Review: Elvis Costello at the Count Basie Theatre

(Credit: Mike Sypniewski / Asbury Park Press)

Elvis Costello, 'Secret, Profane and Sugarcane'

Teenagers, 20-somethings, baby boomers and everyone in between lined Monmouth Street in Red Bank on Tuesday evening, ready to worship at the altar of Elvis. And for those who came prepared to listen, the night proved to be an epic knockout.

Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes launched their tour in support of Costello's latest album, "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane," with a show Tuesday night at the Count Basie Theatre, and from the first tune of the night -- the Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson cover "My Resistance is Low" -- it was clear that the show was to be a special evening and anything but a greatest hits affair.

Sure, there were some popular Costello tunes scattered throughout the evening, including a slow and elegant reconstruction of "Everyday I Write the Book" that wouldn't have felt out of place if played by Bob Dylan's current touring band and an evening-closing run through "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes."

But for the most part, Costello and his six-man backing string band had a specific old-timey purpose in mind and they would not be swayed from that path, no matter how many times one woman in the crowd shouted for "rock ‘n' roll!"

One of the most telling points of the evening came before the start of the fourth number, the rare gem "Stranger in the House."

"This is a song that was written 32 years ago for the album ‘My Aim Is True,'" Costello told the crowd, who responded with great applause. "Don't get too excited," he cautioned, "it didn't make the record. But, it did take me to Nashville."

The song, a lush and melancholy tune that has come to only fit Costello's voice better with time, typified the evening. While there was no getting around the fact that Costello was the man behind several classic rock staples, including the "My Aim is True" tracks "Watching the Detectives," "Alison" and "Less Than Zero," on Tuesday night he was in town to show a sadder, wiser and altogether more American-sounding side of himself.

Part of his strategy for Americanizing his sound, it seems, is to draw on the work of some of America's finest songwriters. Along with Carmichael and Adamson's "My Resistance is Low," Costello tried his hand at Merle Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" and Lou Reed's "Femme Fatale," all to powerful and winning results.

From the stage, Costello acknowledged the sense of American musical history that the Basie holds thanks to its namesake.

"It's our first night on stage together, and we could not have found a more beautiful theater to play in. And, there's absolutely no pressure whatsoever because it's named after Count Baise," he said.

Costello released the country and bluegrass-influenced "Secret, Profane and Sugarcane" last Tuesday (June 2), and while his show in Red Bank contained 11 of the 13 songs from that excellent record, it was clear on Tuesday night that not quite all of kinks had yet been worked out of Costello and the Sugarcanes' live presentation.

It may have been the fact that this was the first night of the tour, or that there was no warm-up act, but it took a few songs for the sound mix to even off and find the suitable levels, and the lighting cues never seemed to fully sync up with what was happening on stage, leading to moments where either the stage was too dark or the house lights were inexplicably on.

Fortunately, none of these kinks entirely retracted from enjoyment of the show, and it's likely that they'll be smoothed out by the time Costello and the Sugarcanes hit the Beacon Theatre in New York City tonight (June 10).

How best to sum up a multi-faceted, 28-song, two-hour and 20-minute performance that drew on traditional music ("The Butcher's Boy"), classic American covers (George Jones' "The Race is On"), numbers from Costello's unfinished opera, "The Secret Songs" ("She Was No Good," "She Handed Me a Mirror," "Red Cotton"), and songs from deep in Costello's own catalog (including five from 1986's country-flavored "King of America")?

Perhaps with a line from another one of Tuesday evening's most powerful numbers, the title track from "The Delivery Man" (2004): "In a certain light, he looked like Elvis."

There was no doubt that Elvis was in the building on Tuesday night. However, as someone whose musical style has been ever-evolving, Costello used his night at the Basie to cast himself in a new light, revealing at once a sound that is new and timeless.

Here's the set list from Tuesday night:

1. "My Resistance is Low"
2. "My All Time Doll"
3. "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down"
4. "Stranger in the House"
5. "Our Little Angel"
6. "Femme Fatale"
7. "I Felt the Chill Before the Winter Came"
8. "Hidden Shame"
9. "The Delivery Man"
10. "The Butcher's Boy"
11. "Blame it on Cane"
12. "Indoor Fireworks"
13. "I Dreamed of My Old Lover"
14. "There's a Story in Your Voice"
15. "She Handed Me a Mirror"
16. (Brand new song)
17. "Everyday I Write the Book"
18. "She Was No Good"
19. "Little Palaces"
20. "Complicated Shadows"
21. "Down Among the Wine and Spirits"
22. "Brilliant Mistake"

Encore:
23. "Red Cotton"
24. "The Crooked Line"
25. "American Without Tears"
26. "Sulphur to Sugarcane"
27. "The Race is On"
28. "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes"