By 1981, New Wave” had made major inroads into the rock and roll mainstream and Elvis Costello & the Attractions became one of my favorite bands. Costello is a super intelligent songwriter, and the Attractions rock, so seeing them at the Palladium with Squeeze was a no-brainer. Reminiscing about this show brings back memories of spending late nights at Beefsteak Charlie cook John Mac’s place; John was all in on the “New Wave” acts, especially Elvis, and he would crank up the music until early morning in his apartment which was above a store in Douglaston, Queens so no one was disturbed by the relentless barrage of new rock and roll music being discovered nightly. Squeeze has so many great songs, and while they obviously headlined smaller gigs, they somehow fell into that groove of being the great opening act in larger venues a la Cheap Trick who are possibly the greatest opening act in the history of rock and roll. The Palladium was a great place to see anyone, so while I do not have any particular recollection of this concert, I am certain a fun time was had by all.

Oliver’s Army

Rock on!

GQ