In his overdue First Avenue debut, Elvis Costello triumphs with humor, classics and rockin' new tunes

Elvis Costello understood the moment.

Just about anybody who is anybody in rock in the past 50 years (including U2, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters) made their Twin Cities debut at First Avenue, the landmark downtown Minneapolis club.

Not Elvis.

"We're so old that when we first came to Minneapolis, First Avenue was the Studio 54 of Minneapolis. You couldn't get in with an electric guitar," he said Thursday night as he addressed a First Ave crowd for the first time. "We had to play a cowboy bar."

He was referring to the long-gone Longhorn, where he debuted on Valentine's Day in 1978 on the buzz of his brilliant first album, "My Aim Is True." At the time, First Ave was a dance club known as Uncle Sam's, riding out the waning disco wave.

Thursday's generous 130-minute First Ave debut may rank with his Longhorn gig as one of Costello's most high-powered Twin Cities shows. He wasn't wired and manic as he was in his angry-young-man days, but his music was vibrant and vital, his singing determined and passionate, his mood spirited and playful.

The sellout crowd of 1,500 was delighted that after all these years, Costello opted to play in the 51-year-old club that Prince made internationally famous. He actually was scheduled to perform this week at the 2,100-seat Mystic Lake Showroom in Prior Lake but the casino would not abide by his requirement that all concertgoers show proof of COVID vaccination or recent negative tests.

Some of the new numbers will rate high in Costello's rock canon, including the rollicking "Farewell, OK" with its '60s barroom feel and "Magnificent Hurt," a current single fueled by Steve Nieve's Farfisa-styled organ and Costello's edgy guitar.

Another curious new piece, "Penelope Halfpenny," told the story of one of his Catholic grade school teachers; Costello set up the song by sharing a hilarious tongue-in-cheek yarn about his first confession at age 7.

Even though the abundant new numbers were unfamiliar, fans didn't grow impatient because Costello smartly seasoned the 25-song set with old favorites and rewarding deep tracks. His ballads showcased his musical refinement, whether it was the country croon of "The Comedians," the noirish reflection of "Motel Matches," the seductive elegance of "Brilliant Mistake"/"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" or the sublime Porter-esque eloquence of "Indoor Fireworks."

Costello also pumped it up with such classics as "Mystery Dance," "Radio Radio" and the closing one-two knockout punch of the galvanizing "Pump It Up" and the exhilarating "(What's So Funny Bout) Peace Love and Understanding."

His aim wasn't true on all the old reliables. The dark, almost Dylan-esque "Watching the Detectives" was unfocused, and the country-tinged "Alison" felt perfunctory.

He didn't play as many guitar solos as usual because he has a special guest on this fall's Hello Again Tour. Texas guitar slinger Charlie Sexton, who played on and off with Bob Dylan for nearly 20 years until 2019, added bluesy touches, notably on "Hetty O'Hara Confidential," and an alluring tango vibe on "Brilliant Mistake"/"Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

But the key musician on Thursday was drummer Pete Thomas, who has been with Costello since his first tour. When it was time to kick out the jams, Thomas was the hard-driving engine that provided the propulsive beats to keep old Elvis rocking.

"I never thought we'd be good enough to play First Avenue," the Rock Hall of Famer joked late in the evening.

Good enough to get one of those prestigious silver stars on the First Avenue façade.