15 January 11-17, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | Music | OG Influencer Five essential tracks that showcase Elvis Costello’s rock ‘n’ roll influences. BY DAVID ROLLAND E lvis Costello and rock ‘n’ roll were born right around the same time. He came into this world as Declan MacManus in 1954, the same year the guy he took his stage name from, Elvis Presley, first stepped into a studio at Sun Records. Costello was a part of the first gen- eration of rock stars who didn’t know a world without rock ‘n’ roll. However, by the time he released his 1977 de- but album, My Aim Is True, his attitude toward his musical forefathers differed greatly from that of his peers. While his British countrymen, the Sex Pistols, were saying throw out all the music that came before, Costello, with his hat tip to the King and his spectacles reminiscent of Buddy Holly, was respectful of the musicians who blazed his trail. Over the next 46 years, Costello released hundreds of songs influenced by the past, but of- ten with an eye to the future. Ahead of his concert at the Fillmore Miami Beach on January 12, here’s a look at five Elvis Costello tracks that give you a feel for the rock ‘n’ roll legend. “Watching the Detectives” The 1977 single was the first of Costello’s to hit the charts, and with its reggae beat, “Watching the Detectives” stands out from the rest. Al- though the Jamaican-influenced rhythms proba- bly made it sound quite different from the radio songs of the era (outside of the Clash), its cine- matic song title and lyrics harken back to the big- band era of music when songs would tell a cohesive story. Costello’s father was a singer in just that type of a big band, so perhaps “Watch- ing the Detectives” serves as a reggae tribute to his pops. “Alison” Off his 1977 debut, My Aim Is True, “Alison” man- ages the trick of sounding simultaneously heart- wrenchingly raw while also seeming like a tongue-in-cheek mockery of a cheesy love ballad. In his 2015 memoir Unfaithful Music & Disappear- ing Ink, Costello wrote the song’s inspiration came from encountering a beautiful woman working at a supermarket: “She had a face for which a ship might have once been named. Scoundrels might once have fought mist-swathed duels to defend her honor. Now she was punch- ing in the prices on cans of beans at a cash regis- ter and looking as if all the hopes and dreams of her youth were draining away.” “Pump It Up” Due to its popularity in NBA and NHL arenas as a way to hype up crowds, this is probably the most famous Costello song that people don’t realize they know. Released in 1978, the three-minute powderkeg was influenced by Bob Dylan’s “Sub- terranean Homesick Blues,” but it can’t shake off the new-wave influences reminiscent of other late ‘70s power pop like “My Sharona” and “What I Like About You.” The music video shows Costello doing a dance I always thought the Talking Heads’ David Byrne invented: the spastic rock star not fully in control of his body’s reaction to the music. But in 1978, Costello might have planted his flag there first. “Veronica” Though Costello is often named one of the best songwriters of his generation, he wasn’t intimi- dated to work with one of the best songwriters of the previous and any generation, Paul Mc- Cartney. At first listen, the 1989 track “Veron- ica” sounds like a tradi- tional love song, but it is a tribute to Costello’s grandmother, who was suffering from demen- tia. At moments, it sounds very much of its time, like something Phil Collins would have put out. But there’s also something Beatles-esque about it, probably owing to McCartney playing bass on the track. “Walk Us Uptown” While it’s tempting to concentrate only on his first few albums, Costello has been a working mu- sician for nearly 50 years now, always pushing his boundaries with interesting collaborators and sticking his toes in different genres. On his 2013 album Wise Up Ghost, he conspired with hip-hop band the Roots to make something that sounded both fresh and vintage. The Roots’ funk and jazz beats seemed to propel Costello forward, none more so than on this track. Elvis Costello & the Imposters. 8 p.m., Friday, January 12, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Tickets $49.50–$149.50 via live- nation.com. | CROSSFADE | ▼ Music hit, and his track “Far Away” became indeli- bly seared into the minds of gamers every- where when it was featured in Rockstar’s 2010 western Red Dead Redemption. González will celebrate Veneer’s 20th anni- versary by playing the album in full at the Miami Beach Bandshell, an appropriate venue considering the burgeoning Argentin- ian community in North Beach and Nor- mandy Shores. 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 1, at Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 786-453-2897; miamibeach- bandshell.com. Tickets $46.35 via dice.fm. DOUGLAS MARKOWITZ Bad Bunny at Kaseya Center, May 24–26 One year before the Renaissance and Eras tours ruled the summer, there was the summer of Un Verano Sin Ti. Bad Bunny’s World’s Hottest Tour — in support of Benito’s record-shattering 2022 album — was a phenomenon unto itself, becoming the highest-grossing Latin music tour in history. This year, in support of his 2023 follow-up album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, Bad Bunny will return to Miami to close out his Most Wanted Tour with a three-night run at the Kaseya Center. In line with the album’s return to his Latin trap roots, Benito has warned he wants to see only day ones at these shows. To state it plainly, the tour poster reads: “If you’re not a real fan, don’t come.” 8 p.m., Friday, May 24; Saturday, May 25; and Sunday, May 26; at Kaseya Center, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; kaseyacenter.com. Tickets $131–$950 via ticketmaster.com. CELIA ALMEIDA Taylor Swift at Hard Rock Stadium, October 18–20 Sick of Swift? Too bad. After taking over sta- diums, movie theaters, and NFL games in 2023, Taylor Swift shows zero signs of slow- ing down in 2024. With only the first leg completed, her wildly successful Eras Tour is already the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first-ever to gross $1 billion. She’s ex- pected to smash those numbers this year as she takes the tour global with dates in Eu- rope, Asia, South America, and Australia be- fore returning to North America in October. She’ll mark her return to the U.S. with a three-date run at Hard Rock Stadium, her first shows in Florida since The Eras Tour’s three-date stop in Tampa last spring, and her first Miami shows since 2018’s Reputation Stadium Tour. If Swiftie fan theories are to be believed, we might have Reputation (Taylor’s Version) by then, too. Are you ready for it? 7 p.m., Friday, October 18; Saturday, October 19; and Sunday, October 20; at Hard Rock Sta- dium, 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens; 305- 943-8000; hardrockstadium.com. Tickets cost $49–$499 via ticketmaster.com. CELIA ALMEIDA King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard at Factory Town, November 21 This show is so exciting we’re thinking about it nearly a year in advance. Hailing from Down Under, King Gizz, as they’re known to fans, is one of the biggest cult bands of the last decade. The band earned that reputation by being one of the hardest-working acts of the last decade, according to a 2019 study. In addition to extensive touring, since forming in 2012 King Gizzard has released a stagger- ing 25 studio albums — five in 2022 alone — ranging from psychedelic and progressive rock to heavy metal, synthpop, and even mi- crotonal tunings inspired by Turkish rock. An extended “Gizzverse” of recurring char- acters has emerged across the band’s many concept albums, with entire online commu- nities having sprung up to decipher it. Basi- cally, you never know what you’re gonna get from King Gizzard, and that’s part of the fun. If you’ve not yet entered the Gizzverse, the band’s huge performance at Factory Town is a great place to start. 7 p.m., Thursday, No- vember 21, at Factory Town, 4800 NW 37th Ave., Miami; factorytown.com. Tickets $45 via dice.fm. DOUGLAS MARKOWITZ [email protected] Elvis Costello will perform at the Fillmore Miami Beach on Friday, January 12. Photo by Mark Seliger COSTELLO RELEASED SONGS INFLUENCED BY THE PAST, BUT OFTEN WITH AN EYE TO THE FUTURE. Live Music Planner from p14
