For Delbert And Elvis, Their Aim Was True

June 25th, 2006 at 07:19am Michael Conniff 2

Expectations are like--well, you know--everyone's got them, so there's something particularly sweet when all your expectations are met and even exceeded.

So it was Saturday night in Rio Grande Park in downtown Aspen, where a cavernous tent is home to a family of eclectic music and musicians every June. The biggest crowd I've ever seen in three years was wedged under the big top to see Delbert McClinton and Elvis Costello with special guest Allen Toussaint at Jazz Aspen Snowmass Presented by Calamos Investments.

For me, this was a wise investment of time because I had always wanted to see both--Delbert McClinton because I figured he was honky-tonk good times with no questions asked, and Elvis Costello because he's a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest songwriters of his time. A great bill, when you think about it, a combination of music with and without a message from two people I'd never seen.

Delbert absolutely delivered on the promise of roadhouse, pass-the-whiskey blues and jump with a band was tight and powerful in the simplest of tunes. This is a party band par excellence and Delbert's years on the road are noticeable in every note. They came to play, and nothing was wasted except certain members of the audience.

As for Elvis, this was rock and pop that was rolling thanks to a four-piece horn section featuring Big Sam that gave the whole proceedings a rocking, socking motif. Everything Toussaint touched on the piano was the better for it, and his musicality lent Costello's compositions an extra glaze of humanity. They even played the old "Yes We Can Can" from the Pointer Sisters and made that their own.

My favorite moment was the avant-pop version of Costello's famous "Allison" that segued into Motown's "The Tracks Of My Tears." But everything was first rate, with moments throughout of real transcendence and just plain fun.

Delbert McClinton: check. Elvis Costello: check.

Even in the dark of night after the show, you couldn't help but think life was now a little better, a little bright--something I had never would have expected. 

Entry Filed under: Music, Aspen, Nightlife, Blues, Pitkin County, Pop