Elvis Costello Opens 10-Night Residency In New York

Elvis Costello Opens 10-Night Residency In New York | Society Of Rock Videos

via The Late Show with Stephen Colbert / Youtube

Last Thursday, Elvis Costello has launched his 10-night residency at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City.

“This is not the Bruce Springsteen show, by the way,” he joked after performing the first two songs, “Welcome to the Working Week” and “Miracle Man,” both from his 1977 debut, My Aim Is True. Costello performed entirely solo, including early classics like “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes,” “Mystery Dance” and “Alison.”

In this set, he played numerous covers, including Van Morrison’s “Domino,” because when he was younger, he really enjoyed Morrison’s music before he went totally mad. Aside from that, he also did a cover of Grateful Dead’s “Dupree Diamond Blues.”

During the middle of the set, Costello admitted that it was a tough day for him after hearing the news about the recent death of onetime collaborator Burt Bacharach, with whom he worked on 1998’s Painted From Memory and 2018’s Look Now. “A really great man left us,” Costello said, before performing Bacharach’s “Baby It’s You,” best known as a hit record by the Shirelles in 1961.

Last year, when Costello announced his residency, he told his audience that he would perform more than 200 different songs over the course of ten nights. For the next several nights, he will perform alone before being joined by his longtime keyboardist, Steve Nieve. He also hinted in the form of a poem in a press release that there are surprise guests on his list saying:

“Let’s just set up the chair or two and play in case some friends turn up along the way.”

Some fans couldn’t resist the chance to watch Costello ten nights in a row. Before the concert, New Yorker Craig Danuloff, who also heads the Bob Dylan fan group Freak Music, said it was very impossible to decide which evenings to attend, so he ordered tickets for every one of them. He explained:

“How could I choose between them? How could I live with the set lists I missed? So it wasn’t a hard decision.

“More than anything I pray for great sound and that everyone else will shut the fuck up while he’s singing.”

Elvis Costello, Gramercy Theater, New York, 2/9/23
1. “Welcome to the Working Week”
2. “Miracle Man”
3. “Hoover Factory”
4. “(The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes) Red Shoes”
5. “Stranger in the House”
6. “I Can’t Turn It Off”
7. “Sneaky Feelings”
8. “Imagination (Is a Powerful Deceiver)
9. “Domino” (Van Morrison Cover)
10. “Living in Paradise”
11. “Baby It’s You” (Burt Bacharach Cover)
12. “Poison Moon”
13. “Dupree’s Diamond Blues”
14. “Wave a White Flag”
15. “I’m Not Angry”
16. “Anyone Who Had a Heart” (Burt Bacharach Cover)
17. “Radio Sweetheart”
18. “Mystery Dance”
19. “Mr. Moon” (Clover Cover)
20. “No Dancing”
21. “Cheap Reward”
22. “Alison”
Encore:
23. “Please Stay”
24. “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” (Nick Lowe Cover)

Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for the Latest Updates

Premium Partners

Society of Rock partner World War Wings
Society of Rock partner Daily Rock Box
Society of Rock partner Country Music Nation
Society of Rock partner Country Rebel
Society of Rock partner I Love Classic Rock
Society of Rock partner Rock Pasta

Interested in becoming a partner?

Contact us for more info.