Elvis Costello Close Up

Elvis Costello wrote a book. Ross heard about it on the radio. Actually, he heard that Elvis Costello was going to be in town talking about the book he wrote. Sorry Karlie (yoga teacher), everyone gets bumped for Elvis. Ross bought us tickets to the event, which included signed copies of the book.

The doors opened at 6p. We showed up about 5 till 6. The line was a block and a half long, which meant we wouldn't be able to sit, we'd have to stand throughout the event. I was wearing a pair of Miz Mooz heels, which was a good thing. They were comfortable enough to wear, standing for 3 hours, and they gave me some height to see over the crowd.

So the event: Elvis spoke with some reporter guy, kind of interview style. Elvis also had a little slide show for us. We were expressly told to only take photos at the very start of the event or we'd be kicked out. Haha. It was so crowded, there is no way they could get to people to kick them out. Most people were good about it though. 

It is fun to hear Elvis talk cause he has a cute accent. At the end of the event he actually played a little guitar--we were told there would be no singing or performance. Then an old buddy of his came out and they played and sang together.  The music performance part of the event was probably about 15 minutes total. I recorded it with my phone. Then at the end I took a bunch of photos. These photos are the only two really that came out. Both were taken at the start of the event. 

This was the closest (physically) I've ever been to Elvis Costello. There were some folks sitting at his feet--yeah, I was annoyed when people from the back of the line got to sit in front, even closer than the folks who were first in line.

Another fun time with Elvis. I'm glad Ross heard about it and we were able to get tickets. I'm glad we have the money to spend willy-nilly on these sorts of things. Oh, and afterward we walked across the street (6th Street) to get Amy's ice cream.

Celebrity Visits

This week I have had a couple of celebrity visits.  In one dream I was in a shop and I saw a man in a striped/plaid fedora walking by with a guitar.  I thought--hmmm, what are the odds that Elvis is walking by?  I rushed out of the store to get a look at the guy and yep, it was Elvis Costello himself.

Last night I dreamt about Neil Patrick Harris.  I was at a movie theater downtown with a friend and we kept changing seats/movies.  I can't remember what we went there to see, but we ended up in front of a screen showing Fright Night.  I was sitting two seats down from Harris and he was so foul mouthed and crude!  He was saying really gross things to the girl sitting between us.

Well, that's it. Pure sightings.  Nothing sexy.

Elvis Costello at Wolf Trap

On Wednesday night I saw Elvis at Wolf Trap for the third time. Wolf Trap is my favorite venue. It's really hard to explain it to people. It is covered, but open to the air on the sides and back. There's nothing like being distracted by a firefly instead of drunk people. I had a great seat--a front row box seat! Well, my seat was actually in the second row, but the usher told me I could sit in the front row until someone came and no one ever came to kick me out.

I didn't get any good photos because the lighting on stage was very bright. It must have been hot under those lights, poor Elvis's suit was soaked.

The show was also on the Revolver Tour, even though it didn't say so on the T-shirts or on the website. The wheel had different songs on it, and wedges that said Joker. The best part of the show was when a girl named Roxanne went up on stage. She got to choose the song and she picked I Want You. That is one of my favorite Elvis songs. When he started playing though, it wasn't I Want You, it was Roxanne. After one verse he switched over to I Want You. Seamless.

It was a great show. Oh, and the response to Elvis's two acoustic songs was a standing ovation rather than booing. That's more like it. And I just remembered. He also sang Purple Rain. I've been thinking about it and I don't know what my favorite Elvis song is. I feel like need to figure it out. Like it should be a set answer that I don't have to think about.

Elvis Costello Revolver Tour

First off, I'm going to complain. Not about Elvis, but about people. I don't like venues where beer is served, especially if you can take the beer to your seat. Why? People are constantly walking around (to go get beer, come back with beer, or go for a piss cause they drank so much beer), some people get drunk, and some of those drunk people get stupid. Two guys actually yelled at/jeered/heckled Elvis last night. I was in shock. It was rude. Beyond rude. I was worried that we'd all be punished if Elvis decided to walk off and not come back. But Elvis is cool. He walked off, changed jackets, and came back. Thank you Elvis.

So I was wondering why this tour was called the Revolver Tour. I guess it is for two reasons--he played mostly old songs, and there was a giant spinning wheel of songs on stage. After Elvis and the Imposters came out and played a couple of songs Elvis put on a top hat and grabbed a cane. He announced that his name was Napoleon Dynamite and that someone would have to come up and spin the wheel to pick the next song. He picked out a girl from the audience with a spotlight and she came up on stage, spun the wheel, and then she got to stay up on stage while he played that song and another one. She got to sit at "the lounge" and have a drink, and even got to dance in the go go cage and with Elvis. So cool.

A girl (with a really nice ass) in a crazy outfit (think bright colors, spandex, bell bottoms, stripes) brought people up onto the stage and they spun the wheel and Elvis played whatever the wheel said. The purple wedges had words on them that signified a set of songs. Somebody spun Napoleon Solo--which meant that Elvis got to pick the song and do a solo. Someone spun Joana, which is slang for piano, so Steve Nieve got to pick the song and Elvis sang it with only the piano and guitar. The purple wedge marked Time was for a bunch of songs with the word time in them. And there were many other songs. Elvis even came out into the audience to sing one song, and he came out himself to pick someone to spin the wheel.

After about an hour and twenty minutes the guys all walked off stage. That's pretty normal. He takes a 2 minute break, then comes back. Elvis walked back on stage (alone) in a plaid coat and said it was time to play his Napoleon solo. He played two songs from his newest album--National Ransom. Ross and I really like the first one Slow Drag with Josephine. I'll put it under songs stuck in my head if you want to download it. This is when the yelling happened. It seems these guys didn't want to hear new songs, or Elvis acoustic solos. Whatever. Douches.

Elvis walked off after those two songs, changed into a gold jacket, and came back with the guys for another set. No one spun the wheel. They just played song after song, after song. Then it was over (pouty face.)

I just bought a ticket to see Elvis at the Wolf Trap on June 15th. Woohoo!

The go go dancer did her thing during a lot of the songs. It was kind of entrancing.

I love Elvis. Oh, and a special shout out to Steve Nieve. I love him too. He played the theremin.

Another Night With Elvis

Last night we headed down to DC for dinner and a show. We had dinner at Marvin. Someone raved about their fried chicken and waffles, and I've really been craving fried chicken. We sat at the bar and I had my chicken and Ross had a burger. His burger came with fries so I got to have fries too. Yummy. My chicken came with collard greens, and I didn't like them. It's so rare for me not to like veggies.

After dinner we headed to the Warner Theater for the show. I was happy to see Elvis, but sad not to be seeing him in Texas. Odd, I know. One of the best things about the show was that all the other guys on stage were smiling and seemed to be having a good time. In fact, they seemed to be just as entertained by Elvis as I was.

We had great seats. This is the closest to the stage I've ever sat. I could see the sweat fly off Elvis when he moved.

A little rant--I hate it when people show up late to a show. Some people showed up really late. It is so distracting to have people walking around all the time. Some people lost their front row seats for a while...the seats were empty so Elvis invited the heads of the Republican party and the Tea Party representative to sit there. 5 people tromped down to the front and took the seats. When the real ticket holders showed up they couldn't take their seats and were standing in the middle of the aisle. Grrr. I enjoyed the show, but I wish people would come on time and stay in their seats.

Elvis and the Sugarcanes

Last night I went to Wolf Trap to see Elvis. He sang songs from his new album and some of his older hits. All the songs (even the old ones) were country/blue grass songs. It is always so interesting to hear his songs sung in a different way. I missed Steve Nieve (piano), but I enjoyed the dobro, fiddle, mandolin, double bass, and accordion. All of the instruments were distinguishable and melded nicely. It was nice not to have any particular one drown out the others.

I Felt the Chill (cowritten with Loretta Lynn) and the country rendition of Alison almost had me in tears. It was a great show (as always), and I can't wait to see him again.

Elvis Rocks

Well, last night I got to use one of my birthday presents. Ross bought me tickets to see Elvis Costello and The Police. So after a day with Tiffany and Ethan I met Ross for some Thai food. I way over ate. It was just so tasty. Then we headed over to Dallas for the concert. I had a really good time. Elvis was awesome. The sound was pumped up way too loud though. The vibrations started to make me feel a little sick. It definitely wasn't his show though. He came out, played for an hour, and then that was it.

Some really ripped, really red-necked hobo guy (Ross had no idea who it was at first) came and sang Allison with him. Steve Nieve was on keyboards and theremin, as usual. They were all beet red and dripping sweat. It was hot and humid when they started at 730. Towards the end during a keyboard solo Steve snuck in the opening notes to the Dallas theme song. It was really, hmmm, (trying to think of the right words here), thoughtful, creative and cool.

The Police part of the concert was cool too. The folks in front of us were totally drunk. They were good for a laugh, but thankfully they were gone most of the time (getting more booze or in the bathroom I suppose). Overall, aside from the heat and humidity we had a really good time. We had good seats, and I got to see Elvis again (for the 7th time I think). Cyndi Lauper and some other folks are coming next month. We are thinking about that. We don't really get out much...