– Elvis Costello and The Attractions – Live At Old Waldorf – Nov. 15, 1977 – KSAN-FM –
Early Elvis Costello. First U.S. tour to coincide with the release of My Aim Is True and the tour that landed him on Saturday Night Live and the incident which banned him from the show until 1989. Nothing outrageous, other than stopping in the middle of one song and instead playing Radio-Radio, a song which NBC and SNL higher-ups told him not to play.
But this was back when the 1970s were loaded with outrage, and bands were busy annoying higher-ups. The Sex Pistols, known for their obscenity-laced tirade on a BBC show axed them from EMI – so it was only natural Elvis Costello, appreciating a mass-popularity from the release of his debut album, ratcheted it up a few notches and added controversy to the mix.
But this gig at Old Waldorf in San Francisco isn’t controversial by any means – it’s simply a great concert featuring one of the defining artists of the 70s, preserved for history.
Recorded for the venerable KSAN-FM in San Francisco, with a small chunk of tape missing just at the beginning of Watching The Detectives, a nonetheless memorable show we’re lucky to hear again.
Elvis Costello has gone through innumerable changes over the years – but this is where it all started. This is what got everybody excited and wanting to hear more. This is when Music got its much needed kick in the ass.
Play loud.
Summer is over and everybody is back at work or school. If you’re in school you’re probably knee-deep in History – tests, reports, papers – homework. Reading about things that happened decades before you were born – can’t quite wrap your head around it. If you’re a teacher, it’s like pulling teeth to get your students even remotely interested in what happened before they were born. If you’re at work, you may be one of those people in middle-management who have to do presentations – something to amaze your boss and your colleagues – no pressure, but you have to deliver the goods, usually yesterday. Not to brag, but Past Daily is one website where you can find out about a lot of things you didn’t know about – hear things you aren’t familiar with – and by becoming a subscriber you can download all this audio (at last count over 10,000 sound files) you can build your own reference library, a mouse click away. You can also go exploring by using the Search Engine to dig deep.
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