Elvis Costello & the Imposters and Blondie

Seeing Elvis Costello & the Imposters and Blondie was a last-minute decision. I grew up listening and watching both, but I've only seen Elvis Costello live once, with The Attractions, years ago when they opened for Sting. Seeing Blondie would be a new experience, and it intrigued me. Still, inexplicably, neither did I keep up with the news of this incredible tour nor did I jump on it when I learned it was stopping by the Anthem in Southwest D.C. on July 26th.

Instead, on the day of the concert, I saw that – to my surprise – tickets were still available. By the end of my workday, instead of taking the nap that was tempting me, I went to the venue to weigh the pros and cons of the long line I expected to see. It shocked me that only five people were there when I arrived. I will take one general admission ticket, please! (Happy birthday to me!) I made it to the front and settled in for some magic.

Note to self: Next time, plan better with snacks and more comfortable shoes. Still, in my post-show glow, I determined that this was one of the best late Friday afternoon decisions I ever made.

I hoped that Debbie Harry and Elvis Costello might perform together at some point, but they didn't. This was a true double bill: Blondie played the first set, and Elvis Costello & the Imposters followed the intermission with the second set. Here are some highlights.

Blondie

The stage was set with three giant screens along the back wall. Before the band came out, the screens advertised Debbie Harry's upcoming memoir, Face It and had some interesting line drawings decorating the surrounding blank space. Throughout the show, the screens flashed artsy photos or just TV scramble. Everything was edgy, artistic, and very Blondie!

But, when Debbie Harry first appeared, I was shocked and disappointed. She wore sunglasses, a bulky sliver jacket, brick-sized platform shoes, and worst of all, an odd glittery jockey hat. It seemed like an old lady's ensemble built for covering up, and I couldn't see her. Eventually, she stripped all these layers off one by one to reveal her fresh face and a sleek and stylish outfit underneath, and she was the Debbie Harry I remembered. Phew! Toward the end, she covered up again with a flowing slivery gown, which seemed more fitting for this beautiful lady!

What she wore didn't matter, though; she still sounded amazing! No one even cared that they had to start Hanging on the Telephone a few times to get it right. "We're just having fun, right?" Debbie Harry said. "That's what this tour is all about!" Everyone screamed in agreement. (I actually like these kinds of mixups. It turns the rock stars into real people.)

I knew almost every song that Blondie performed word for word and sang and danced along the entire time. I didn't realize how many songs I loved and had memorized. Aside from Hanging on the Telephone, they played other classics like One Way or Another, Call Me,  and Atomic. During Heart of Glass, they mixed in a bit of I Feel Love by Donna Summer, and during The Tide is High, they slipped into Grove is in the Heart by Deee-Lite, which I thought was a perfect song for Blondie to cover. They also covered Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, which I really liked. And, when they played Rapture, I nearly lost my mind! (Debbie Harry told us that the producers advised against the release of this "controversial" song. After all, it included rapping! Who's going to like or get it? "Shows what they know," she said. I think it turned out alright.)

Blondie kicked off their encore with a sultry version of From Russia with Love and sent a subtle message by flashing the presidential seal on the screens behind them. And, just as I had wished for, they ended their set with Dreaming! My night was complete.

But it wasn't! Going into the intermission, it occurred to me that this already fantastic concert was only half over!

Intermission
As the lights came on, the speakers blared Kids in America by Kim Wilde, and we were all so wound up from Blondie that we sang along and danced around to that too. During the intermission, the screens switched from advertising Debbie Harry's book to advertising Elvis Costello's latest album, Look Now.

Meanwhile, roadies switched out the instruments for the next band, which included some unexpected drama! We all watched them fussing over Elvis Costello's pedal board. Three guys were involved, one turning the knobs on the pedal board, one testing out the guitar, and one running around to relay messages to managers. Eventually, one of them unhooked and ran off stage with the pedal board. As he did so, those of us watching groaned, feeling sorry for their predicament. When he returned, running with a new pedal board, we cheered. They tested this new one out for a while longer. The third guy now had a flashlight because the lights had gone down, the music had relooped, and we all sang and danced along to Kim Wilde again. When the guy gave up on the replacement pedal board and ran with it off stage again, we groaned again too, but now with worry that they show may never go on.

But it did! After the set had started, the guy ran back out on stage with the pedal board in hand, ready to try again, but Elvis waved him away, saying, "Leave it. Just leave it. It's fine," he said and explained to us: "We started a little late tonight because we had a little problem with the pedal board, but I told them it didn't matter. Just make it loud!"

Elvis Costello & The Imposters

I must admit that I don't have Elvis Costello lyrics memorized as well as Blondie's, but I still love the music because I love Elvis Costello! I first fell for Elvis when he came out with the song called Veronica. I bought a cassette tape of Spike (in a record store bargain bin), which has that song on it, and I loved every song on that album.

I've also seen Elvis Costello around everywhere over the years, so I know a lot of his classic songs. My sister and I sang along with him when he was touring with Sting. I also saw him on music shows, doing collaborations with Burt Bacharach, T Bone Burnett, and others. I saw him on an episode of Frasier, and I remember when he filled in for David Letterman hosting The Late Show. He always said interesting, funny things on talk shows too. I binge-watched his own talk show, called Spectacle, in which he interviewed and played with his peers. I also read his wonderful memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink. This time around, Elvis was the main attraction for me.

Elvis wore a cool three-piece suit, looking very British. He later took his coat off and added a bright red hat. Toward the end, he added a sparkly coat that I wanted. 

 

This set was sprinkled with music from Elvis Costello's entire catalog. Everyone went bonkers as the classics kept coming. Pump It Up kicked things off, and it only got better from there. Some of my favorites were Accidents Will Happen, Beyond Belief, Watching the Detectives, So Like Candy, I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down, Every Day I Write the Book, Alison, and the gem of the encore, (What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding. As each song played, the screens behind the band displayed images or messages related to the song lyrics (like "Thou shall not kill" during Peace, Love, and Understanding) as well as old photos and album covers from the band's lengthy catalog and storied past.

Unlike Blondie, which seemed to play hit after hit, Elvis Costello & the Imposters switched things up every once in a while. Sometimes, Elvis played a slower tune at the piano or moved the two fantastic backup vocalists, Kitten Karoi and Briana Lee, up front with him to perform together. Maybe this set felt different to me because I wasn't familiar with every song or because Elvis Costello has a bigger song catalog from which to choose. Or, maybe all the songs they played are hits, and I just don't know it! In any case, I appreciated all of it.

              

As usual, Elvis Costello was full of jokes or interesting thoughts between songs. These anecdotes often end up being my favorite parts of any appearance. For example, he tried to decide which song to play that would best fit today's political climate. He mentioned several contenders, including Beyond Belief, but I think Accidents Will Happen was the winner. He also brought up Elvis Presley for no apparent reason, saying that if he had lived longer, he would have had massive hits with covers of Duran Duran's Rio and Blondie's Heart of Glass – and he performed a bit of both with a good Elvis impression.

I felt so lucky to see both Blondie and Elvis Costello & The Imposters together on the same night! (Here's a little gallery of professional photos of Blondie and Elvis Costello & the Imposters from the show to make up for my blurry results.)

Everyone left the Anthem in a deliriously happy haze. It may have taken me two full days to recover, but Elvis Costello and Blondie only get better with age!