Starting this week, we’re going to be spotlighting our favorite bootlegs of the moment. No, we won’t be linking to them – we don’t want anybody to get sued on our account – but if you’re interested, start here and here.
Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Winterland Ballroom, June 7th, 1978
By the time Elvis Costello and the Attractions hit San Francisco for this show in 1978, they had been on the road pretty much nonstop for a solid year and had only just begun to play large rooms such as Bill Graham’s famed Winterland Ballroom. Performing most of This Year’s Model – Costello’s first album with the Attractions, which had hit stores just a few weeks prior – the four-piece bashed away at a frantic pace they haven‚t matched since. The songs rush by Ramones-style – there are barely any pauses between them except for Costello screaming out terse intros like, “This one’s called ‘Pump It Up!’.” This must be why all their early press called them a punk band. Highlights include a highly pressurized ‘Watching the Detectives” and a frenzied “Radio Radio,” during which Steve Nieve bangs on his organ with such force that the thing sounds like it’s on the verge of short-circuiting.
Photo:Photo: Sussman/Getty

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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.