Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello and the Imposters put on a B+ show at the Santa Barbara Bowl last night and Daryl Hall (formerly of Hall & Oates) put on a C-, or maybe D+ show. For some reason–political, financial, or era–Elvis’s 75 minutes came first, accentuating how flat Hall’s following 75 minutes were. Based on comments Costello made, I think more concertgoers had come for him than for Hall, even though his heyday was more ’70s while Hall was ’80s.

Costello pleased the crowd by playing his most familiar songs–Pump It Up, Watching the Detectives, Everyday I Write the Book–amid a dozen I liked but didn’t know, then brought down the house with an encore of (What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding and concluding with Alison. His voice left something to be desired, though not in volume, but he won us over with his enthusiasm and 70-year-old energy. His backup band was spare, but each of the four was a personality. My guess is that two or three have been playing with Elvis for most of his career, and the only “youngster” was Charlie Sexton, a semi-headliner in his own right. My accidental seatmate Dave, a rock guitarist around town, knew and admired the band’s musicianship.

By contrast, he referred to Hall’s larger ensemble as “like a wedding band.” The guitar player was good, he said, but as a group they disappeared along with the music. For starters, there aren’t any Hall & Oates songs I really love, even had they been featured more frequently (my favorite, She’s Gone, was missing). Whereas Costello knocked us out with his encore, when Daryl came back, in response to polite applause, he introduced a song of his new album–not why any of us was there. When he did play a familiar song, it regularly morphed into a 5-10 minute jam of little interest. A number of his songs were slow and boring, not the rockers we were primed for after Elvis. Nor did Hall have the edgy persona of Costello. He never lit a fire. In all, it was about the least interesting concert I’ve attended at the Bowl