For Elvis Costello, encores are more like coming back after intermission: He tends to play nine or more selections after the first curtain drops. He saved the best for last, closing with an awe-inspiring rendition of his angst-ridden epic "I Want You." Punctuating depressing, defeated declarations with crackling guitar outbursts, Costello prolonged the miserable mood until he finally stepped away from the microphone and belted out the final lines with impressive a cappella power. His vocal energy spent, he collapsed on his guitar, ending not with a whisper but a devastating din.
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