Elvis Costello Details 10-Show NYC Residency With A Different Set Each Night
Over the past 45 years, Elvis Costello has built up a very serious catalog — one so deep that he can play multiple live shows without repeating any tracks. Early next year, Costello plans to do exactly that. As a guest on The Tonight Show last month, Costello mentioned plans to play a 10-night stand at New York’s historic Gramercy Theatre, with a different setlist each night. Now, Costello has outlined his exact plans for those shows, and they are ambitious.
Costello will play those “100 Songs And More” shows next February. He’ll play the first five shows completely solo, and for the next four, he’ll be joined only by longtime keyboardist Steve Nieve. Costello has teased secret guests for the last night. Over the course of those shows, Costello plans to play 200 different songs, with no repeats. He’ll announce 10 of those songs before hand — in fact, he’s already done that — and he’ll pick 10 more in the moment. The idea is that he won’t repeat any of those songs, though he may go back to some fan favorites during the encores.
Costello has poetically outlined those plans in a new press release:
For ten nights at the Gramercy Theatre
I’ll name ten songs to set the scene
I’ll play those ten and then ten more
Shake off the old routineEach night will tell a different tale
So come to one or come to all
“100 Songs” is what I promise
But twice that number is quite a haulI will start this stand alone, that’s fine
Nights One to Five, the Feast Day of St. Valentine
Steve Nieve will join me for Nights Six, Seven, Eight & Nine
But what else may happen is a secret of mine
Let’s just set up the chair or two and play
In case some friends turn up along the way
Costello has also announced the initial 10-song setlists for all 10 shows, and you can find them below.
Night One – 2/9:
01 “Welcome To The Working Week”
02 “Hoover Factory”
03 “Red Shoes”
04 “Stranger In The House”
05 “Poison Moon”
06 “Wave A White Flag”
07 “Radio Sweetheart”
08 “Mystery Dance”
09 “Cheap Reward”
10 “Alison”
Night Two – 2/10:
01 “Jack Of All Parades”
02 “Watch Your Step”
03 “Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head”
04 “New Amsterdam”
05 “Battered Old Bird”
06 “Last Boat Leaving”
07 “Little Palaces”
08 “Red Cotton”
09 “Sulphur To Sugarcane”
10 “Sleep Of The Just”
Night Three – 2/11
01 “Complicated Shadows”
02 “Less Than Zero”
03 “The River In Reverse”
04 “Bullets For The New-Born King”
05 “We Are All Cowards Now”
06 “She’s Pulling Out The Pin”
07 “Stations Of The Cross”
08 “Brilliant Mistake”
09 “The Scarlet Tide”
10 “That Day Is Done”
Night Four – 2/13:
01 “45”
02 “Stella Hurt”
03 “Black & White World”
04 “Ghost Train”
05 “Church Underground”
06 “God’s Comic”
07 “Suit Of Lights”
08 “Jimmie Standing In The Rain”
09 “Dr. Watson, I Presume”
10 “I Want To Vanish”
Night Five – 2/14:
01 “I Hope You’re Happy Now”
02 “Starting To Come To Me”
03 “Blue Chair”
04 “Dishonour The Stars”
05 “Toledo”
06 “High Fidelity”
07 “Stripping Paper”
08 “Riot Act”
09 “Beyond Belief”
10 “Indoor Fireworks”
Night Six – 2/16:
01 “Accidents Will Happen”
02 “Just A Memory”
03 “Suspect My Tears”
04 “The Loved Ones”
05 “Motel Matches”
06 “All Grown Up”
07 “Long Honeymoon”
08 “You Shouldn’t Look At Me That Way”
09 “Veronica”
10 “God Give Me Strength”
Night Seven – 2/17:
01 “Shot With His Own Gun”
02 “Still”
03 “When I Was Cruel No. 2”
04 “The Whirlwind”
05 “Isabelle In Tears”
06 “Town Cryer”
07 “I’ll Wear It Proudly ”
08 “The Comedians”
09 “My Dark Life”
10 “This House Is Empty Now”
Night Eight – 2/19:
01 “Talking In The Dark”
02 “London’s Brilliant Parade”
03 “I’m In The Mood Again”
04 “So Like Candy”
05 “He’s Given Me Things”
06 “Almost Blue”
07 “I Still Have That Other Girl”
08 “Favorite Hour”
09 “April 5th”
10 “The Birds Will Still Be Singing”
Night Nine – 2/20:
01 “In The Darkest Place”
02 “All This Useless Beauty”
03 “Hey Clock-face”
04 “You’ll Never Be A Man”
05 “The Last Confession Of Vivian Whip”
06 “Country Darkness”
07 “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror”
08 “Shipbuilding”
09 “All The Rage”
10 “Couldn’t Call It Unexpected No. 4”
Night Ten – 2/22:
01 “Radio Radio”
02 “Greenshirt”
03 “Hetty O’Hara Confidential”
04 “Everyday I Write The Book”
05 “The Boy Named If”
06 “Lipstick Vogue”
07 “Watching The Detectives”
08 “What If I Can’t Give You Anything But Love?”
09 “Man Out Of Time”
10 “I Want You”