This Crooked Line

I took a day off work yesterday and went to see Elvis Costello play with his new backing band, The Sugarcanes, at the Ryman in Nashville, TN. This was my 3rd time seeing Elvis live, and just like the previous two shows, it was great. I had an unbelieveable seat (as pictured above) and the sound was perfect, which seems to be the standard for the Ryman. Elvis must be eschewing Rock 'N Roll time these days, because he took the stage at 7:37pm with an advertised start time of 7:30pm. I appreciated the gesture since I always arrive to shows early. The bluegrass/roots style of the new record translated incredibly well in the live setting. The set list was comprised of most of the tracks from Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane, rearranged versions of classics ("Blame It On Cain", "Brilliant Mistake", "Every Day I Write The Book", "Little Palaces", "Indoor Fireworks", "American Without Tears", "Alison", "What's So Funny..."), and covers of "Friend Of The Devil", "Femme Fatale", and "The Race Is On". I certainly never thought I'd hear Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, and George Jones covers all in one set. The show ran close to three hours, and at the end I still wanted more. The drive back seemed like it would never end. I got in a good 2 and a half hour nap before arriving at work this morning. That kind of drive in one night probably sounds crazy to most people, but great shows are worth the effort.

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I've seen several other shows since I last updated, including The Avett Brothers, Wilco, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and Bon Iver. Those were all enjoyable. I also went down to Foley/Gulf Shores to visit The Mann's, which is always a good time. It looks like I'll be back down twice in July. It's good to have things to look forward to. Perhaps the updates will be less sporadic in the coming weeks.