Elvis Costello Tour
Shortcuts: Frequently Asked Questions | Elvis Costello News | Concert Reviews | Tour Archive
Elvis Costello 2018 Concert Tour Opening Bands: To Be Determined
Narrow Events by City
Frequently Asked Questions
What will Elvis Costello play in concert?
An Elvis Costello setlist is a monstrous thing, forming and shaping and evolving as the set moves along. It is hard to get a solid grip of what songs you should expect to see within an Elvis Costello setlist. A few staples emerge through the typical three hour shows that the man and his backing group, the Imposters, usually put on.
“Allison”, his ode to a former lover from his 1977 debut album, My Aim is True, always finds its way into the set. But then Costello throws in a couple tracks out of left field. One of his most famous songs is “(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” Oddly, Elvis Costello is known to play the song at every set; sometimes twice. He slows it down and plays a very different version of the song at a later time during the show.
Costello only has about 3-5 songs that you can generally expect to hear at every show. This list is rounded out by showstopper, “A Slow Drag with Josephine” and “Tripwire.” The rest is a random slathering of deep soul cuts like “White Knuckles” to classic pop “Watching the Detectives” back to the classically inspired blues of “Jimmie Standing in the Rain.”
Elvis Costello is a jack of all trades and a musical chameleon that has dabbled in every genre known to man – literally. Fans can expect a random pick from a hat of Costello’s 27 album deep catalog. Costello’s most recent record was a collaboration with hip-hop and funk collective, the Roots. He plays “Sugar Won’t Work” and sometimes “Cinco Minutos Con Vos” from this mash-up record.
The below setlist is an example of what you can expect, but Elvis’ sets change radically from show to show so stay on your toes.
This Year’s Girl
Cinco Minutos Con Vos
High Fidelity
The Judgement
Harry Worth
Sugar Won’t Work
Imagination (Is a Powerful Decemberiver)
Come the Meantimes
Worthless Thing
King of Confidence
Poor Napoleon
Indoor Fireworks
Veronica
Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
Ascension Day
Wave a White Flag
White Knuckles
Watching the Detectives
My New Haunt
If I Could Believe
Oliver’s Army
Alison
It Tears Mr Up
A Slow Drag With Josephine
Harpies Bizarre
Radio Soul
The Name of This Thing Is Not Love
Riot Act
(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
Tripwire
The Puppet Has Cut His Strings
Almost Blue
Couldn’t Call It Unexpected #4
Man Out of Time
All These Strangers
Does Elvis Costello take requests?
This is perhaps one of the most obvious reasons why an Elvis Costello setlist is so absurdly different from show to show. The songwriter legitimately seems to accept requests, as opposed to just ‘saying so’ and then playing sort of what he feels. The back half of the latest run of sets seem like a grab bag of everything and anything the artist has put to tape in the past. He will stand there for a moment or two to hear any patterns arise from the audience on what to play next.
In other words, yell louder than anyone and more than anyone and you might be able to hear that obscure Costello pick he rarely ever plays.
Who is Elvis Costello’s publicist and press contact?
Elvis Costello partners with Macklam Feldman Management for his publicist and press concerns. You should be in good shape contacting his manager, Darrell Gilmour, at gilmour@mfmgt.com.
How do I get access to presale tickets for Elvis Costello’s Tour?
Costello has been adverse to the whole ticketing distribution system throughout his career. Fortunately, the artist has finally tied the knot with a presale distributor. In this case, Artist Arena has presales. You need to register then they will email a password and username. You use this information to log into the portal. Users also get information updates on new presales, special content, and promotions.
Live Nation offers an iPhone mobile App to access Live Nation Mobile App Presales as well as their standard Live Nation Presales.
Concert Reviews
“By the second encore (thats right, second), Costello took requests with a loud, red, light-up “Requests” sign. A tender rendition of “Tripwire” on electric guitar morphed into a wild “(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” which ended in a carnal loop of guitar feedback. Costello met multiple standing ovations with a bow and quick retreat back to the guitar.” – Zach Zahos of the Cornell Daily Sun
“Elvis Costello made lots of references to his old self — the angry, American-bashing genius who came to our shores from England four decades ago armed with so many memorable and punkish tunes. Most of the nods came by way of distancing himself from that guy, though not, praise the heavens, from the songs of that era.” – Dave McKenna of the Washington Post
“Seated at an electric piano, he positioned the brim like a man protecting his face from a downpour. In a reverie, his hands found the chords of “The Puppet Has Cut His Strings,” an elegy for his father, Ross MacManus. As the dense, near-dissonant note clusters rang out, Costello’s eyes widened, like a sleeper roused to tough reality by the tolling of church bells.” – Tris McCall of the Star Ledger
Tour Archive
2013 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Macy Gray, John Harle, Natalie Bergman
Started January 19, 2013 in Auckland, New Zealand | Ended December 15, 2013 in Tokyo, Japan
2012 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Ray Davies, Buddy Miller
Started January 14, 2012 in Seattle, Washington | Ended October 16, 2012 in New York City, New York
2011 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: The Secret Sisters
Started April 1, 2011 in New York City, New York | Ended October 8, 2011 in Huntington, West Virginia
2010 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: The Time Jumpers, The Sugarcanes
Started March 1, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee | Ended December 20, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois
2009 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: The Sugarcanes
Started August 17, 2009 in Saratoga, California | Ended November 7, 2009 in Austin, Texas
2008 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Allen Toussaint
Started April 22, 2008 in Memphis, Tennessee | Ended May 28, 2008 in Los Angeles, California
2007 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Allen Touissant Band, Steve Nieve
Started July 5, 2007 in Liverpool, England | Ended July 31, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal
2006 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Allen Toussaint
Started June 10, 2006 in Green Bay, Wisconsin | Ended July 18, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana
2005 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: The Imposters
Started March 2, 2005 in Orlando, Florida | Ended August 3, 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri
2004 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Steve Nieve
Started February 18, 2004 in Jacksonville, Florida | Ended December 18, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan
2003 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Steve Nieve
Started July 2, 2003 in Toronto, Ontario Canada | Ended November 2, 2003 in Oslo, Norway
2002 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: The Imposters
Started April 15, 2002 in Amsterdam, Netherlands | Ended November 9, 2002 in Chicago, Illinois
2001 Tour
Tour Opening Acts: Charles Mingus
Started April 25, 2001 in Los Angeles, California | Ended November 7, 2001 in New York City, New York
1979 World Tour
Started January 2, 1979 in Hemel Hempstead, England | Ended December 18, 1979 in Lisbon, Portugal
Rock Around the World
Tour Opening Acts: The Attractions
Started January 25, 1978 in Austin, Texas | Ended December 31, 1978 in Oxford, England