these are new dates, right? April 12-16 West Coast

[bronxapostle]

Apr 2012
12
Seattle, Washington, USA Paramount Theatre
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Tickets on sale 14th January 2012
Apr 2012
13
Portland, Oregon, USA Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Tickets on sale 14th January 2012
Apr 2012
15
San Francisco, California, USA Warfield Theatre
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Tickets on sale 13th January 2012
Apr 2012
16
San Diego, California, USA Humphrey's
Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Tickets on sale 14th January 2012


damn...where are my EC (EAST COAST!) shows???

[The imposter]

Elvis said he was giving the east coast a rest this year,didn't he?

Never mind Bronxy, come and see some shows in Europe this summer. I see Springsteen's just announced San Sebastian in June, lovely place to visit and a favourite destination for him. Around the same time The Imposters will also be touring Europe...

[jmm]

certainly new to me (and I'm due in SF that week!)

ba, you should have come to night #2 at the Wellmont -- you might be holding up better now!!!

[bronxapostle]

ah, i'm a numerology guy and wanted to end the year at #100 even. can i fit in your suitcase for #101 in San Fran???

[MOJO]

Excellent. I wonder if I have to buy VIP to get a GA ticket. I'm sure I'll be spazzing out with clicking around to figure that out.

[Man out of Time]

These are new dates and a new date for Windsor Ontario too. According to the LA Times:

"Elvis Costello's ballyhooed Spectacular Spinning Songbook Tour will make a run for the West Coast this spring, including a return to the Wiltern, along with dates in Seattle, Portland, Ore., San Diego and San Francisco, it was announced Monday. Since the tour's launch in 2011, Costello has performed in more than 30 cities across the U.S., with a heavy measure of critical success.

Despite Costello's dust-up with Amazon over the high price of his grandiose box set, "The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook," reviews and concert footage of the show suggest that fans are more than happy to shell out the dough to see him in person. Could it be the interactive nature of the show?

At each performance, select fans are invited onstage to spin the Wheel -- a fixture at Costello's shows back in the late '80s -- helping to create new sets at each performance. The Wheel is a rotating mix of hits, rarities and a few surprises. This tour marks its first appearance in 25 years.

Tickets for the San Francisco date go on sale Friday. Tickets for the shows in Seattle, Portland, Ore. and San Diego go on sale Saturday. An additional show in Windsor, Canada, goes on sale Jan. 21."

Read more here:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_b ... -tour.html

This tour marks the Spectacular Spinning Songbook's "first appearance in 25 years, " if you ignore its many appearances in 2011, or count this year's dates as a continuation of the US tour that finished in October last year. That would also require you to ignore the dozen European solo dates in October and November. Personally I think that journalists should now rest that particular phrase

MOOT

[jardine]

maybe also rest "dust up with Amazon"??

[bronxapostle]

you know, the more i look at the agenda...there will be NO squeezing in NY in April. but as the 4-5 shows in Florida precede one UP the coast on the 29th in North Carolina, maybe we can get one or two in early May before he heads to Ireland for the May 9th appearance. I HOPE!!!

[verbal gymnastics]

I've told you before BA - Elvis has had enough of New York and is not going to play there this year

...apart from the one week of shows at the Beacon to rehearse for his new album.

[bronxapostle]

well, that would make the THIRD time i've seen FIVE shows in ONE week on BROADWAY in NYC! so, i'll accept your offer VG and remain pondering if i can sweet talk my brother into a nine hour drive and overnight stay in North Carolina!

[MOJO]

Bummer, I had to buy VIP. The Artist Arena seating chart didn't really match the venue seating chart - Naming convention is matching, plus there was no GA available through the pre-sale. Weak. That's where I want to be. Anyone

want a VIP package? I already have it.

[migdd]

MOJO, please check your inbox.

[MOJO]

Sent a reply, hope you get it. Seems like my replies are caught in the out box. Whatever, dude. Just send me your mailing addy and i'll send the VIP pack to you, when I get it. Bummer that I had to lay down a few hundred for tix and I'm really not sure where i will be sitting. Lame. I guess I just have to make my way to the GA section despite what i bought and who might get in my way. I need the open space that GA offers. I hate to be confined to a seat for concerts. Quite spastic, really.

[seanpointblank]

Got my tickets for the Seattle show! Finally that old bastard comes here again. I had to miss the SP&S show and refused to pay the price to see him play a short gig opening for the Police, so I haven't seen our boy since the River & Reverse tour with Allen Toussaint (whose limousine almost ran me over as I walked back to my car, but was given a smile and wave from Mr. Toussaint as a consolation prize).

I can't wait!

[migdd]

Sent a reply, hope you get it. Seems like my replies are caught in the out box. Whatever, dude. Just send me your mailing addy and i'll send the VIP pack to you, when I get it. Bummer that I had to lay down a few hundred for tix and I'm really not sure where i will be sitting. Lame. I guess I just have to make my way to the GA section despite what i bought and who might get in my way. I need the open space that GA offers. I hate to be confined to a seat for concerts. Quite spastic, really.

Sent you a reply MOJO. My inbox is acting the same but the messages seem to get through nonetheless.

[Man out of Time]

Preview of the San Diego date on 16 April, by George Varga, who refers back to a 1987 Concert at the State University in San Diego.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters will kick off the 2012 Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay season.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and his band, which features former two former members of his band The Attractions -- drummer Pete Thomas and keyboardist Steve Naive -- will perform April 16 at the intimate Shelter Island venue, which has a seating capacity of 1,400. This will be Costello's first area appearance since his mesmerizing solo show at the Balboa Theatre two years ago. Tickets for the Humphrey's concert go on sale Friday at Ticketmaster.

The concert will offer San Diegans their first chance of this century to experience Costello's "The Return of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook" tour, which he launched last year. It is a sequel to his 1987 "Spinning Songbook" solo tour, which included a superb 1987 tour stop at the SDSU Open Air Theatre.

The "spinning songbook" concept, which will also be featured on this tour, featured a giant, game-show like wheel that had the names of dozens of Costello songs written on it. The set list for his shows was determined by each spin of the wheel.

Here's how Costello describes how the new tour will work on his Web site: "At each performance, select fans are invited onstage to spin the Wheel, helping to create new sets at each performance from a collection of 40 banners including hits, rarities, and a few surprises." he goes on to promise that the tour will include an "on-stage go-go cage" and "Society Lounge" (read: couch for a fan or two ti sit on while they wait their turn to spin the wheel), in addition to" the monumental game-show wheel."

This year's tour expands the same concept to include Costello's band. As on the 1987 tour and last year's sequel, audience participation will be an essential ingredient. It remains to be seen, though, if Costello will have a miniature drum set on stage for one lucky fan to play along on a song or two. (At his 1987 SDSU show, that lucky fan was an adept young lady drummer who played along on -- if my memory serves -- "Alison" and "Everyday I Wrote the Book").

Sadly, it does not appear that Costello's 1987 "Spinning Book" tour opener, Nick Lowe, will be on board this time around. Regardless, expect the Humphrey's show in April to be a swift sell-out.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan ... ys-season/

The wiki http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... 1987-04-18 confirms that an audience member (Carolyn) did indeed drum with EC that night. Can anyone suggest why?

MOOT

[FAVEHOUR]

The wiki http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... 1987-04-18 confirms that an audience member (Carolyn) did indeed drum with EC that night. Can anyone suggest why?

MOOT

On that tour, Elvis would often have an audience member come up and play on the "Zak Starkey drum kit".
I remember a young lady playing on "Mystery Dance".
Dave

[sweetest punch]

The show in San Diego is sold out: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/mar ... 31-splash/

Humphrey's Concerts turns 31 with a splash

(...)
The key, he believes, is a lineup that mixes longtime Humphrey’s favorites (including Ringo Starr, America and Chris Isaak) with artists making their debuts at the intimate Shelter Island venue (including Rufus Wainwright, young jazz sensation Esperanza Spalding and Elvis Costello, who opens this year’s lineup with a sold-out April 16 show). Tickets for the 2012 season go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.
(...)