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Elvis Costello & The Imposters

Sep 25, 2025 By Matthew Berlyant Photography by Matthew Berlyant Web Exclusive

Having played the Tilles Centre on Long Island (part of Long Island University’s Greenvale campus) in 1999 with just Elvis himself and keyboardist Steve Nieve playing as a duo then again in 2021, Elvis Costello brought his band The Imposters - including Nieve, bassist Davey Farragher, and drummer Pete Thomas - back for a very different, but almost as rewarding, performance.

Of course, longtime fans will know that Nieve and Thomas were famously also part of Elvis’ long-time backing band The Attractions from 1977 to 1986 and again from 1993 to 1996 with the one major difference being that Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas has been replaced by Farragher in The Imposters. This evening’s lineup also included longtime Austin-based guitar legend Charlie Sexton, who has been a special guest (albeit not a full member) of the band since his first guest appearance replacing an ailing Nieve in 2021 (he just decided to stick around when Nieve thankfully got better, I guess).

Playing for two hours straight with no opener, interruption, or encore (more of this please!), the performance could be divided into three almost equal parts. Part one, consisting of the first eleven songs, was an electric set favoring his first three albums in the first half (highlighted by a complete rearrangement of “Green Shirt” and an opening “Mystery Dance” that included the extra verse only heard on the “Honky Tonk Demos” that preceded his first album My Aim is True; what a treat!).

The second half, however, favored deeper, lesser-played cuts from his later records, including the little-heard “Lovers Walk” (from 1981’s underrated Trust) as well as “American Gangster Time” from 2008’s overlooked but wonderful Momofuku, the only song played on this evening that dated past 1986. The tour, titled Radio Soul, promised a set highlighting 1977-1986 material, and boy did it deliver. While the band was in fine form throughout and Elvis was in noticeably less ragged voice than he has been the past few times I’ve seen him, it did feel a little like they were going through the motions and delivering more of what the audience wanted to hear, particularly during the first five songs.

What happened next, however, turned it from an average Elvis Costello show to something quite extraordinary and perhaps even unprecedented. The next six songs consisted of a full-band acoustic set, with Davey on double bass, Elvis on acoustic and using a microphone that looked like it had been in the possession of The Carter Family, and Pete on a miniature kit. The highlights here were many, starting with a complete rearrangement of “The Poisoned Rose” (from 1986’s King of America and also covered by Nick Lowe on his 2011 album That Old Magic) and continuing with the early version of “Living in Paradise” (featuring different lyrics than the version that ended up on 1978’s This Year’s Model) coupled with Van Morrison’s “Domino.” In between was an arrangement of “Deportee” that mirrored the demo version (and the later cover by Christy Moore) complete with an introduction that highlighted its troubling relevance to today’s political climate.

And on that very topic, it didn’t go unnoticed that before they went on, the intro music was Heaven 17”s (“We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang” and that the outro music was Mandy Miller’s original version of “Nellie the Elephant” (with a chorus that let’s just say may or may not have relevance to today’s world).

After the acoustic set, things picked back up again with a half-slow, half-fast version of Sam and Dave’s “I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down” (one of his biggest UK hits in 1980), thereby unintentionally invoking his 1991 MTV Unplugged appearance where he joked towards the end of the set before playing electric that it was now “MTV Plugged Back In Again.” The rest of the set was a high-energy, rousing full-band electric set of audience favorites like “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea,” “Radio Radio” and of course, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” along with a few carefully selected r’n’b covers (Lee Dorsey’s “The Greatest Love” and the closer, Larry Williams’ “Slow Down,” later covered by The Beatles, The Jam, and others including Elvis himself). The energy during this part of the set was notably higher than in the first third, ensuring that everyone left electrified and ultimately satisfied. What a show!