Elvis Costello has had it with UC Davis hooligans and their rubbish (live at UCD Coffee House, 1978)

On Elvis Costello & the Attractions' 1978 US tour, they made a stop at The Coffee House, a small venue at California's UC Davis that has since become legend for booking UK bands before they were widely known. During "Less Than Zero," some local punks started tossing trash on the stage, causing Elvis to call out the perpetrators, followed by some tense back-and-forth with the college crowd. Eventually, things calm down and the band tears into a ripping version of "The Beat."
From a review in UC Davis paper "The Aggie" by KDVS DJ Steve Wynn (later of paisley underground band The Dream Syndicate):
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Elvis Costello gave a few lessons in audience manipulation last Wednesday evening at the New Coffee House. It was early in the second show and a few members of the audience decided that throwing debris on stage would be the 'punk thing to do.'
As they soon found out, it was the wrong thing to do.
Costello and his band - The Attractions - had just finished their fourth number (a reworded "Less Than Zero") when Elvis became enraged by a paper wad that flew past him.
The last notes of "Less Than Zero" had yet to fade from the sound system when Costello unleashed a string of obscenities at the audience to express his displeasure with the flying trash, and his desire to find out who was on the throwing end. Bassist Bruce Thomas accompanied Costello's anger by viciously kicking his microphone stand at the audience.
Within 30 seconds of Costello's four-letter word oratory, the house lights went on and Costello invited his assailant to approach the stage.
Costello's roadies and the New Coffee House ushers had another thing in mind, and the first member of the audience to accept Costello's challenge found himself forcibly ejected.
This was the turning point of Elvis' second show. Up until that point, Costello appeared to be very nervous and his movements were stiff and very limited. Costello's discomfort was apparent to the audience and despite an occasional demonic Johnny Rotten-ish glare from Elvis, most of the audience laughed at the British new-waver and for the most part, seemed to derive amusement from "watching the defectives."
But after Costello's challenge of the audience, the relationship between performer and audience changed drastically. The audience became nervous, intimidated and when the band ended one of its songs, all that could be heard was an eerie dead silence. This audience was at Costello's mercy.
Once Elvis established control, he held on to it masterfully. Every so often he would display his anger in key parts of his songs and it was tough to tell if he was keeping in context of the song or scolding the crowd or both.
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Audio from a widely circulating boot of unknown origin, 1978

[@LorinTone]

Great performance as always by Costello, and that's funny and entertaining as hell. Great find!