Elvis Costello and The Sugarcanes
Elvis Costello and The Sugarcanes
Posted: 01 Jul 2010
Elvis Costello and The Sugarcanes
Sage Gateshead
Picture by James O'Mara
When Elvis Costello burst onto the music scene in the late 1970s he was at the forefront of New Wave and one of the leading exemplars of the genre.
With his sharp, intelligent and often political lyrics, and his band The Attractions’ spare and energetic sound, he was instrumental in shaking off the all-pervading shackles of disco.
New Wave may have come and gone but he’s still here more than 30 years later (and better than ever) with so many strings to his bow you almost lose count.
Drawing from an array of styles including country, bluegrass, rock’n’roll and occasionally ballad territory, he’s kept his brilliant back catalogue fresh by presenting it in unexpected new ways.
For instance he gave us Oliver’s Army as a solo with himself on guitar, and I Write the Book came with gospel influences, his multi-talented band The Sugarcanes providing brilliant, moving harmonies.
In fact the musicianship at this concert took your breath away, with double bass, accordion, dobro guitar, mandolin and violin all featuring to bring a rich and complex treatment to well-known numbers.
Favourites including New Amsterdam, Good Year for the Roses, Alison, Peace, Love & Understanding and – particularly appropriate considering the Tyneside venue – Shipbuilding brought the crowd to its feet. Meanwhile new numbers such as Sulphur to Sugarcane showed he has lost none of his song writing ability.
Nevertheless he chose to open and close with other artists’ songs – Mystery Train (recorded in 1955 by Elvis Presley) to start and The Rolling Stones’ I Need a Love to Keep Me Happy to finish.
As he and the band left the stage with the audience still dancing and singing, it was obvious he can still work a crowd as well as ever, too.
This gig came about after he cancelled dates in Israel in protest at the country’s treatment of Palestinians. Tel Aviv’s loss was Gateshead’s gain.
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