I've decided to bite the bullet and endure an hour or two of Elvis Costello's Il Sogno* in order to hear "a collection of his pop and rock hits." Should be a pretty interesting night of music, I'm thinking.
* Now in all fairness, I haven't heard Il Sogno yet. It could be good. I'm definitely curious.
But I'm even more curious about the second half of the evening. Will these "pop and rock hits" be accompanied by the orchestra as well? Does the symphony exit stage left as the band takes the stage (seems like it would be an odd change of pace)?
And what "hits" exactly can I expect? Is there any particular era he's more liable to re-visit than others? Or is your guess as good as mine here?
I mean, I'm a huge fan and this will be my first time seeing EC live, so even if it's just him stomping his feet and blowing on a whiskey jug for 3 hours I'm already gonna be reaching for the Mastercard... But you cats seem pretty well versed in all things Costello, so I just had to ask.
Mostly I'm just really excited though.
so what can I expect from this Il Sogno tour?
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verbal gymnastics
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)?Thanks, VG.
I've been poking around the set lists and what not, trying to get an idea of what to expect. That's sort of what led me to this site in the first place.
And the performance I'll be seeing is in Houston, TX in mid-April. I was a little surprised to learn that this particular tour would be coming anywhere near me (it's still a 2 hour commute or so) Had to jump at the opportunity. Could be a while before another one presents itself.
I've been poking around the set lists and what not, trying to get an idea of what to expect. That's sort of what led me to this site in the first place.
And the performance I'll be seeing is in Houston, TX in mid-April. I was a little surprised to learn that this particular tour would be coming anywhere near me (it's still a 2 hour commute or so) Had to jump at the opportunity. Could be a while before another one presents itself.
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verbal gymnastics
- Posts: 13662
- Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 6:44 am
- Location: Magic lantern land
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thepopeofpop
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- Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 7:19 am
- Location: Newcastle, Australia (& Citizen of the World)
Having seen one of these shows recently, here is my advice. Il Sogno itself runs for about 50 minutes, and it really isn't that hard to sit through!
Yes the second half of the show is still with the orchestra. Steve Nieve on piano, of course. They'll probably do about 10 to 12 songs. Almost Blue, Watching the Detectives, God Give Me Strength, that sort of thing.
You can find set lists of the recent Australian Il Sogno shows right here on this forum
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My EC bio - http://www.elviscostello.info/biography.php
Yes the second half of the show is still with the orchestra. Steve Nieve on piano, of course. They'll probably do about 10 to 12 songs. Almost Blue, Watching the Detectives, God Give Me Strength, that sort of thing.
You can find set lists of the recent Australian Il Sogno shows right here on this forum
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My EC bio - http://www.elviscostello.info/biography.php
About "Il Sogno" : Perhaps if one thinks of the play while listening, and imagines how the ballet could look like, then the performance would be easier to "endure" ...
My point here is that this music was not written to stand alone. Isn't it a ballet ? So, without a ballet on stage there is bound to be something missing. To me, it's a bit comparable to listening to the instrumental version of a song. It can be great, but more often than not you are going to be, to some extent, frustrated because the lyrics and the voice which were meant to go with it are just not there.
My point here is that this music was not written to stand alone. Isn't it a ballet ? So, without a ballet on stage there is bound to be something missing. To me, it's a bit comparable to listening to the instrumental version of a song. It can be great, but more often than not you are going to be, to some extent, frustrated because the lyrics and the voice which were meant to go with it are just not there.