In 1980, Elvis Costello & the Attractions made one North American appearance, and this is it. The Heatwave Festival -- dubbed the punk or new wave Woodstock -- went on with many hitches at Mosport Park just outside of Toronto. That doesn't take away from the fact that the cavalcade of stars would have been a dream to see. Just look at this lineup: The Rumour, Rockpile, Pretenders, B-52's, Talking Heads and, of course, Costello and his band of merry men. Wow! Time machine, please.The Clash were supposed to perform as well, but they had to cancel at the last minute. Remember, I did mention hitches. About 85,000 people attended during the day, but that number swelled to about 100,000 when Dan Aykroyd told a radio audience to come on down. He would get them all on the guest list. Close to 20,000 ended up getting in for free to see Talking Heads and Costello. It's estimated the promoters missed out on about a million bucks with the stunt. And how would you like to have been one of the 85,000 paying customers?
I digress. The Costello set is filled with favorites from the early years, including a few from 'Trust,' an album that wouldn't be released until 1981. One of the big problems with this bootleg, called 'Daze of Glory,' is that six songs from the show are omitted. Sadly, two of the tunes are "Clubland" and "You'll Never Be a Man." It would be interesting to hear what they sounded like in their infancy... just before they appeared on a studio album.
As for the recording itself, it doesn't stand up to the other shows I have chosen for this series. I guess that's to be expected at a huge outdoor show, but I really like the set list. That's why it makes my favorites list. As I mentioned, six songs are missing, and the makers of this bootleg try to make for it by adding seven bonus tracks from a June 2, 1982 show from the Capitol Theatre in Sydney. The sound quality of those songs is much better. For today's mp3s, I'm sticking to songs from 1980 and 1981. Enjoy, Costello fans!
'Daze of Glory' Tracklist
From the Heatwave Festival in Toronto (6/2/80)
1. Shot With His Own Gun
2. Accidents Will Happen
3. The Beat
4. Temptation (mp3)
5. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
6. Secondary Modern (mp3)
7. Lovers Walk (mp3)
8. Less Than Zero
9. High Fidelity (mp3)
10. Alison
11. Lipstick Vogue
12. You Belong To Me
13. Radio, Radio
14. Pump It Up
15. (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
16. Mystery Dance
17. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down (mp3)
From the Capitol Theatre in Sydney (6/2/82)
18. Hand In Hand
19. The Beat
20. Kid About It
21. Watching The Detectives
22. The Long Honeymoon
23. Waiting For The End Of The World
24. Almost Blue
Other Costello Shows in the Curtain Call Series:
April 12, 1979
Oct. 17, 1983
Nov. 21, 1987
Sept. 22, 1994
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