The talk show is a venerable and long-standing TV content filler. The challenge for erstwhile hosts is to develop a theme, or a schtick, that rejuvenates the form so viewers turn their eyeballs in their direction. Johnny Carson had his sidekick and his stand-up comedy experience and it went on for a record run. David Letterman has his wit, at times so dry viewers are left parched. The common denominator is celebrity. Elvis Costello is not what one would think of as a natural talk show host. But he is an articulate, intelligent musician with a long, eclectic career. And that’s the theme, the schtick, of the new weekly Bravo! show, Spectacle: Elvis Costello With . . .
Taped at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and at Rockefeller Centre, Elvis delivers each show’s musical introduction – a cover of a song that points to the evening’s particular theme, say indy music, or famous politicians – and then segues into the week’s guest. He peppers them with a few well-researched questions before letting them rip with their own performance. Elvis doesn’t need a back-up band to provide the musical interludes. That’s his job.
For the program profiling Diana Krall (his wife), he graciously steps back into the shadows citing his obvious conflict of interest to allow Sir Elton John (one of the executive producers) to fill in by discussing music with the jazz wunderkind from Vancouver Island. It’s all very light, and chummy, with Diana tinkling a few tunes on the piano, the both of them remembering Oscar Peterson, and then singing a duet of one of Elton’s songs that is uncomfortable to watch. It looks forced, with Elton standing awkwardly beside the piano instead of sitting at it playing his own tune. Costello comes back out near the end and they strike up in song together, as if to remind people who really hosts the show.
The interview with Bill Clinton sticks to music – how music is an influence in the former President’s life, how it helped him manage the stress of high office – and includes a discussion about his collection of saxophones, vintage instruments that, while he no longer plays as avidly as he used to, he still takes revered care of. It reveals a side of Clinton that is little known and helps explain in great part his commitment to arts education.
Spectacle is not gossip television. Elvis is trying to expose for the live studio audience, and the audience watching at home, the essential strength of music and the people who create it, appreciate it and interpret it. And rather than stick to only the well-known, those who have made it and maybe don’t really need the exposure, he sprinkles his guest list with some of the newer artists (She & He, Jenny Lewis) and provides them a one-hour platform to demonstrate their talent, while still giving time to the classics, such as Herbie Hancock. With a style of questioning centred around his extensive musical knowledge, making it both revealing and intimate without being prying or embarrassing, Costello pulls off his own television marvel, a talk show that not entertains and delights but also educates.
Aired originally in the U.S. and Britain, Spectacle: Elvis Costello With . . . premiers on CTV tonight at 10 pm and on Bravo! tomorrow at 8 pm and runs weekly.
