There is an uncomfortable moment in writing about a performance like this when you find yourself asking who exactly you are to criticize Elvis Costello. He's been making records and playing stages for half a century; Niagara Arts Review has existed for a matter of months. But the job isn't to review the career. It's to describe the night.
And for much of Saturday night's performance at OLG Stage, something simply wasn't working. Thankfully, that isn't where the story of this night ends.
During several of the earlier songs, most notably “Watching the Detectives,” Costello was singing behind the beat and, at times, off key. I kept thinking to myself, Can he hear himself? Are his in-ear monitors working?
Whatever the reason, Costello seemed to be struggling to lock in with the band. His vocal phrases arrived behind them, his pitch was inconsistent, and at times the musicians appeared to leave space for him to catch up. Even his guitar during “Watching the Detectives” seemed to fall behind the groove.
His guitar playing itself, however, wasn't the problem. For most of the evening it was quite good, and when Costello did step forward for one of the relatively few guitar solos he took himself, his playing was surprisingly strong and certainly didn't suffer by comparison with Charlie Sexton's. Sexton handled much of the evening's lead-guitar work and added backing vocals, remaining solid throughout without particularly commanding my attention. The band itself was tight. Pete Thomas was a highlight on drums throughout the evening, while bassist Davey Faragher provided a solid foundation beneath a performance that didn't always seem connected to it.
The quieter middle portion didn't help matters. Costello left the guitar behind for an extended stretch at the piano, creating a mellow passage that asked a lot of an audience still waiting for the energy that would eventually arrive much later in the performance. Even a snippet of Joni Mitchell's “A Case of You,” a song I love, leading into “Almost Blue,” seemed to drain what energy remained from the room.
Costello did manage one of the night's biggest audience reactions during this stretch. While talking about recording “Almost Blue” in Nashville, he referred to the city as being somewhere down south, in a place “they call South Canada.” The joke brought a huge laugh and roar from the Niagara Falls crowd.
But as the mellow portion continued, from my seat high above the stage I began noticing people heading for the exits.
Then came “Clubland.”
With Steve Nieve's piano pushing a distinctly Latin-flavoured rhythm, something changed. Costello seemed to find his voice. Not completely, and not all at once, but from that point forward he grew stronger with each successive number.
Those who stayed were rewarded with the performance many of us had been waiting for.
“I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down” and “Radio Radio” helped bring the crowd back to its feet, and Costello's voice continued to strengthen. He never quite sounded like the Costello preserved on those records we've been listening to for decades—and expecting that from a 72-year-old performer after some 50 years on the road would hardly be fair—but by the closing stretch he sounded considerably more like himself.
“Alison” still presented some challenges. There were notes Costello couldn't quite reach, but try singing that song yourself sometime. It's demanding under the best of circumstances. By this point in the evening, however, his voice was in considerably better shape than it had been earlier, and the song worked.
Then came “Pump It Up,” followed by “(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” leaving the crowd on its feet, dancing and buzzing as the night finally came to an end.
Watching those smiling faces heading out of OLG Stage, it would have been easy to judge the entire concert by its ending. The final seven or eight numbers were very good, and Costello and The Imposters sent the audience home on a high.
But I couldn't quite forget what came before them.
I've wrestled with whether to publish this review at all. Elvis Costello is a rock 'n' roll icon. This is the tenth review I've written for a publication that's barely two months old.
But I'm not reviewing 50 years of Elvis Costello.
I'm reviewing September 12, 2026, at OLG Stage in Niagara Falls.
And on this particular night, those of us who stayed until the end eventually got the show we'd been waiting for.