Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Pretty self-explanatory
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sweetest punch
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Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by sweetest punch »

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-11- ... -costanza/

George W. Bush morphs into a Green hippie & brings Costanza along

Unbelievable, yet true: The former commander in chief — infamous for reversing decades of environmental progress — is to be the keynote speaker at next month's 2010 Windpower Conference and Exhibition in Dallas.

Has W. become a windpower-hawking hippie?

Well, not exactly — Georgie can barely lift a limp wrist for humanitarian causes. He's been fairly out of pocket since leaving 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., other than PR stunts like his Haiti vacay and January engagement in Reno at the Safari Club International Annual Hunters' Convention. His May 25 appearance for wind might just be an attempt to pad his wallet. For the favor, he's charging $100,000 (a $50,000 discount from the usual ticket price just because Big D is his "hometown.")

We must give credit to Texas, the state with the largest wind capacity. And maybe this is the one environmental strategy that even Dick Cheney's former sidekick can agree with. When he was president, W. stated that the country could draw 20 percent of its power from wind by 2030, without making any further provisions.

Also booked for the event is a music performance by Elvis Costello, as well as some comedic dinner theatre by Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame — making for a talented trifecta sure to leave the upwards of 23,000 conference attendees blown away.

Tickets: http://2010.windpowerexpo.org/house_of_blues.cfm
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
TX_Fan
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by TX_Fan »

Thanks for the heads-up sweetest punch!

I'm now going to see EC twice in the same week.... 24th (House of Blues) & 29th (Dallas Symphony)
Thanks for coming through Dallas EC!

Are you going to be there Legman?
legman open to offers
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by legman open to offers »

I will be attending at least one show of the 3 he will be in town. As of right now, I have tix to neither. I'd like the HOB, but may be too pricey for me. I'll probably go to a Meyerson show. I'll let you know, we'll hook up for drinks!
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legman open to offers
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by legman open to offers »

Perhaps he will be in the Dallas area all week...maybe an impromptu appearance somewhere in town. I will be beating the bushes to find out!
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Snydermerge
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by Snydermerge »

Found out I've got an in for tonight - way excited!! I'm assuming this is a solo gig, but I'll report back tomorrow.
legman open to offers
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by legman open to offers »

Lucky you Snyder, I've been busting my sack for the last week trying to get in. I'm going down to HOB to see if something shakes out. Lookin for a miracle.
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legman open to offers
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by legman open to offers »

Bit the bullet on this one. Had to register for the wind power conference, but I'm going. It's only money.
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TX_Fan
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by TX_Fan »

Great Show!! We ended up center stage in row 1 balcony...(arguably the best seats). It was a little shorter than I wanted (about 80-90 minutes), but aren't they all with EC concerts?
The "Wind Energy Converence" attendees were largely not huge EC fans and were a bit "chatty" during the first song or 2. Elvis quickly shut them all up with an outstanding performance. He was in the best voice that I've seen him in a while. The song list: (as best I can recall...there was alcohol involved)

1: Red Shoes
2: Either Side of the Same Town
3: Veronica (excellent)
4: Down Among the Wine and Spirits
5: I Hope Your Happy Now (loved this slow acoustic version)
6: Condemned Man
7: Everyday I Write the Book
8: Bedlam (Excellent)
9: Jimmies Standing in the Rain (Forgotten Man)?
10: Josephine?
11: Watching the Detectives (crazy cool psychedelic guitar licks)
12: Radio Sweetheart
13: God's Comic
14: Alison - (end sounded like a few lines of "Tracks of my Tears" followed by something about a "Queen is weeping"...)

Encore1:
15: Sulpher to SugarCane
16: River in Reverse
17: Peace, Love & Understanding

Encore2:
18: Pump It Up

I can't wait for the Dalla Symphony show this weekend!
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by sweetest punch »

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairp ... ke_the.php

Elvis Costello Breaks Like the Wind
By Robert Wilonsky

Elvis Costello at the House of Blues last night

​Three things, among many, overheard at last night's private Elvis Costello show at the House of Blues: 1) "I'm not familiar with Elvis Costello, but it beats staying in my hotel room." 2) "There's a lot of money in power transmission couplings." And, 3) "You guys really need a convention center hotel." Regarding the latter, it would seem the Windpower Conference and Exposition that's in town through tomorrow has eaten up every last hotel room downtown -- 20,000-plus attendees will do that.

Last night's Costello show was a fund-raiser for the Wind Foundation -- tickets went for $125 and a very VIP $225. It had a corporate getaway vibe: name tags, cold cuts, golf shirts, khaki pants, drink tickets. Attendees milling around the floor till the 8 p.m. opening note chatted in myriad accents -- Japanese, German, Branson -- about interest-rate management, renting out their ranches to the highest bidders with the biggest turbines and how wind might be the future, some day, but there really ain't no money in it yet. Not unless you're putting on an expo where registration for nonmembers starts at $1,150.

Or: Unless you're Elvis Costello playing a private wingding. But he didn't take the money and run -- far from it. All by his lonesome with but a handful of guitars, Costello poured sweat through an estimable setlist that included The Hits ("Alison," "Pump It Up," "Veronica"), the classics (opener "The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes," a here-comes-the-fuzz "Watching the Detectives," "I Hope You're Happy Now"), some relative obscurities ("God's Comic," "Radio Sweetheart" commingled with "Jackie Wilson Said") a few songs off the new record and even "a song I hate," which is how he introduced the 27-year-old (!) "Everyday I Write the Book."

​Initially the crowd seemed indifferent, save for the die-hard handful who'd perched themselves along the stage well before showtime and sang along to every song, even the new "Down Among the Wines and Spirits" and "Sulphur to Sugarcane." Costello started out by alternating between the familiar and the obscure (there were, as well, several cuts from The Delivery Man), his familiar pop-punk-by-way-of-the-pub and the country-blues of recent vintage. He even played brand-new, unrecorded cuts -- like "Josephine," which he introduced by saying "this is some old rock and roll ... or, I should note, what rock and roll sounded like in 1921."

Despite the fund-raising gig, he stuck to a setlist intended for the diehards and sang holy hell out of it -- he held back nothing. And so, with each passing song, with each drop of sweat pouring off Costello's grinning mug, the crowd got more and more into it. He'd made converts of the nonbelievers, who he had singing along to the call-and-response chorus of "God's Comic": "Now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead/Now I'm dead, now I'm dead/And I'm going on to meet my reward." By the time he closed shop with "Pump It Up," the crowd had earned its jump-it-up reward.

Incidentally, Costello's booked in the Meyerson this weekend with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Tix are still available. I told Pete I'd review that one for DC9. In the meantime, Patrick Michels is at the Wind Expo, where George W. Bush is scheduled to speak right about now. I win.

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Lester Burnham
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by Lester Burnham »

TX_Fan wrote:Great Show!! We ended up center stage in row 1 balcony...(arguably the best seats). It was a little shorter than I wanted (about 80-90 minutes), but aren't they all with EC concerts?
The "Wind Energy Converence" attendees were largely not huge EC fans and were a bit "chatty" during the first song or 2. Elvis quickly shut them all up with an outstanding performance. He was in the best voice that I've seen him in a while. The song list: (as best I can recall...there was alcohol involved)

1: Red Shoes
2: Either Side of the Same Town
3: Veronica (excellent)
4: Down Among the Wine and Spirits
5: I Hope Your Happy Now (loved this slow acoustic version)
6: Condemned Man
7: Everyday I Write the Book
8: Bedlam (Excellent)
9: Jimmies Standing in the Rain (Forgotten Man)?
10: Josephine?
11: Watching the Detectives (crazy cool psychedelic guitar licks)
12: Radio Sweetheart
13: God's Comic
14: Alison - (end sounded like a few lines of "Tracks of my Tears" followed by something about a "Queen is weeping"...)

Encore1:
15: Sulpher to SugarCane
16: River in Reverse
17: Peace, Love & Understanding

Encore2:
18: Pump It Up

I can't wait for the Dalla Symphony show this weekend!
Maybe Hendrix's 'The Wind Cries Mary'?
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by sweetest punch »

A small snippet of Red Shoes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpMm5ueBX80
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
legman open to offers
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by legman open to offers »

Initially the crowd seemed indifferent, save for the die-hard handful who'd perched themselves along the stage well before showtime and sang along to every song


That would be me. Front and center, right at the stage, like the good soldier I am in the Elvis Army. After deciphering my own kept setlist, I will concur with TX Fans' list and call his accurate.

I paid way more than I thought I should have. I talked to several conference attendees the previous week, and they couldn't understand the concept that I just wanted to see the concert. They just wanted to talk windpower components, and I thought, this performance is going to be wasted on a bunch of windpower stiffs! The crowd warmed up and was pretty loud by the encores.

I'm not up to speed on some of his newer songs yet, but I thought he had a good run going with WTD, Radio Sweetheart, and my first time hearing live God's Comic. Finished very strong with Sulphur, and RIR. There were a couple of songs where he whistled, to fill in for lack of bandmates I guess. He seemed to smile when I said, "where is Jim Lauderdale when you need him?"

I snagged a setlist from off the stage, and looked for a stage door for possible meet and greet, and was rewarded. All of about 4 or 5 people waiting for EC outside. I got the setlist, and my copy of S,P&S signed. And I met new forum member Snydermerge!

Two more shows here in Dallas this week. I don't know what we did to deserve it, but it's pretty damn cool.

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TX_Fan
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by TX_Fan »

That's awesome Legman!
Now I wish he would have played 45, Complicated Shadows, Brilliant Mistake, Almost Blue, Man Out of Time & I Want You.
Oh well...the Dallas Symphony show should help.

Thanks for coming through Dallas EC!!
Last edited by TX_Fan on Wed May 26, 2010 12:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by sweetest punch »

Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by sweetest punch »

The River In Reverse & PLU: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_CYW7OG5Yg
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
johnfoyle
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by johnfoyle »

The New Yorker , Nov. 8 ’10

Profiles

Brilliant Mistakes

Elvis Costello’s boundless career

By Nick Paumgarten

(extract)

Costello has a firm, Jaggeresque hand in the management of his own career. So it seemed odd to see him, the night after Sonoma, playing a solo gig in Dallas, at a private fund-raiser that was part of a wind-power conference, at which the keynote speaker was George W. Bush. The concert was at the House of Blues. The floor slowly filled with engi neers and entrepreneurs in golf shirts and nametags. Longtime Costello fans—a few had registered for the conference just to see this show—gathered near the stage, while most of the other attendees hung back by the bar, chattering away about tur¬bines. A wind-industry official took the stage and began her introductory remarks. In the greenroom, within view of the stage, Costello, in his polka dots, sucked on a lemon and twitched with nervous ex¬citement as she parcelled out thanks to various donors. "She's going to name every single person in the crowd," he muttered.

When that was done, he darted onto the stage, shouldered a guitar, and ripped into "Red Shoes' a brisker version than he'd played the night before. Rearrange¬ments or changing circumstances or new settings have revivified his old songs, in his ears. "Neil Young does it. Tom Waits does it really well," he told me one day. "I've tried to learn how to do it. How to keep moving, not out of perversity or some desire to impress but because this is the material I’ve got, you know?"

Next came "Either Side of the Same Town," written when he was nearly fifty: "Now it's hard to keep ignoring someone you recognize—and if I seem contented that's only my disguise." And then "Veronica," played fast and a touch rough, again quite different from the version of the previous night. Despite the gift of an old favorite, a din of inattention spilled past the soundboard toward the stage, where Costello, sweating and gesticulating, beat it back. A set list taped to the soundboard had already been abandoned. "He hardly ever does the set list," the soundman said.

Costello did, however, hew to his standard vaudevillian patter. He relayed a piece of advice his father had once given him: "Never, ever look up to a note. Always look down." (Pause.) "I have no idea what it means either." To introduce "Jimmie Standing in the Rain," he said, "I’d like to introduce my special guest for the evening. It's me." His setup to "A Slow Drag with Josephine," another new number, was the same as it had been in Sonoma and the same as his description of the song to me in the car: "It's the way rock and roll sounded in 1921." It ended with him whistling the melody, into a full breeze of indifference from the back of the room.

He had sensed the diffusion of interest. "I told myself, Just play for the people who are listening," he said later. This had become a principle of his, a way to approach every performance, as well as writing and recording. "You're not making the records for people who are not listening." He narrowed his attention and shrunk the hall. A wicked and angular rendition of "Watching the Detectives," on a blond Gibson Super 400 guitar, which he thrashed with his little hands of concrete into a long, not always tonal dis¬cursion that owed something to Neil Young, seemed to bring the House of Blues to order. When the song was over, he stood with his arms outstretched, guitar held out by its neck, a habitual gesture of his that seems to combine a sincere ap¬petite for applause with half-ironic self-congratulation and a taskmaster's impatience for the guitar technician: it was time to swap out the Gibson. By now, the dump at the front had thickened and deepened, and had become a small throng reaching out to touch his knees. He gave them a taste of 1978: "Alison" and "(What's So Funny Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" and. finally, instead of the encores listed on the set list, a furious and crude version of "Pump It Up."

He ran offstage, a sweaty imp, and hurried along the corridor behind the back curtain and into his dressing room. He shut the door. He called his wife. Then he reemerged, having changed out of his silk suit and back into his shades, scarf, and duck-hunting cap. "That was a honky-tonk rock show," he said. "That was a honky-tonk audience. Playing 'Pump It Up' was away to go, `Can I get a good night?"

The V.I.P.s and sponsors came in, sheepish and beaming. He made his way around to them. They called him Mr. Costello and snapped pictures, and praised the performance. "Thank you, thank you," he said gently. 'These compliments are too much." The woman who had introduced him onstage asked, "Can I give you a wind pin?" He stood still for her as she fastened it onto his sweater. "Jesus," he joked. "It's no wonder you didn't have a career in magic." The where-you-froms burbled on. A mention of Spokane soon had him talking about getting ill in a motor lodge in Boise, Idaho.
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migdd
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Re: Elvis (solo), House of Blues, Dallas, May 24, 2010

Post by migdd »

Again, many thanks for coming through with this, JF.
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