Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe: 8/3/1984

I was really psyched for this concert. It was a great double bill and the Sunrise Musical Theater was one of my favorite concert venues at the time in South Florida. I went to this show with my girlfriend Enid, and another couple from our apartment building, Glen and Linda.

We got to the Sunrise and took our seats, which were in the lower section and pretty decent. Nick Lowe came out and totally rocked. I distinctly remember what seemed like the entire place singing along to “Tempted.” He was even called back to perform an encore, something that is not very common with opening acts.

After intermission, the lights went down and Elvis came out. As soon as he took the stage, Glen and Linda engaged themselves in something which they should not have done. Very swiftly, police descended and escorted the group of us out to the lobby. After a short consultation among themselves, they informed us that we were all going to be kicked out of the concert. At this point, I spoke up.

“Awwww, come on! Give us a break. We will all behave. You can keep an eye on us. Just let us stay and see the show. Please!”

The officers looked at each other, and then said, “OK. But we will be watching you.” So we humbly walked back to our seats in time to catch the last half of the second song, “Watching the Detectives.”

Once back at our seats, Glen finally broke his silence: “Fuckin’ pigs! What the fuck? Why do they have to bust our balls like that?” I looked at him with dismay. “Relax, man. We got to stay and see the concert. You should be happy.” The sullen and defeated look on his face showed that he knew I was right, but was probably just being pissy because his party got spoiled.

Thankfully, we did not get booted, because Elvis’ show was phenomenal. He played great and blasted through a nice long set. The show ended with a medley of tunes that included “Pump It Up,” which was the perfect way to end the night.

I was able to find both artists’ setlists online, so here they are for those who are interested. Rock on!

Nick Lowe Setlist:

• Stick It Where the Sun Don’t Shine
• Saint Beneath the Paint
• Marie Provost
• I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll)
• Tempted
• Cracking Up
• Ragin’ Eyes
• Half a Boy and Half a Man
• I Need You
• How Long
• Burning

Encore:

• You’ll Never Get Me Up in One of Those

Elvis Costello Setlist:

• Lipstick Vogue
• Watching The Detectives
• Let Them All Talk
• Mystery Dance
• Shabby Doll
• Girls Talk
• I Hope You’re Happy Now
• I Wanna Be Loved
• The Greatest Thing
• Worthless Thing
• So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
• Everyday I Write The Book
• King Horse
• The Only Flame In Town – fast version
• Shipbuilding
• Waiting For The End Of The World
• Beyond Belief
• Clubland
• Inch By Inch
• The Deportees Club
• Man Out Of Time
• Alison
• Home Truth
• Room With No Number
• Young Boy Blues
• Getting Mighty Crowded
• Peace In Our Time
• (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?
• Pump It Up (medley, including Ain’t That A Lot Of Love and Tears, Tears And More Tears)