Elvis Costello & Bill Flanagan at the Sol Goldman Theater
28 September 2005
Moving to New York City a few years ago has been very good for my Elvis Costello obsession, because I’ve been able to see him play numerous times, and, because he lives nearby, I have even seen him on the streets and in Washington Square Park. Yet sometimes there can be too much of a good thing – in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Costello has played several benefit performances here, but due to short notice and lack of a fortune, I was unable to see any of them. Thus I was very happy to have a ticket for his interview with Bill Flanagan, at the Sol Goldman theatre at the 92nd Street YMCA.
Elvis spent about two hours on stage; he told some of the old stories, some new stories, and played a few songs (and numerous fragments of songs) to illustrate different points he was making. For instance, he showed how the hook from “Alison” came from a Detroit Spinners song, and how his arrangement of “Peace Love & Understanding” was based on a riff from Television’s “See No Evil.”
There were some other interesting stories. When Costello first met Mae Axton (who wrote “Heartbreak Hotel”), she told him that Elvis Presley had donned a disguise and had come to "check him out". This was particularly jolting to Costello due to the fact that Presley had been dead for months when Costello first came to America!
Another interesting story is that Ross MacManus was on the same bill with the Beatles at the Royal Command Performance (where John Lennon made the famous quip about rattling jewelry). Having promised to get their autographs for Declan, he brought home a beautiful set of all four signatures on one piece of paper. Unfortunately, the 9-year-old Declan then proceeded to cut out each signature to paste them in his autograph book! If anybody is aware of the scarcity of genuine Beatles autographs, they know that this was tragic indeed.
One of the biggest treats of the evening was a performance of an original song that he said was patterned after Van Morrison’s “You’re my Woman”, and which Elvis reckoned that he hadn’t performed since 1975. The chorus went “I hear a melody / and I know that it’s not right.”
A very interesting and unique experience.
SETLIST
Domino (one verse and chorus)
I Hear A Melody (early original from 1975)
Alison (fragment)
Stranger In The House (one verse & chorus, sung in the style of George Jones)
Big Fool Of The Year (George Jones song)
Peace Love & Understanding
Don’t Lose Your Grip On Love (Nick Lowe song)
Man Out Of Time (fragment)
Dirty Rotten Shame
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (last verse and chorus)
American Without Tears
Narrow Daylight
Scarlet Tide
Elvis interviewed by Bill Flanagan at 92nd St. Y
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michaelwescott
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- Contact:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/nyregion/30bold.html
New York Times
Other Voices, Other Lobes
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: September 30, 2005
"As a person who's been interviewed a lot," explained PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN after a screening of "CAPOTE," "I do get interested in the technique. You get a sense of the people who are more interested in exposing you than other people, people who are better at it than others."
This statement did not cause us to become uneasily self-conscious. Not us.
Especially not after seeing "Capote," a film about the moral compromises journalists sometimes make to get the story, about the mind games interviewers play to open up their subjects. No, Good Reader, we are unflappable.
How Unflappable?
Imagine a situation, for example, when one is about to interview ELVIS COSTELLO before his performance at the 92nd Street Y on Wednesday night and suddenly MARY-LOUISE PARKER walks up and says, "Sorry, you've got shaving cream in your ear," and begins sweeping her fingers around one's earlobes.
That unflappable. So unflappable as to maintain composure while Ms. Parker, admirably resolute, grabs the whole earlobe of our unflappable yet somewhat frightened correspondent and decides, "maybe it's toothpaste."
To Mr. Costello, who did not seem to be a big fan of reporters, clean ears notwithstanding, we brought up his new album, "The Delivery Man," which centers on a story about a man who killed his brother during their youth.
We asked Mr. Costello what he thought was the worst crime he committed in his childhood.
"I don't know," he said. "I never committed any crimes. I was an altar boy."
And we were so unflappable as to put the ear thing aside, and have an interesting conversation about the siren song of fame with LESLEY GORE.
"I tell you it's a trip going to the dentist these days," Ms. Gore said. "My dentist, he's like a Las Vegas singer. I went to get my caps done a couple years ago. You were in his chair with your mouth open, and he was singing just like JOHNNY MATHIS. Everybody wants to be in show business. No matter what they do, no matter how much they make, they want to be in show business. I think it's a terrible idea."
Much later, at the reception, we would see Ms. Parker again.
"You're not going to print that I removed the shaving cream from your ear, are you?" she would ask.
Try Us
But back to the Sony Screening Room, where NEIL SIMON and JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY were lined up to lavish praise on Mr. Hoffman, who was deftly shaking hands while holding a cookie and a cup of coffee.
CATHERINE KEENER, who plays HARPER LEE, was also there, wearing flip-flops, and in keeping with her character, didn't really want to talk about her character.
"Oh, you write for that column," Ms. Keener said in the tone, we pointed out, that BILL CLINTON used in referring to MONICA LEWINSKY.
"I did not have sex with that column," she replied.
The host of the evening was DOMINICK DUNNE, a friend of Mr. Capote's until his death in 1984. In a speech before the movie, Mr. Dunne mentioned that Mr. Capote had helped him at a dark time in his own life.
Later, we asked him to elaborate. Mr. Dunne spoke of the time, 26 years ago, when he retreated to rural Oregon from Hollywood, attempting to overcome his alcohol and drug habits. He had been an acquaintance of Mr. Capote's, though "not a letter-writing acquaintance," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, "one day he wrote me a letter. It was a letter of admiration and encouragement. He said, 'Remember this, Dominick, that is not where you belong.' "
Mr. Dunne said the letter helped him turn things around, after which he became a "late-in-life writer," covering subjects that line up quite neatly with the subjects of Mr. Capote's writing: true crime and high society.
"It was kind of a letter to himself," Mr. Dunne said. "Because it was what he should have done."
With Luke Jerod Kummer
New York Times
Other Voices, Other Lobes
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: September 30, 2005
"As a person who's been interviewed a lot," explained PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN after a screening of "CAPOTE," "I do get interested in the technique. You get a sense of the people who are more interested in exposing you than other people, people who are better at it than others."
This statement did not cause us to become uneasily self-conscious. Not us.
Especially not after seeing "Capote," a film about the moral compromises journalists sometimes make to get the story, about the mind games interviewers play to open up their subjects. No, Good Reader, we are unflappable.
How Unflappable?
Imagine a situation, for example, when one is about to interview ELVIS COSTELLO before his performance at the 92nd Street Y on Wednesday night and suddenly MARY-LOUISE PARKER walks up and says, "Sorry, you've got shaving cream in your ear," and begins sweeping her fingers around one's earlobes.
That unflappable. So unflappable as to maintain composure while Ms. Parker, admirably resolute, grabs the whole earlobe of our unflappable yet somewhat frightened correspondent and decides, "maybe it's toothpaste."
To Mr. Costello, who did not seem to be a big fan of reporters, clean ears notwithstanding, we brought up his new album, "The Delivery Man," which centers on a story about a man who killed his brother during their youth.
We asked Mr. Costello what he thought was the worst crime he committed in his childhood.
"I don't know," he said. "I never committed any crimes. I was an altar boy."
And we were so unflappable as to put the ear thing aside, and have an interesting conversation about the siren song of fame with LESLEY GORE.
"I tell you it's a trip going to the dentist these days," Ms. Gore said. "My dentist, he's like a Las Vegas singer. I went to get my caps done a couple years ago. You were in his chair with your mouth open, and he was singing just like JOHNNY MATHIS. Everybody wants to be in show business. No matter what they do, no matter how much they make, they want to be in show business. I think it's a terrible idea."
Much later, at the reception, we would see Ms. Parker again.
"You're not going to print that I removed the shaving cream from your ear, are you?" she would ask.
Try Us
But back to the Sony Screening Room, where NEIL SIMON and JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY were lined up to lavish praise on Mr. Hoffman, who was deftly shaking hands while holding a cookie and a cup of coffee.
CATHERINE KEENER, who plays HARPER LEE, was also there, wearing flip-flops, and in keeping with her character, didn't really want to talk about her character.
"Oh, you write for that column," Ms. Keener said in the tone, we pointed out, that BILL CLINTON used in referring to MONICA LEWINSKY.
"I did not have sex with that column," she replied.
The host of the evening was DOMINICK DUNNE, a friend of Mr. Capote's until his death in 1984. In a speech before the movie, Mr. Dunne mentioned that Mr. Capote had helped him at a dark time in his own life.
Later, we asked him to elaborate. Mr. Dunne spoke of the time, 26 years ago, when he retreated to rural Oregon from Hollywood, attempting to overcome his alcohol and drug habits. He had been an acquaintance of Mr. Capote's, though "not a letter-writing acquaintance," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, "one day he wrote me a letter. It was a letter of admiration and encouragement. He said, 'Remember this, Dominick, that is not where you belong.' "
Mr. Dunne said the letter helped him turn things around, after which he became a "late-in-life writer," covering subjects that line up quite neatly with the subjects of Mr. Capote's writing: true crime and high society.
"It was kind of a letter to himself," Mr. Dunne said. "Because it was what he should have done."
With Luke Jerod Kummer
-
verbal gymnastics
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- Location: Magic lantern land
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sweetest punch
- Posts: 5993
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- Location: Belgium
Re: Elvis interviewed by Bill Flanagan at 92nd St. Y
EC performed "Narrow Daylight" and "Dirty Rotten Shame"!!!!michaelwescott wrote: SETLIST
Domino (one verse and chorus)
I Hear A Melody (early original from 1975)
Alison (fragment)
Stranger In The House (one verse & chorus, sung in the style of George Jones)
Big Fool Of The Year (George Jones song)
Peace Love & Understanding
Don’t Lose Your Grip On Love (Nick Lowe song)
Man Out Of Time (fragment)
Dirty Rotten Shame
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (last verse and chorus)
American Without Tears
Narrow Daylight
Scarlet Tide
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
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michaelwescott
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:04 pm
- Contact:
I goofed the name of the venue
Actually this was at Kaufmann Concert Hall -- I don't know where I got SOl GOldman -- maybe one of the sponsers.
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martinfoyle
- Posts: 2502
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 5:24 pm
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Re: Elvis interviewed by Bill Flanagan at 92nd St. Y
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-deta ... ?id=334314
Elvis Costello
An Evening Of Words And Music
Kaufmann Concert Hall
New York, NY
September 28, 2005
Elvis Costello - guitar, vocals
Bill Flanagan - interviewer
Source: master audience recording
Taper: bronxapostle
Equipment: Sony cassette recorder
Sound: fair (mp3 samples attached in the comments)
Lineage: CDR > EAC > WAV > TLH > FLAC 6 (align SB) > foobar2000 (flac tags)
Elvis spent about two hours on stage; he told some of the old stories, some new stories,
and played a few songs (and numerous fragments of songs) to illustrate different points
he was making. For instance, he showed how the hook from "Alison" came from a Detroit
Spinners song, and how his arrangement of "Peace Love & Understanding" was based on a
riff from Television's "See No Evil."
There were some other interesting stories. When Costello first met Mae Axton
(who wrote "Heartbreak Hotel"), she told him that Elvis Presley had donned a disguise
and had come to "check him out". This was particularly jolting to Costello due to the fact
that Presley had been dead for months when Costello first came to America!
Another interesting story is that Ross MacManus was on the same bill with the Beatles at
the Royal Command Performance (where John Lennon made the famous quip about rattling jewelry).
Having promised to get their autographs for Declan, he brought home a beautiful set of all
four signatures on one piece of paper. Unfortunately, the 9-year-old Declan then proceeded
to cut out each signature to paste them in his autograph book! If anybody is aware of the
scarcity of genuine Beatles autographs, they know that this was tragic indeed.
One of the biggest treats of the evening was a performance of an original song that he said
was patterned after Van Morrison's "You're my Woman", and which Elvis reckoned that he hadn't
performed since 1975. The chorus went "I Hear A Melody / and I know that it's not right."
A very interesting and unique experience. -- Mcwescott
01 Intro
02 interview 1
03 Domino (partial)
04 interview 2
05 I Hear A Melody
06 interview 3
07 Alison (partial)
08 interview 4
09 Stranger In The House (partial)
10 interview 5
11 Big Fool Of The Year
12 interview 6
13 interview 7
14 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
15 interview 8
16 Don't Lose Your Grip On Love
17 interview 9
18 Man Out Of Time (partial)
19 interview 10
20 Dirty Rotten Shame
21 interview 11
22 Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (partial)
23 interview 12
24 interview 13
25 American Without Tears
26 interview 14
27 Narrow Daylight
28 interview 15
29 The Scarlet Tide
Elvis Costello
An Evening Of Words And Music
Kaufmann Concert Hall
New York, NY
September 28, 2005
Elvis Costello - guitar, vocals
Bill Flanagan - interviewer
Source: master audience recording
Taper: bronxapostle
Equipment: Sony cassette recorder
Sound: fair (mp3 samples attached in the comments)
Lineage: CDR > EAC > WAV > TLH > FLAC 6 (align SB) > foobar2000 (flac tags)
Elvis spent about two hours on stage; he told some of the old stories, some new stories,
and played a few songs (and numerous fragments of songs) to illustrate different points
he was making. For instance, he showed how the hook from "Alison" came from a Detroit
Spinners song, and how his arrangement of "Peace Love & Understanding" was based on a
riff from Television's "See No Evil."
There were some other interesting stories. When Costello first met Mae Axton
(who wrote "Heartbreak Hotel"), she told him that Elvis Presley had donned a disguise
and had come to "check him out". This was particularly jolting to Costello due to the fact
that Presley had been dead for months when Costello first came to America!
Another interesting story is that Ross MacManus was on the same bill with the Beatles at
the Royal Command Performance (where John Lennon made the famous quip about rattling jewelry).
Having promised to get their autographs for Declan, he brought home a beautiful set of all
four signatures on one piece of paper. Unfortunately, the 9-year-old Declan then proceeded
to cut out each signature to paste them in his autograph book! If anybody is aware of the
scarcity of genuine Beatles autographs, they know that this was tragic indeed.
One of the biggest treats of the evening was a performance of an original song that he said
was patterned after Van Morrison's "You're my Woman", and which Elvis reckoned that he hadn't
performed since 1975. The chorus went "I Hear A Melody / and I know that it's not right."
A very interesting and unique experience. -- Mcwescott
01 Intro
02 interview 1
03 Domino (partial)
04 interview 2
05 I Hear A Melody
06 interview 3
07 Alison (partial)
08 interview 4
09 Stranger In The House (partial)
10 interview 5
11 Big Fool Of The Year
12 interview 6
13 interview 7
14 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
15 interview 8
16 Don't Lose Your Grip On Love
17 interview 9
18 Man Out Of Time (partial)
19 interview 10
20 Dirty Rotten Shame
21 interview 11
22 Deep Dark Truthful Mirror (partial)
23 interview 12
24 interview 13
25 American Without Tears
26 interview 14
27 Narrow Daylight
28 interview 15
29 The Scarlet Tide
-
terryhurley
- Posts: 119
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 10:30 am
- Location: Somewhere in England
Re: Elvis interviewed by Bill Flanagan at 92nd St. Y
Those interested in the 1963 Royal Variety Show in greater detail may find this link invaluable...
http://www.eabf.org.uk/royal-variety-pe ... 1960s/1963
http://www.eabf.org.uk/royal-variety-pe ... 1960s/1963