News and Interviews

Bandwidth: Elvis Costello's belated First Avenue debut

by Reed Fischer

November 05, 2021

Elvis Costello
Elvis CostelloPaul Moore

Welcome to Bandwidth, The Current digital team’s weekly roundup of news, music we like, and upcoming concerts. (Got a local topic you think we should include? Hit up localshow@mpr.org.)

First Avenue and Elvis Costello, together at last

Somehow in more than four decades of Elvis Costello and First Avenue both being open for business, Thursday evening was the first proper collaboration. A show originally planned for Mystic Lake was a late move to downtown, and the setlist did not disappoint. Alas, a prior commitment kept me from being there, but Star Tribune’s Jon Bream said it “may rank with his [1978 Twin Cities debut at the Longhorn] as one of Costello's most high-powered Twin Cities shows.”

Winning Halloween looks

Halloween has come and gone, but in case you missed: Lizzo entered the Star Wars universe as “Baby Yoda” Grogu, Janelle Monae was a convincing Grinch, and Anderson .Paak stole the show as Prince (plus his Silk Sonic collaborator Bruno Mars and Stevie Wonder). Guessing it’ll be Lizzo unmasked for her live-streaming concert on December 4.

Check out FPA’s latest

Today is release day for Minneapolis-based FPA’s second album, Princess Wiko, which was Bandcamp’s Album of the Day earlier this week. According to NPR, on “Untitled,” “FPA experiments with the concept of release in a dreamlike consciousness, a bitter edge to each lyric she spits out.”

Turn Back Your Clocks, Y’all

On Sunday, November 7, Daylight Saving Time ends. Basically, buy 24 hours and get one free! Sean McPherson on Purple Current continues an annual tradition of programming 25 straight hours of music by Morris Day and the Time on the Purple Current stream.

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Bandwidth: Elvis Costello's belated First Avenue debut