at 9:15 p.m. in his usual black suit (over a white-on-black polka dot shirt), Elvis hit the ground running, cranking out a handful of early hits in rapid succession. First up was Accidents Will Happen, followed by the bashing Mystery Dance, the twangy (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea, a bouncy You Belong to Me and a jaunty version of I Hope You're Happy Now. Before the concert, his set list was the subject of much speculation. But any concerns that he might eschew old faves and concentrate on new material were quickly and decisively alleviated.

But this wasn't just Elvis's Old New Wave Hit Parade, either. After a relaxed take on Imperial Bedroom's Man Out of Time, he traded his Telecaster for an acoustic guitar, and promptly took the show in a rootsier direction more in keeping with its outdoor folk festival setting (and with bassist Faragher's matching white outfit and cowboy hat). Get Happy!'s Motel Matches became a country number, complete with honky-tonk piano from Nieve. King of America's Suit of Lights got a similarly rootsy treatment, along with a dedication to Costello's dad. Blame it On Cain became a lazy folk-rocker. Even Radio Sweetheart — "the first song I ever recorded; that was before you were born," Costello cracked to the kids down front — was transformed into dark, brisk rockabilly (and gene spliced to Van Morrison's Jackie Wilson Said).

He could have stopped there, and no one would have left disappointed. But he was just getting started. For his next trick, Costello — who spent the last couple of days rehearsing in Winnipeg — brought up his hand-picked opening act the Lovell Sisters to join in on six songs. "You're only hearing this band here," he said. "This is something special."

He got that right. While Nieve moved over to accordion, the bluegrass siblings from Georgia added their mandolin, fiddle, slide guitar and gorgeous harmonies to American Without Tears, a Cajun rendition of The Crooked Line and — get this — a folk-rock waltz revamp of The Velvet Underground's Femme Fatale. The fun didn't stop there. Costello put on his "campaignin' hat" for a rollicking, playful rendition of Sulphur to Sugarcane. "Everywhere I travel, pretty girls call my name," he sang — then repeated the line so all the women in the audience could take the hint.

After closing the 80-minute main set with a hard-driving (and oddly synth-flecked) version of Mystery Train, the expanded band returned for an encore with the mournful ballad The Scarlet Tide, co-written by Sugarcane producer T-Bone Burnett.

But Costello was determined to go out with a bang, not a whimper. After letting the sisters go, he strapped on an electric guitar again and closed the show the way he opened it — by cranking out more classics. Even cooler: He still does them justice despite having played them thousands of times over the decades. Watching the Detectives was delivered with all its twangy licks, clanging chords and menacing reggae-rock skank intact. The soulful Alison segued into Tracks of My Tears and Tears of a Clown. (The Angels Want to Wear My) Red Shoes, Radio, Radio, Pump it Up and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding were strung end to end and pounded out with all the punky ferocity of old. What more could you have wanted — except more of it. "Now do it all again!" yelled the guy beside me as the band left the stage, echoing the sentiments of several thousand others in the crowd.

It was not to be. But hopefully, we won't have to wait so long for a followup. At one point, Costello apologized for taking more than a generation to return to our city. "But we know the way now," he reassured us.

Next time, don't miss it.

darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca

Set List:

Accidents Will Happen

Mystery Dance

(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea

You Belong to Me

I Hope You're Happy Now

Man Out of Time

Motel Matches

Suit of Lights

Complicated Shadows

Condemned Man

Blame it On Cain

Sleep of the Just

Brilliant Mistake

Radio Sweetheart / Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)

Femme Fatale

American Without Tears

The Crooked Line

Sulphur to Sugarcane

Mystery Train

Encore:

The Scarlet Tide

Watching the Detectives

Alison / Tracks of My Tears / Tears of a Clown

(The Angels Want to Wear My) Red Shoes

Radio, Radio

Pump it Up

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding



http://maruad.livejournal.com/55539.html

2009-07-09


Maruad
blogs -

Elvis Costello reached Steve Goodman land last night

The Winnipeg Folk Festival's 2009 Wednesday night show was awesome.

First Act: Lovell Sisters - They have a nice bluegrass sound and did some great covers. The only song I knew was their own didn't do much for me but they have talent. They reminded me a bit of Acoustically Inclined.

First Break: Amelia Curran East Coast folkie... surprisingly good for the few songs she got to play.

Second Act: Martha Wainwright - sorta folk. I liked her and would want to her more of her recordings. I think I would prefer her with a band (a bit like Jane Siberry that way). My wife thought she was the weakest link tonight.

Second Break: Bahamas - Alt folk from Ontario. I enjoyed his solo electric guitar/vocalist mini set as well.

Third Act: Elvis Costello - Obviously the man most people had come to hear. I don't know his music well and found the first four or five songs to be so so but he kept building. He performed a new song (not yet recorded) which really worked for me. I was just getting into his music when he called the Lovell Sisters (see First Act) onstage to join him and his backup band (the Imposters). Wow! Just Wow! This was where Awesome entered the room because they were fabulous together. Apparently the sisters had rehearsed several songs with Elvis and the Imposters. I am not certain but I think they were all off his new album.

Fourth Act: Elvis Costello's Encore - after the 7th or 8th song I decided this encore qualified as a set on its own. I lost track of how many songs were in the encore. It may have been as high as ten (that is correct 10). The Lovell Sisters stayed up for the first couple of songs of the encore. Did I mention that I enjoyed the show.

I really hope someone recorded this show.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

The setlist of Elvis' 1978 appearance in Winnipeg isn't on Wiki . This, however , was what Elvis played a few days earlier, with songs played in '78 and '09 highlighted -




http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... 1978-11-08

01. Mystery Dance
02. Waiting For The End Of The World
03. Radio, Radio
04. I Stand Accused
05. The Beat
06. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
07. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
08. Lip Service
09. This Year's Girl
10. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
11. Lipstick Vogue
12. Watching The Detectives
13. You Belong To Me
14. Pump It Up
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

V. witty blog account -

http://kentonsinfotainmentscan.blogspot ... -fest.html


Not so witty -

http://the4thstar.com/2009/07/09/4th-st ... ensioners/

Charming blog account -

http://todayinmusicclass.blogspot.com/2 ... lives.html

( extract)

I saw Elvis Costello perform at the Winnipeg Folk Festival last night. He was incredible! His band is so talented. I love the rockabilly/country sensibilites of the band. Music you can dance to, sing along with, and generally enjoy (outdoors, on a tarp, in a wide open field, at sunset, with your friends!) It doesn't really get much better than that.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainmen ... 93166.html

Image
Elvis Costello and The Imposters perform on the opening day of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
(JASON HALSTEAD/SUN MEDIA)
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

http://teenagedogsintrouble.blogspot.co ... later.html

Image Image

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Elvis Costello Returns...31 Years Later!


posted by binky


It's been a long time coming, but it was worth it! November 11, 1978 was the last time Elvis Costello paid Winnipeg a visit (The Playhouse Theatre!) and though he technically didn't play Winnipeg on Wednesday night (actually Bird's Hill), Elvis promised, "we know the way now".

The set by Elvis Costello and the Imposters on the opening night of the 2009 Winnipeg Folk Festival was no doubt one of the best shows I've ever seen at the festival. The energy of the band, the amazing setlist and the fact I've seen one of my musical heroes all contributed to this memorable evening. The whole evening was perfect, I attended with my wife, sister and friends of ours and I ran into and talked to many good friends. The weather was great, no rain, clear sky, little wind and the mosquitos were minimal. Good times!

Highlights:

* What can you say about the setlist! The first four songs were from the early days (first 3 albums + Chelsea, a classic early single) and the last 6 songs of the encore were all classic Elvis, worth the price of admission alone! Radio Sweetheart, Femme Fatale etc...wow!

* Winnipeg was lucky because Elvis played with the Imposters line-up instead of the Sugarcanes band who played on his most recent album, Secret, Profane and Sugarcane. The Imposters feature two original members of the Attractions, Steve Nieve (on keys and piano) and Pete Thomas (drums). The Sugarcanes were touring with Elvis in June and for the rest of the Summer and they perform primarily newer material with some early stuff sprinkled in. The songs performed with the Lovell Sisters featured many songs from the new album.

* There was a time in the early 90's when I thought EC was getting tired and I was losing interest in his music and his performances. I saw him on the Larry Sanders show and he looked bloated and old. I think around this time I professed I didn't think I would see him live if he came to town. Something's happened in the last few years where he sounds more inspired and he seems more energized. His voice is prime and his showmanship is first-rate. Perhaps his marriage to Diana Krall or his TV show, Spectacle has given him a new inspiration. Whatever it is, it works!


I'm posting the last 6 amazing back to back songs that ended the show. I recorded the show from the tarp about halfway back, the sound was loud and clear and the recording is surpisingly good considering outdoor shows aren't the idea recording venue. The complete concert will be available soon on Dimeadozen.org, but if you aren't a member, leave a request in the comments for a mp3 link or I can make you a copy of the show.

Watching The Detectives http://www.box.net/shared/uuu5lfpbtz

Alison - including Tracks Of My Tears and Tears Of A Clown http://www.box.net/shared/id4b6jheae

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes http://www.box.net/shared/fuoq82efey

Radio, Radio http://www.box.net/shared/95rp8di7m5

Pump It Up http://www.box.net/shared/8bveh2bp7l

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding http://www.box.net/shared/c9f6fpu221
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by sweetest punch »

http://www.uptownmag.com/2009-07-16/page4281.aspx

Love was in the air
Hot tweets, Elvis treats ruled the weekend at Birds Hill Park

I was rather confused for about an hour on Saturday night at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
People I know kept walking up to me saying, "I fell in love with you, too, at the Folk Festival."
I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
Even considering the fact I was likely both dazed and confused at many of the 23 Folk Festivals I've covered, I know that U2 has never played Birds Hill Park.
So I just kept nodding and smiling at people's strange remarks until friend and colleague Marlo Campbell finally clued me in.
It seems that the festival's Friday and Saturday night mainstage host - Jian Ghomeshi, host of Q on CBC Radio One - is a fan and user of Twitter. He'd sent out a tweet asking people to send him their best festival stories (in 140 characters or less, of course). If their tweets were nice or cute or sweet enough, he promised to read them onstage.
My girlfriend, who's also a diehard Twitter user (seriously - even our freaking dog has an account), was one of the first to respond, telling Jian she'd first fallen in love with me at the Folk Fest in 2004.
And yes, that just happened to be the message Ghomeshi read onstage on Saturday night. It was the first tweet to be read from a stage at a Winnipeg Folk Festival.
All together now: 'Aaawww!'
I missed this historic moment because I was busy trying to find one of my sons, who'd rushed headlong into the crowd during the last few songs of Bellowhead's eminently danceable set of U.K. folk and brassy pop/rock. But I certainly heard all about Liz's 'sweet tweet' later.
So now I must say thanks to Liz, thanks to Jian and thanks to Marlo for filling me in. Otherwise I'd still be wandering around wondering why the hell people were talking about Bono.

. . .

The other big surprise of the festival came early in the week, during Elvis Costello's preposterously stupendous gig on Wednesday night.

I'd prepared myself for an elder-statesman-with-new-album show - full of his roots and country material from Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, with a few old faves sprinkled in here and there.

What I hadn't realized was that the version of The Imposters with which Costello is touring is essentially The Attractions without bassist Bruce Thomas (Davey Faragher fills that role these days). So when they started with Accidents Will Happen, Mystery Train and (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea, I was suddenly transformed into the 13-year-old who'd first fallen in love with those songs. When Elvis finished - after a seven-song encore that included a dub version of Watching the Detectives, Alison (in which he quoted Smokey Robinson's Tears of a Clown and Tracks of My Tears), (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes, Radio Radio, Pump it Up and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding - I thought my head and heart would explode with excitement.

Perhaps the coolest thing about the Costello gig was seeing at least two members of The Fuse in the audience. When Costello last performed here, at the Playhouse in 1978, he ended up jamming a Nick Lowe tune onstage at the St. Vital Hotel with the Winnipeg group, which featured Jeff, Don and Paul Hatcher and Dave Briggs.

This time around, a young girl who looked to be in Don Hatcher's party kept screaming "We love you, Elvis!" in between songs, earning a nod from The Man and smiles and chuckles from fans who'd rushed to the front of the stage.

Yep, it felt like love was in the air all weekend at Birds Hill.

Image



http://www.uptownmag.com/2009-07-16/page4280.aspx

(...)
But the hands-down highlight of the night (and the whole festival) came in the form of an electrifying, career-spanning performance by pop/punk pioneer Elvis Costello, who hasn't played a gig in our neck of the woods since 1978. Simply put, Costello and his backing band The Imposters just rocked. The set struck a perfect balance between his classics (he played everything from Accidents Will Happen to Watching the Detectives) and his new, roots-influenced material - on which The Lovell Sisters supplied note-perfect accompaniment. It was magical, unforgettable and a perfect star.
(...)
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by johnfoyle »

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/art ... le1215001/

A Brit rocker crashes the folk fest and succeeds

PATRICK WHITE


From Saturday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Friday, Jul. 17, 2009 02:25AM EDT

Winnipeg Folk Festival

Main stage

In Winnipeg on Wednesday

The true measure of any folk festival is the freak quotient - the ratio of normal people to absolute weirdos. In more genteel settings (cocktail parties or five-star restaurants, say) a high freak quotient may not be so beneficial. At a folk festival, however, they're the life of the party.

The Winnipeg Folk Festival does well in this regard. At opening night on Wednesday, the bucolic grounds of Birds Hill Provincial Park were scattered with a bug-eyed Jesus look-alike bearing a giant driftwood walking stick, a young man in a translucent moo-moo complete with dunce-hat hood and an old man in a sea captain's uniform.


And then there was Elvis Costello, Freak-in-Chief. His looks might be conventional enough - he wore his trademark suit and dark-rimmed glasses - but the musical range he and his band demonstrated Wednesday night was downright deviant. It made for a perfect folk fest moment that may not be topped anywhere in the country this summer.


Martha Wainwright, the act prior to Costello, wasn't easy to follow. With a voice that eases seamlessly between vulnerable whisper and booming chanteuse, she has the stage presence of a full band even while playing an entire solo acoustic set. Not surprisingly, the 33-year-old Wainwright took drama at Concordia University before slipping into the profession that has made several of her family members household names among music lovers (she's the daughter of Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright and sister to Rufus Wainwright).

That combination of folk pedigree and theatre training lent her a certain ease on the festival main stage, which will feature the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Loreena McKennitt and Steven Page in coming days. Wainwright virtually grew up among such surroundings, after all. Even her frequent memory lapses and a failed attempt at a sing-along were entertaining. "Maybe it's a little too early in the folk fest for a sing-along," she said.

Too early by 15 minutes.

As soon as Elvis Costello stormed onto the stage, doffed his purple fedora and jammed into Accidents Will Happen from his 1979 album Armed Forces, hard-core Costello fans were singing along. After playing five old hits - including Mystery Dance, You Belong to Me and I Hope You're Happy Now - he put down his Telecaster and picked up a sunburst Gibson acoustic, tugging the show in a rootsy, country direction. It was one of several musical transformations Costello's chameleon-like backing band - drummer Pete Thomas, keyboardist Steve Nieve and Davey Faragher on bass - would make throughout the night. The varied set proved that Costello is a man without a genre, an old English punker who is just as impressive singing Appalachian roots or Delta blues. Freaky.

The remainder of the nearly two-hour concert drew equally from the 54-year-old's vast catalogue of old hits and his new country-infused album Secret, Profane & Sugarcane. He even offered a chilling unreleased country ballad about a young man on death row who promises to "come back to haunt you and visit your dreams."

After playing Radio Sweetheart, "the first song I ever recorded," he mused that as a brash young rocker he'd imagined playing before his name in "neon lights" beside "three girls in sequins." The three women who soon joined him on the folk festival's main stage were much more welcome. The Georgia-based Lovell Sisters added fiddle, mandolin, Dobro slide guitar and beautiful harmonic vocals to the mix.

"This is something special," Costello commented.

It certainly was. The Sisters added bluegrass tinges to the stage just as the setting sun radiated across the cloud-splashed sky. They worked through The Crooked Line - adorned with Nieve's Cajun accordion stylings - From Sulphur to Sugarcane and the classic Mystery Train.

For a half-hour encore, Costello started slowly, keeping the Sisters around for mournful rendition of The Scarlet Tide. But he soon trimmed the band to four and book-ended the show with a medley of classics: Watching the Detectives, Alison, Pump It Up and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding. All were played with a fresh punk rage that had the crowd - freaks and commoners alike - chanting along on what was a quintessential folk festival night.
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Re: Elvis and The Imposters, Winnipeg Folk Fest., 8 July 2009

Post by FAVEHOUR »

Anybody catch the lines from "I Want You Back" at the end of the Alison medley? A little shoutout to Michael Jackson?
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