THE concept of Costello’s Revolver Tour is that punters are invited to spin a giant wheel of fortune and the band plays whichever of the 40-odd tracks the arrow indicates.
The reality is that there’s a fair amount of jiggery pokery going on and we end up hearing the majority of the music we have come to know and love in a near three-hour show.
And it was all fantastic entertainment, with Elvis on fine form, occasionally in a top hat and with a cane, and acting as a cross between an emcee and a circus barker.
The stage of ill-repute was dressed with the giant wheel, a bar, a strongman striker and a go-go cage occasionally filled by the delectable Dixie De La Fontaine.
The Imposters – the incomparable Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher – kicked off with a cracking I Hope You’re Happy Now, Heart Of The City, Mystery Dance and Radio Radio blitz.
Then the spinning started.
We had Alison, Please Please Me, Harry Worth and a This Wheel’s On Fire/Be My Baby medley, but some of the lesser known (to me) songs such as Country Darkness and the old B side You Belong To Me really stood out.
Highlights included a lovingly extended Watching The Detectives (with Elvis walking through the auditorium), Every Day I Write The Book, Chelsea, Pump It Up, a perfectly, beautifully performed Shipbuilding and the stomping set closer (What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace Love and Understanding.
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