11.28.2019
ELVIS COSTELLO STILL WRITES THE BOOK
Shepherd Express: Blaine Schultz: November 27th 2019
Elvis Costello and the Imposters played the final show of their 2019 “Just Trust” tour Tuesday night at the Miller High Life Theatre, with Costello saying there was no place he’d rather be than this intimate venue.
A mere 36 years ago, Costello and the Attractions played the same room when it was known as the Milwaukee Auditorium. That night, his song “Every Day I Write the Book” was on the Billboard charts. This night, he reprised the tune, but Billboard has been off Costello’s radar for a long time.
“These songs we are playing tonight are ones I want to hear. That’s why it’s called ‘Just Trust’—just trust us,” Costello said. And for years now, fans from casual to hardcore could trust the artist, even when his whims would test the patience of most other fanbases.
Costello’s catholic taste has led to a dossier dotted with musical bullet points from opera to country and western and collaborations with Burt Bacharach, Chet Baker, Marian McPartland and Paul McCartney.
But tonight, Costello served up over two dozen of his most memorable songs backed by The Imposters. His band featured keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas, both holdovers from The Attractions, plus bassist Davey Faragher and vocalists Kitten Kuroi and Briana Lee. To call it a “best of” ignores the fact Costello could show up again tomorrow and play an equally satisfying set list without repeating a tune.