NICK LOWE at the Phoenix, Monday, April 23. Rating: NNNN
For the final song of the night, which came during his second encore, Nick Lowe performed an astonishingly gentle rendition of Elvis Costello’s Alison that left the crowd awed and on its feet.
The moment presented a marked contrast between the two iconic English singer/songwriters. While Costello’s style has become grossly histrionic with age, Lowe increasingly wields a hushed mellow power.
Subtlety and warmth were on display throughout Lowe and his four-piece band’s Phoenix show in support of new album The Old Magic, from which the set drew heavily. Recent songs like Stoplight Roses, House For Sale and I Read A Lot prove that the 63-year-old former pub-rockist’s gift for conveying devastating emotion through brilliant, crystal-clear lyrics hasn’t faltered.
Mixed in were hefty (too hefty, perhaps) doses of upbeat honky-tonk that my mom would’ve love jiving to, personable between-song banter and some of the best songs Lowe’s ever written: Cruel To Be Kind, I Live On A Battlefield, Lately I’ve Let Things Slide and, of course, What’s So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding, made famous by Costello.
