EC Again!

Sorry for my lack of recent involvement. Thank God I pay Eric to take up my slack. April is the cruelest month at school, unless you count March and February. Anywho, I'm back bitches and I'm taking no prisoners. Next Sunday will mark my next appointment with my idol and godhead, Elvis Costello, who brings his Spectacular Spinning Songbook to the Durham Performing Arts Center. As a nod to the diversity of this amazing guy, here is a list of my concert history and EC's show format for each:

1) Berkeley, CA in 1991. Supporting Might Like a Rose and playing with the Rude 5 which includes Marc Ribot and a couple of the original Elvis' 70s band.
2) New Orleans, LA in May of 1994. Supporting Brutal Youth. Drove from Jackson to see this show which featured the Attractions together again. The next night....
3) Memphis, TN. Saw this outdoor show at Mud Island with some bastard. I only have four words to say about the opening band: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.
4) Philadelphia, PA 1999. My girlfriend took us to Philly to see Elvis as a birthday present. Tower Theater was great, and so were EC and Steve Nieve. I got them both to sign the limited edition EC/SN box set, my prized musical possession (besides my Subteens CD that has one of Jay's boogers on it).
5) New Orleans, LA 1999. EC and keyboardist Steve Nieve play a gorgeous set and Elvis actually gets the noisy ass crowd at the House of Blues to STFU when he sings off-mic. You coulda heard a pin drop.
6) Oxford, MS. EC plays at Proud Larry's, a tiny bar downtown, in order to warm up his new songs for the recording of the Delivery Man. Most of those new songs were played twice with lots of classics and deep cuts scattered in. Amazing to see him in a dive. The next day I got Steve's autograph when I ran into him in a record store on the town square. 
7) New Orleans, LA 2005. Elvis with the Imposters at the HofB. Bob Andrews of the Rumour (a New Orleans resident) hops up to play a couple of songs with the boys. My only picture with Elvis is ruined when some jackhole walks in front of the camera. I have a pic of EC and my right hand.
8) New Orleans, LA 2005. A scant month later, EC plays the JazzFest. David Hidalgo of Los Lobos joins for a few songs. Three months later, Hurricane Katrina comes and leads EC to record The River in Reverse, which leads to the next show in...
9) Vienna, VA in 2006. Elvis and Allen Toussaint are touring together with the Crescent City Horns and the Imposters. A very joyful show with great new brass arrangements of the songs, deep cuts from AT's catalog, and a nice salve for the still painful memory of Katrina.
10) Washington DC 2007. Elvis celebrates thirty years in the biz and plays stuff from just about every album. Allen Toussaint is in town and joins in towards the end. An amazing setlist and a great time with yet another bastard. Cover highlight: Hey Bulldog!
11) Cary, NC 2007. A few months after the raucous show in DC, EC and SN perform with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra. Lots of new arrangements and a peaceful night under the sky enjoying an outdoor show.
12) Cary, NC 2009. Elvis brings his bluegrass band and plays rearranged versions of his hits plus stuff from Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane. Cover highlight: Femme Fatale and Mystery Train.
13) Durham, NC 2012. Sunday Elvis brings his spinning songbook. People from the audience get to spin the wheel and he'll play the song. Included are thematic jackpots like 'Time' and 'I Can Sing a Rainbow'. Recent covers have included Please Please Me, Out of Time by the Stones, and Purple Rain.

Post your concert obsessions!