(Review by Keir Shields)
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS WITH CHARLIE SEXTON + CHRIS DIFFORD – BRIGHTON DOME 12.6.26
With a 50-year career under his belt, Elvis Costello is a polarising figure, no stranger to controversy. From his infamous ‘SNL’ appearance to the recent debate over that lyric from ‘Oliver’s Army’, Costello never shies away from debate. While historically inflammatory, he’s shifted his anti-establishment into protective elder statesman, defending Olivia Rodrigo’s borrowing of ‘Pump It Up’ in her track ‘Brutal’, commenting on X: “It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy”.
Regardless of which side of the firestorm he’s on, Costello embodies a punk spirit while leaning on pop melodies and dub rhythms, retaining the typical Dylan-disciples’ attitudes of the late 70s singer-songwriters.
Tonight is all about origins, arriving at Brighton Dome for the first UK show of his ‘Radio Soul: Early songs’ run – spotlighting the depth of his initial releases.
Opening a night of career retrospectives is Chris Difford, responsible for most of Squeeze’s recognisable tracks. In a stripped-back set, assisted only by Melvin Duffy on keys and guitar, he takes us on an autobiographical “this is your life” trip through his life via music. From the weathered, downstroked ‘Take Me I’m Yours’, Difford is non-stop quipping about leaving his care home to an audience as grey as himself. The years are rolled back as soon as ‘Up The Junction’ is aired after 3 false starts, the immortal lyrics “I never thought it would happen with me and the girl from Clapham” captivating those who Difford’s dad jokes hadn’t disarmed.
Remarkably, the obligatory “shut up and play the songs we know” attitude from the crowd is non-existent, with solo career tracks like the forlorn ‘It’s Over’ and ‘Cowboys Are My Weakness’ commanding attention due to Difford’s abilities as a storyteller. Regaling us with stories of interactions with Mark Knopfler and Bono, with the continued punchline “… and 6 months later they played Wembley, and we played Oxford Arms in Deptford”, Difford posits himself as a South London Forrest Gump.
“This next song was kept off number one by a band called Tubeway Army…the frontman is called Gary Numan. He’s a wanker” Difford states before another Squeeze cut in ‘Labelled With Love’ is aired. Interestingly, this becomes another bit highlighting Squeeze’s consistent bridesmaid’s status with the charts. “This song was kept off number one by Art Garfunkel… he’s also a wanker” earns belly laughs as the jaunty ‘Cool For Cats’ closes our opener with hushed sing-alongs. While Difford’s guitar playing relies heavily on downstroke rhythm and offers little variety, his presence as a storyteller beyond his lyrics, painting a self-deprecating picture of South London, makes him remarkably vivid and charming. As part stand-up, part trip through memory lane, Difford sets a remarkable standard for Costello as a consistent power-pop presence.
Chris Difford:
Chris Difford – vocals, guitar
Melvin Duffy – slide guitar, guitar, keys
Chris Difford setlist:
‘Take Me I’m Yours’ (Squeeze song)
‘Deptford’
‘Up The Junction’ (Squeeze song)
‘It’s Over’ (Squeeze song)
‘Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)’ (Squeeze song)
‘Freddie And The Dreamers’
‘Is That Love’ (Squeeze song)
‘Cowboys Are My Weakness’
‘Labelled With Love’ (Squeeze song)
‘Tempted’ (Squeeze song)
‘Cool For Cats’ (Squeeze song)
Arriving 10 minutes later than expected, Costello and co. waste no time getting started, launching straight into the bluesy surf rock ‘Mystery Dance.’ His voice, now evidently weathered, holds through the frantic ska of ‘Human Touch’, but can’t settle on a key during tannoy-style, dub-indebted ‘Watching The Detectives’.
Tipping his hat, Costello finally addresses a packed-out Dome with “Good evening, good evening!” With a “shut up and play the hits” crowd understanding, the forlorn doo-wop of ‘Little Triggers’ lands to cheers. “Early songs could mean earlier today…” Costello teases the audience with a remarkably fluid, secretive setlist approach, leading us to a duo of tracks, starting with a fingerpicked demo, only revealed as the roots-to-soft-rock ‘Accidents Will Happen’ when the band joins.
With true versatility, ‘Opportunity’ swaggers in with a groovy bassline and punchy chords for a new-wave-via-disco bounce that showcases the band’s immediate versatility, swinging between late 70s genres like a Spotify ‘best of’ decade playlist. ‘Lover’s Walk’ is more of the same, with hollow percussion carried by Nieve’s dual wielding of melody on keys while Costello solos down the bottom of his fretboard.
Peppered into the set are covers: the first comes during a slower section, gathered round Costello on keys, the pleading ‘Who Will The Next Fool Be’ gives Sexton a solo moment, before ushering in a string of slower tracks from the smoky pining of ‘Almost Blue’ to the raspy, acoustic-driven sneer of ‘(TheAngels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes’.
A drunken indecipherable shout from the audience is met with rare interaction from Costello: “I don’t know whether that was a request, or a cry for help!”.
Entering an almighty final third, the syncopated ‘Honey Are You Straight or Blind’ is stripped right down with an earworm coda on acoustic guitar, before launching into the bluesy Sam & Dave cover ‘I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down’, which has an audience starting to clap along. At the same time, Costello prowls the stage, uninhibited by an instrument. With a string of deepcuts out of the way and our first moment of audience participation, the first in a string of favourites in ‘High Fidelity’ arrives in typically Costello jaunty, neurotic fashion; finally starting to get a restless crowd onto their feet.
Intent on a high-energy finish, ‘Less Than Zero’ is directly segued, landing with a bit of a thud as a typical rock number; it becomes easy to see why he interrupted himself while playing this track on SNL in 1977. Mercifully ,‘Oliver’s Army’ draws attention to just how full the room is: focused on a slicing, staccato riff with the piano melody pushed to the back of the mix, it’s bouncy even as Costello slightly resorts to sprechgesang, with his vocals understandably unable to keep up with his youth.
The vocal struggles continue with the tetchy jealousy of ‘Alison’, as Costello visibly falters through to the soft rock of ‘Every Day I Write The Book.’ Fortunately, the dub rhythms return in ‘(I Don’t Wanna Go To) Chelsea’ bouncing as Costello’s vocals return to form and the entire crowd rises for what seems like the conclusion.
In the first hit of a double-punch conclusion, the jittery jolt of ‘Pump It Up’ punches into the room with no room to breathe, as the entire crowd stands for an ovation, and is smacked with the bouncing clap rhythm. While his seasoned vocals hinder slower moments, they add grit to heavier moments where the instrumentation can carry the weight. Directly segueing into closer ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding’ lands as a new-wave plea for understanding, as the crowd matches Costello’s dad-dancing shuffle in an act of togetherness.
While the setlist from the first eight years of Costello’s career seems restrictive for such a staple of the industry, tonight is a testament to how iconic his early material is, from the deep cuts all the way to favourites. While some shaky moments and slower tracks don’t quite connect, it’s admirable that Costello chooses to leave his voice intact warts-and-all rather than succumb to the scourge of the semi-sync. Across tonight, there’s a consistent feeling of recognition with Costello authoring far more familiar tracks than you might remember. Despite some inconsistencies vocally and some wobbles in a setlist that admirably changes each night, if you’ve ever been a fan of Elvis Costello in any phase of your life, the tickets are worth it.
Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton:
Elvis Costello – lead vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, grand piano
Steve Nieve – keyboards, melodica, grand piano, drum, backing vocals
Pete Thomas – drums, keys
Davey Faragher – bass guitar, crossbow style double bass, backing vocals
Charlie Sexton – electric guitar, acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton setlist:
‘Mystery Dance’ (Elvis Costello song)
‘Lipstick Vogue’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Watching The Detectives’ (Elvis Costello song)
‘Little Triggers’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Watch Your Step’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
“(Unknown)” (EC solo, announced as a prototype for ‘Accidents Will Happen’)
‘Accidents Will Happen’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Opportunity’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Lovers Walk’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Who Will The Next Fool Be’ (Charlie Rich cover)
‘Almost Blue’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes’ (Elvis Costello song)
‘A Good Year For The Roses’ (George Jones cover)
‘Lovable’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Honey, Are You Straight Or Are You Blind?’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down’ (Sam & Dave cover)
‘High Fidelity’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Less Than Zero’ (Elvis Costello song)
‘Oliver’s Army’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘Alison’ (Elvis Costello song)
‘Everyday I Write The Book’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover) (with band introductions)
‘Pump It Up’ (Elvis Costello & The Attractions cover)
‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding’ (Brinsley Schwarz cover)
(Outro tune) ‘Donald Where’s Your Troosers?’ (by Andy Stewart)
Author: Nick Linazasoro
Music Editor
