LOS ANGELES–By popular demand, Elvis Costello and The Imposters bring their new show, “Imperial Bedroom and Other Chambers,” back for a coast-to-coast North American run of 23 dates this June and July.
The show takes songs from the 1982 album, “Imperial Bedroom” as a starting point.
“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,” Costello said. “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.”
Standout 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.
A sensational version of 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.
