At 63, Elvis’ aim is still true – but only just

Elvis Costello, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

When Elvis Costello played Cardiff in 2010 - alone, with just an array of guitars for company - he remarked how he fancied doing it again, “but with a full band.”

Flash forward eight years and he’s done just that, closing this year’s Festival of Voice extravaganza with long-time backing band The Imposters in tow.

It’s ironic then that some of the near two hour show’s best moments came from just him and keyboard player Steve Nieve sharing a spotlight, both men treating a packed Wales Millennium Centre to pared down reinventions of post-punk favourites such as Accidents Will Happen and Oliver’s Army.

‘Tears in your beer’ classic Alison was also reduced to just Costello - flanked by impressive backing singers Brianna Lee and Kitten Kuroi - standing at the lip of the stage, his keening voice all breathy and broken.

At 63 it’s amazing how well those instantly recognisable tones of his have held up, albeit boasting a huskier, lower register from those adenoidal New Wave vocals which made early albums like My Aim is True and This Year’s Model such classics.

Those hoping for a Greatest Hits compendium may have been a little disappointed though, because, aside from the likes of Watching The Detectives and (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea - both of which suffered from a slightly muddy sound - there were a fair few lesser heard numbers pulled from the Costello cannon on the night.

Nevertheless, I could have done without the rendition of Adieu Paris - an unreleased track “recorded for the late Johnny Hallyday” - and the mawkish My Three Sons, even if the gig did happen to fall on Father’s Day.

There were plenty of highlights, however, Costello’s smokey take on Robert Wyatt’s still poignant anti-war song Shipbuilding proving as powerful as ever, while Less Than Zero and (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding finally succeeded in rousing the appreciative crowd to its feet.

■ Nathan Bevan