Elvis sighting in Madison !

Our tickets in my wallet we headed down to see Elvis Costello. Cindy’s first, my second time. My first was Summerfest 2006 and I wasn’t sure what to expect 9 years later. Some of the YouTube clips of his recent shows were pretty mellow and some were just Elvis with no backing band.

I had made Cindy an Elvis Costello for the uninitiated CD to get her prepped and she actually downloaded his album “Spike” to listen to. Now that’s doin’ research. Nice. The night of the show came and we had a nice dinner at Smokey’s and then drifted downtown.

Madison’s own Art Paul was busking outside the Overture Center.

There was no signage for Elvis I could find anywhere. That is a damn shame. They need a marquee! I did find this small coming events poster in the entryway. Pitiful.

Addendum: Weeks later I did come across this online, but I never saw it there:

At any rate, once inside we sat for a bit and people watched. Our “we were here” shot.

There was as always at a Madison show, a cross-section of America on display. We were comfortably not the oldest OR youngest there. Most of the crowd leaned toward the older set I think, those familiar with Elvis and his early years.

The merch table was a bit of a disappointment, just $40 dollar t-shirts and guitar picks. That was it. No vinyl, no recent CD’s, posters, or even buttons. Ah well.

Our seats were in the orchestra section and in a shortened row. Not too bad. Row H on the aisle. I got a shot of the stage before the show. There were a lot of different guitars there.

and as Cindy later pointed out a bullhorn with the name ELVIS on it. It was never used during the show. Not sure what its purpose was.

Starting very close to on time, Elvis and crew strolled out and started rocking.

The first few were fast and electric and everyone was digging it and the sound was great. We had a good view and I was able to get some nice pictures.

Elvis was looking dapper in his suit with vest and hat. Don’t forget the signature big black glasses. His voice was sharp and clear and he talked and told stories between some of the songs, which I love. Then he slowed things down and switched to acoustic.

The slower acoustic stuff I wasn’t as familiar with, but I knew some. It was very intimate. He did a slower version of “Temptation” after he jokingly said something about looking for a green-eyed cross-eyed girl. He also did “Shot With His Own Gun”. They were great.

Then they went off stage. I was like “no way is this encore already!”

It wasn’t. It was what I would call phase 2 of the show. Only Elvis and Steve Nieve came back out. More great soft slow stuff ensued with Elvis filling the air of the Center with his just off soothing tones. It was fantastic.

He packs a lot of power into his songs. He did a few on which he just sang and didn’t play.

Then that phase was over and he did a short set of stuff all alone on stage.

He softly hushed the crowd and then went into “Alison” on a small little acoustic and sang it off mic. The place was so quiet you could hear it perfectly. It was amazing.

Check out the bullhorn above.

Then he sped it up a bit and the full band came back out. This was the best part for me. He played the big bodied guitar and did several numbers I knew from the old days. “High Fidelity” and “Pump It Up” brought the crowd to a roar and there was woo-ing all around.

Elvis was a great show. New and old mixed in an intimate showcase that displayed his vast talents both as songwriter, singer and showman. Great and funny stories interspersed. He mentioned stopping at Bunky’s last time they were here.

Can you imagine sitting having a bite and having Elvis Costello walk in?

Accidents Will Happen.

Great job Elvis and the Imposters !

Come back soon.