Elvis Costello and The Imposters took to the stage at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Friday night, but things didn’t quite go to plan due to a technical issue.
The show, titled ‘The Boy Named If & Other Favourites’, was sold out at the Liverpool Philharmonic. Costello, 67, and band members Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas, Davey Faragher, plus Charlie Sexton, delighted fans with tracks from their 2022 album, as well as a few classics. Personally, I couldn’t wait to hear Pump It Up and I Don’t Want To Go To Chelsea live, but Costello kept me waiting right until the end.
There was a real buzz in the room following support act Ian Prowse, and when Costello stepped out onto the stage wearing a pair of shades and holding his guitar, the crowd erupted. The main man himself told the Liverpool crowd “it’s good to be home” before going into the first song of the night.
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Unfortunately, this was when the technical issue first became evident. It was quite difficult to hear Costello singing when the drums and guitars were being played loudly, and people all around me were turning to each other confused. After a couple of songs, the audience were really frustrated, and a few people tried to shout out to Costello to tell him his microphone was too quiet.
Clearly not understanding what was happening, Costello thought he was being heckled. Appearing insulted, he responded negatively to the crowd before playing on oblivious to the technical error. Fans tried their best to clap along and ignore the sound problem.
After a few more songs and shouts from audience members, someone from Costello’s team thankfully told him the crowd were shouting about the microphone issue. “That was the sound check, now it’s the gig”, joked Costello once the microphone had been fixed, but while the majority of the audience laughed and cheered, some fans got up from their seats and didn’t return.
Despite many fans clapping along for the remainder of the night, some chose to leave the performance early even after the microphone had been fixed. It was a huge shame about the technical issue and how Costello responded, as the mood of the room wasn’t the same.
When the microphone wasn’t an issue, you could appreciate the delightful tones of Costello’s strong voice and the musicianship from everyone on stage. Costello also had a few impressive guitar solos that I really enjoyed, as did the cheering audience.
Although the show was named after the 2022 album, ‘The Boy Named If’, it would have been good to hear a few more of Costello’s hits, especially as it was Pump It Up and I Don’t Want To Go To Chelsea that got the audience up on their feet dancing.
It’s a pity the night didn’t go as expected, and it’s hard to accurately judge a show when there’s an issue with the sound. The problem wasn’t Costello’s fault, but perhaps he could have handled the frustrated crowd better.
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