Funky Fresh: Elvis Costello & The Roots Make Live Debut in Brooklyn
Aside from their appearances together on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Elvis Costello & the Roots made their proper live debut Monday night at New York City's Brooklyn Bowl, a venue that is exactly what it sounds like (part bowling alley, part music venue).
Playing material from their collaborative, old-school R&B-leaning album Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs, the iconic singer-songwriter and imposingly talented alt-hip hop band delivered a set of surprisingly fresh and vital songs. But as strange as it was to hear Costello's unmistakable voice in tandem with swampy funk grooves that bring to mind the Meters, the biggest surprises of the night were the awesomely unexpected covers they busted out.
Costello & the Roots skanked their way through the Specials' "Ghost Town"—which Costello introduced as "a song from an old pal of mine"—and brought the night to a thunderous climax by shredding John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band track "I Found Out." It was a truly sublime moment, and thanks to an adept smartphone camera operator, you can watch it here:
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