Elvis/Brodskys, Birmingham (U.K.) April 24 '09

[johnfoyle]

http://www.thsh.co.uk/event-view.php?id=1537

Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet

Fri 24 Apr 2009 7:30pm

Symphony Hall
Broad Street
Birmingham
UK
B1 2EA

Tickets -

https://tickets.thsh.co.uk/Online/mapSe ... 7CF9BF88E8

[verbal gymnastics]

Cheers John.

Please change the header to read '09 and not '08!

No doubt Sulky Lad will be interested. The Symphony Hall is a great venue and the stage door is in the mall behind it. The last time we saw Elvis there in 2005, we ended up inadvertently following him and Paddy for about a quarter of a mile because we were parked in the same direction. We weren't stalking - honest!

I'll probably only go to the London show - there's not enough variety for me to go more than once.

[sweetest punch]

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leis ... -23156548/


Elvis Costello pumped full of surprises
Mar 16 2009 By Jon Perks

Elvis Costello’s on tour and tells Jon Perks to expect an edge to old and new sounds.

The trademark specs are one of the few constants in the chameleon career of Elvis Costello.

This is an artist who started out over 30 years ago as the slightly gawky-looking frontman of The Attractions, with a string of new wave pop hits including Oliver’s Army, Alison, Pump It Up and Accidents Will Happen.

Since then he’s experimented with virtually the whole musical spectrum – country (Almost Blue), soul (Get Happy!), classical (Il Sogno), as well as producing two-tone and punk/folk albums for The Specials and The Pogues respectively.

Rap and r’n’b are about the only genres he’s not touched – but don’t rule that out just yet.

He’s collaborated on albums with Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach and The Brodsky Quartet, with whom he reunites this spring for a short seven date UK tour.

Far from a simple revisiting of their 1993 album The Juliet Letters, Elvis promises new songs, new arrangements and a few surprise covers along the way:

“We haven’t done a tour as such for a good while,” he says.

“We were just looking for an opportunity to do some more shows together and it just hasn’t come about – we’ve been busy in our own independent work,” he adds.

“I also said I didn’t really want to do this again if we were just going to revisit what we’d done before, to base it solely on [The Juliet Letters], although some people I’m sure would like to hear those songs.

‘‘There’ll be a selection but we want them to have something new.

“We’ve got about ten new arrangements that we’re playing for the first time.

“They range all over the place – songs by other people, new songs of mine, some quite surprising; the other challenge is not to have it be all ballads – just because it’s strings it’s not all slow.

“You often see that in pop music, a string section is brought in to give it a bit of class or something. It’s an easy way to say ‘this has got class’, but it’s a little bit shallow thinking.

“We’re trying to use the combination of sounds with a little bit more wit than that, not just do something that’s an easy gesture, and also to present a challenge to ourselves, to play something where you’re really inside it and you’re actually making it work – a rhythmic piece that’s got some edges to it, because a string quartet can be a ferocious thing as well as a very beautiful thing.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to, the balancing, the contrasting of those things throughout the programme.

“It’s also the first time I’ve played guitar in this concert; in the past we’ve avoided that because it sort of drew comparisons with popular things like Yesterday, that’s the most famous one isn’t it, guitar with string quartet – but I think we’ve got past that now.

“We’ve proven the point that we’ve done it with just quartet and voice and one or two songs might benefit from the contrast of my accompaniment and the quartet playing, it’s like we’ve added another colour to it. I don’t play at the same level as they do, but it’s a contrast.

“As we’ve got to know each other more we’ve been able to arrange with more knowledge of what happens when we play together,” says Costello, who is married to the jazz singer Diana Krall, with whom he has twin two year olds, Dexter and Frank.

“When we started out it was all just a big experiment; we didn’t know whether it would work.”

Elvis insists the concerts will be far from stuffy with him and the quartet “sat up straight”, rather a night full of vim and surprises, not least from the energy and edge given to songs both new and old.

“Take a song like Shipbuilding; I wanted to write an arrangement and have an instrumental section,” says Elvis.

“I re-wrote Chet Baker’s trumpet solo and arranged it for orchestra before, but I’ve arranged it again and done it a different way. You take the same material and you keep going back to it and getting something new out of it because the original idea that Chet came up with was so good; it’s inspiring to try and find a way to make that work for the quartet.

“It’s not all serious as well; I think it can be a surprise that the quartet can take a rock ‘n’ roll song like My Mood Swings and find a way for them to play it without sounding like a gimmick, they’ve found a way to drive it along.

“We also have an arrangement of Accidents Will Happen, so we’re going right back to the very beginning of my career to brand new songs – I think it’s a good mix

“That’s the key with the Brodsky Quartet, the music coming off the page that’s just our starting point – the moment of playing it, the music really takes on its own life,

‘‘There’s also a lot of humour in the show and it’s much more relaxed than people imagine – it’s not just like a bunch of people playing at a tea party, it’s not like that at all – there’s just as many of the qualities of edge and nuances as playing with a rock and roll band.”

[Top balcony]

SP

Thanks for this, I was listening the other day to the Juliet Letters concert from Milan which was on Dime recently. JL is the only re-issue I've not been suckerred into buying (and in the case of most re-buying and then buying again). Just not my favourite....

However I have given in to the habit and bought tickets for the Manchester show, simply on the back of the wonderful Liverpool Phil gig last year. Sounds like he's in the mood again - I can't wait.

Best wishes

Colin (aka top balcony)

[johnfoyle]

I'm going to, due to a family commitment back in Ireland, miss this show . I may still be able to get out of it but it's looking unlikely. Knowing my luck it'll be the show that Elvis brings on Bruce Thomas and Cait O'Riordan as special guests, group hug etc.

[The imposter]

Sounds interesting. I'll be at Glasgow,never seen the Brodsky's live so it'll be a change. Looking forward to it.

Anyone care to speculate on what these 10 new arrangements might be...?

Accidents Will Happen & Shipbuilding seem likely, but I wonder what else might be planned.

I'll hazard a guess at Detectives & Chelsea! Use of guitar sounds interesting, and what new covers may be played....? Please no The Drugs don't work...

Real Emotional girl is fantastic, as is Skeleton. I hope to hear these. As for Favourite Hour, strangely for me the best version that I've heard is the Church Studios version on the Brutal Youth bonus. It has a quality that the main album version lacks.

[migdd]

Anyone care to speculate on what these 10 new arrangements might be...?

Some of the new arrangements could just be of TJL songs.

[johnfoyle]

I'm going to, due to a family commitment back in Ireland, miss this show . I may still be able to get out of it

I did - I'm going!

[bambooneedle]

As for Favourite Hour, strangely for me the best version that I've heard is the Church Studios version on the Brutal Youth bonus. It has a quality that the main album version lacks.

Probably because Elvis plays piano himself while singing.

[Bad Ambassador]

How did I miss this thread? Just saw a small advert in the back of the new Mojo and dashed over to the Symphony Hall site. Managed to get seats in the circle, smack bang in the middle. Surprised how many were still available for purchase.

[johnfoyle]

Just saw a small advert in the back of the new Mojo

Here's that ad. ( photographed with my cellphone 'cos the scanner isn't working) -

[johnfoyle]

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats- ... -23305396/

Elvis to pump it up with a string quartet

Apr 3 2009

[Gez]

I'm not sure if I'm about to fart in church here

I've only very recently heard The Juliet letters and quite frankly I almost slit my wrists...that woman's shrill tones were almost unbearable to listen to, having been an EC fan since the early 80's I'm a bit anxious about whether the concert with the Brodsky Quartet will live up to my expectations, especially since the plan is to get surprise tickets for my partner's birthday and if it's a disappointment I'll be f**king gutted, I have this awful feeling that it's going to be instrumental arrangements...

At this point I'm seriously thinking about not bothering especially since when I last checked on the Bham Symphony Hall website today there were more than 400 tickets still left (half of those in the stalls) and that seems to say to me that people are a bit put off

Any of you good folk got any suggestions or can you put my mind at rest!!

Cheers

[And No Coffee Table]

I've only very recently heard The Juliet letters and quite frankly I almost slit my wrists...that woman's shrill tones were almost unbearable to listen to

That woman's shrill tones? Did you actually hear The Juliet Letters, which is sung entirely by Elvis? Maybe you heard For The Stars, his collaboration with Anne Sofie von Otter?

[FAVEHOUR]

I've only very recently heard The Juliet letters and quite frankly I almost slit my wrists...that woman's shrill tones were almost unbearable to listen to

Maybe you bought one of the interpretations of the piece by somebody else (Kerry-Anne Kurz, for example)?? There's no woman singing on EC's record....it's great stuff, and besides, they'll be doing lots of other Elvis songs anyhow...I wish I could go!

[Gez]

God only knows...all I know is that it was very clearly labelled as being EC & Brodsky Quartet Juliet Letters. if I could upload a music file I would then people could at least hear what I can hear!!

In that case it's back to I Tunes to get my f**king money back

Cheers

[scielle]

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leis ... -23353847/

Costello's aim's still true
Apr 9 2009 By Jon Perks

The musically much-travelled Elvis Costello speaks to Jon Perks about how variety remains the spice of life.

In both life and music, it’s harder than ever to try and pigeonhole Elvis Costello.

Singer, songwriter, producer, husband, father, TV presenter; new wave, rock and roll, country, jazz, classical – all these tags apply.

But then why try to label the 54-year-old while he is still delighting audiences with concerts that one week will be with his backing band The Imposters, the next accompanied by only former Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve, the next joined by the London Symphony Orchestra.

This month he heads out for a seven date tour of the UK with The Brodsky Quartet, with whom Elvis has collaborated on several previous occasions, most famously on the 1993 album The Juliet Letters.

A word of warning, however; don’t expect these concerts simply to be a rendition of those pieces, or simply a case of Costello’s greatest hits with a string quartet accompaniment.

Costello promises 10 new arrangements, including covers, reinterpretations from his own back catalogue and some brand new material:

“I said I didn’t really want to do this again if we were just going to revisit what we’d done before,” says Elvis.

“I didn’t want to base it solely on that – although some people I’m sure would like to hear those songs.

“It’s very interesting to hand a song that you know and you’ve sung many times and have [viola player] Paul [Cassidy] do something with it, it might be really surprising; he did a beautiful arrangement for Scarlet Tide that I wrote with T Bone Burnett, it made me sing it a different way because what I was presented with was totally different.

“I wouldn’t sing it if I felt I was doing it in an automatic way, but even better if something shifts you from that security of what you know,” he adds.

“If it just moves you a little bit off that and makes you really think about it and feel it as you go into it, I find that’s often the best way to get some great new renditions.”

He adds: “We have an arrangement of Accidents Will Happen, so we’re going right back to the very beginning of my career to brand new songs, I think it’s a good mix – and it’s not like we’ve left The Juliet Letters behind completely.”

From his new wave roots with The Attractions through to playing and collaborating with the likes of Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, the LSO and his wife Diana Krall, Costello has constantly changed tack and flitted from one genre to another, but insists his day job is still the same as it’s always been:

“I work with a rock ‘n’ roll band much more than anything else; I think it just draws people’s attention when you do something different, people make comments on it. I played two months last year with The Imposters, a bit more in fact, and only did two concerts with orchestra.

“The variety certainly stops it from getting dull, you know,” he smiles. “As long as I remember to screw the right head on at the beginning of the day I’m fine...

For Costello it’s variety, quantity and quality, with a new album The Secret, The Profane and Sugar Cane due out later this year, autumn gigs with The Imposters, a date with Al Green in Memphis following the April UK concerts – and toddler twins Dexter and Frank to keep an eye on.

“I’ve my feet up right now!” he laughs. “Well, I’ve got twin boys who are two years and three months, so I don’t get that much chance to.

“I look at the year ahead and all the shows I’ve got and that’s fine by me – that’s the job I do, it’s much more playing concerts.

“The record making has taken a different place, these days the whole process is a very different matter than it was when I started out, when it was like everything was timed around your record,” he adds.

“Even writing songs is slightly different; sometimes you write a song and put it to one side until you’ve got exactly the right place to do it, and other times you want to get them out right away, it depends on what they are.

“I try not to think or even talk too much about ‘the industry’ cos I’m not in it,” says Elvis.

“I was playing music before I ever had a record contract and I guess I’ll be doing so after I do as well.

“Right now I’m still making records, I’m glad to do them, I really enjoy making records, but I’m not deluded that any one release is somehow going to transform my life; what it does is it allows people to buy a copy of the songs that they might hear me play in concert.

“I try to make the records as good as I can. This new record has got some great playing on it and when I perform them in concert they’ll take on another life.

“The good thing about playing with different line-ups and collaborators is sometimes the song will actually be performed by two or three of those line-ups and each time you take it on it’s going to be a slightly different song and it presents a different challenge and something slightly different to the audience so it never becomes predictable like pat.

“I prefer that, rather than this very comfortable thing of a signature sound, I figure that there’s enough that’s distinctive about the way I sing and more importantly the way I write that I can stand to change the way I perform the songs, it stops it from becoming something mundane.”

With Costello, it seems, there’s little chance of that ever happening.

* Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet play the Birmingham Symphony Hall on April 24 – visit www.thsh.co.uk for details.

[martinfoyle]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drw-images/3471194935/

[Man out of Time]

Set list is on the Wiki here:

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... Birmingham

Any ideas on what the new song (no. 13) is called very welcome.

[Lester Burnham]

Set list is on the Wiki here:

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... Birmingham

Any ideas on what the new song (no. 13) is called very welcome.

He mentioned he had written a new song called 'You Hung The Moon' in one of the magazine articles that either John or Martin kindly transcribed ... can't remember where I saw it, but he said he had written it while on the train sometime this year.

[Who Shot Sam?]

Costello's aim's still true
Apr 9 2009 By Jon Perks

*sigh*

Shoot the headline writer, please!

[johnfoyle]

He mentioned he had written a new song called 'You Hung The Moon' in one of the magazine articles that either John or Martin kindly transcribed ... can't remember where I saw it, but he said he had written it while on the train sometime this year.

Well remembered ; from the Newbury Gazette interview for the Basingstoke gig -

Sometimes a song arrives all at once, like this song I wrote on a train the other day, You Hung The Moon. It’s about a family trying to contact a shell-shocked young man who may have been shot as a coward. They are using a glass and a table and the advice of a charlatan. They did that kind of thing back then.
Times have always been tough. We have it easy.

The front of the stage solo , unamplified performance of the song was a highlight . I'm anticipating 'spontaneous' gestures by the artists etc. I'm also getting to appreciate how draining it is to be changing locations on a daily basis. Not tiring - just dizzying! The performances are getting richer by the day, the nuances emphasising themselves etc.

I was glad of the 'day of' all the same , spending time in the English countryside with a friends family , eating freshly harvested vegetables on tables in a field. I also got to see some Elvis cuttings from 1977/8 that I can't wait to share with you when I get back to Dublin.

On to Glasgow!

[johnfoyle]

http://thehearingaid.blogspot.com/2009/ ... phony.html

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet @ The Symphony Hall, Friday 24th April 2009

Posted by The Baron


Elvis is alive and well and appearing in the Symphony Hall, obviously not THAT Elvis…the other one…Mr Costello, although one of the door staff did have a bit of a grey quiff…so you never know.

I’m a bit of an Elvis Costello fan, more so of his early work (Pump It Up Oliver’s Army, Watching The Detectives, I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down…wonderful, wonderful new wave stuff). I dabbled in some of his later material, Good Year For The Roses, Pills and Soap, but I’ve not really kept up with much of his recent output though.

Tonight then was a splendid opportunity to catch up with Elvis MMIX, backed by long standing collaborators The Brodsky Quartet in the rather sumptuous surroundings of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. On paper this billing could be a bit of a dog’s dinner. New Wave artist (yes I know he’s so much more than that but, in my head I’m still hearing Pump It Up) meets chamber music. But, if anyone can make it work, it’s Elvis. A quick glance through his CV reveals the odd classical album, some blues and jazz stuff, ballet (scoring…not performing), the Rugrats movie and a guest appearance on the last Fall Out Boy album. Elvis leaves no genre unturned (in fact you can probably expect a Death Metal album sometime soon).

Listening to the opening number, ‘Accidents Will Happen’ it struck me that tonight was the musical equivalent of welding the front of a Golf GTi to the back of a Rolls Royce. Both are fine vehicles in their own right, but together there’s something just a bit strange about it all. Bold certainly. Enjoyable, definitely. But, yep, just a little odd. Elvis himself is a talented vocalist and, time after time tonight you got the sense that he was pushing that voice as far as it would go, often moving away from the microphone altogether and going ‘au natural’. Happily the acoustics in The Symphony Hall made these moments some of the most memorable.

Then you’ve got the rich, lush sweeping strings of The Brodsky Quartet. A group that’s been around (in one form or another) even longer than Elvis (they formed in 1972). As far as classical music goes I’m probably like your average Joe in the street. I know my Brahms from my elbow and that’s about it. But tonight the Brods stirred something deep within and often the juxtaposition of the very old and the relatively new worked really well, against all the odds. As the evening wore on I (and I sense Elvis too) settled in to it all. The set borrowed heavily (and understandably) from the Elvis and Brodsky collaboration, 1993’s ‘Juliet Letters’, but we had a few new songs too. At least one of which, the splendid, ‘Down Among The Wines And Spirits’ is set to appear on forthcoming album 'The Secret, The Profane and The Sugarcane'.

The highlight for me though was a moving reworking of Shipbuilding (covered so memorably by the wheeled god himself, Mr Robert Wyatt). Written about the Falklands war it’s sheer poetry and, although nothing could come close to Wyatt’s version, Elvis’ new interpretation still hit the spot. I also enjoyed being reminded of just how good his anti-Thatcher anthem ‘Pills and Soap’ (released under the name The Imposter during 1983’s election campaign) is. Not heard it for years, but it has to be one of his best and tonight’s arrangement was one of the most successful of the evening.
Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis IS alive and well…

[And No Coffee Table]

At least one of which, the splendid, ‘Down Among The Wines And Spirits’ is set to appear on forthcoming album 'The Secret, The Profane and The Sugarcane'.

Was "Down Among The Wines And Spirits" actually performed, or is this a mistake? (It's not on the wiki setlist.)

[Man out of Time]

This is a mistake. "Down among the wines and spirits" was not played - the only track he played from Secret, Profane and Sugar Cane was "Sulphur to Sugarcane" .

The list on the wiki was compiled by a panel of three sitting in row B comprising myself, John Foyle and Sulky Boy, and was checked against the stage set list subsequently, so is accurate.

The only song on the stage set list that was not played, was "Last Post" which may yet appear.