ECorsair

Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Art&Entertainment

Costello on stage in Atlanta

"Why didn't I risk bringing my digital recorder?" reverberated through my thoughts as I was being seated for the surprise of all surprises. You see, Ticketmaster sold me two tickets for non-existent seats. Their mistake landed me front and center for Bob Dylan with special guest, Elvis Costello in Duluth, Georgia on September 22.

Seated around me were fellow fans who thought they would be enjoying the show at a much further distance. The two women behind me, one of them being wheel chair bound, were almost rejected their rightful seating due to the area's lack of wheelchair accessibility. Don't believe for a second that this stopped the seemingly bionic woman from pulling herself out of the chair, struggling up the steps (with assistance - Georgians aren't completely insensitive) to her seat.

The guy directly to my left has seen Bob Dylan 27 times. At his first show in 1986, Dylan headlined over the Grateful Dead with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as his backing band. We talked for thirty minutes about the stage layout and Dylan's performance.

This man could tell no lies. The super fan knew every cue Dylan would make, including his performance routine of jumping from guitar to piano.

The lights dimmed and my limbs went limp. My focus was all over the room, yet struggling to pay attention as the concert began.

Elvis Costello trotted on stage in full Grand Ole Opry regalia, with his bootlace tie and shiny boots. He was "Down among the wine and spirits," much like the new song proclaims, making reference to his slot as the concert opener.

Costello treated the crowd to a mixed bag of his oldest and most recent songs.

"Alison," from his first record had the entire crowd singing (or at least humming) along. Latecomers to the Gwinett Center missed out on Costello's unique sense of humor in his retelling of the Christmas story, "The three wise men brought the baby Jesus gold, frankincense, and Cheney - be careful what you wish for."

Costello left the stage to the very song he had just performed, and apparently recorded.

The crowd gave him an overwhelming standing ovation.

Elvis Costello was a perfect warm-up for the night's headliner. But in my opinion, he was the highlight of the evening.

Robert Zimmerman, otherwise known as Bob Dylan, is on what seems to be his final trek through the States. There were about five years between his last two albums, and with Saturday night's performance, it seems as the pencil thin mustached, 66 year-old renaissance cowboy's voice has gone the way of the buffalo.

Continued...

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