Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello returns to the Providence Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, July 25, as a part of his “Imperial Bedroom & Other Chambers” tour.
The show takes songs from the 1983 album Imperial Bedroom as a starting point, but Costello says, “We never intended to recite this book from cover to cover. Listen to our new arrangement of ‘Tears Before Bedtime,’ it gets straight to the real meaning of that song, the way we hear and feel it today. Back in 1982, I might have been a step or two ahead of our crowd in the tragic, romantic stakes but I sense that they’ve all caught up with me now.”
Other songs from Imperial Bedroom like “Beyond Belief,” “Almost Blue,” and “Man Out Of Time” have remained in Costello’s repertoire throughout the years, but a blazing electric version of the rarely performed “Pidgin English” was among the many highlights of an initial run of dates that concluded at the Beacon Theatre in New York on the eve of the recent election.
Speaking of the second part of the show’s title, Costello added, “You never know who or what you are going to encounter down the corridor to those ‘Other Chambers.’”
The Imposters – Pete Thomas on drums, Davey Faragher on bass and vocals, and Steve Nieve on piano and keyboards – will once again be augmented by accompanying vocalists, Kitten Kuroi and YahZarah.
At recent shows, these singers joined Costello at the microphone for a sparse but beautiful version of “Alison,” while “Everyday I Write The Book” was returned to its original recorded arrangement in a set that goes from hushed ballads to a rock and rhythm finale.
The “Get Happy” song, “King Horse,” Allen Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down,” the Burt Bacharach/Elvis Costello ballad, “This House Is Empty Now” and “American Mirror” from the forthcoming stage musical “A Face In The Crowd” have been among the “Other Chambers” visited so far.
Tickets are $79.50 – $49.50; all ticket prices include a $3 per ticket restoration charge and are subject to change without notice. Visit www.ppacri.org for the most current prices.
