Crib Notes

You have no excuse not to go out and see Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby perform at The Star Bar tonight. The guy is a legend and doens’t make it through these parts very often.

Sadly, local powerpop hero and unapologetic Wreckless Eric fan Gentleman Jesse Smith has been removed from the bill in order to spend some time recovering from injuries received during a pretty brutal mugging in L5P last week. Here’s to wishing him a speedy recovery.

Wreckless Eric never quite gained the notoriety of his Stiff Records‘ labelmates Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe — at least not in the States. But as one of the original Stiff exports of the ’70s, he was no less an important figure in the second British pop invasion.

Through his early, out-of-tune singles “Whole Wide World” and “Semaphore Signals,” he gained a rep as the label’s punk sympathizer. Born Eric Goulden, he was a gruff counterpart to the well-mannered Lowe and the purportedly pompous Costello, and was never afraid to call anybody out. “I always liked Nick Lowe, but I thought Elvis Costello was a bit of a wanker,” he offers through his pinched British accent.

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(Photo courtesy Howlin’ Wuelf Media)

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Elvis Costello is only releasing his new album, Momofuku, on two formats: vinyl and digital download.

No CDs.

The Atlanta band Spy did the same with their terrific, self-titled debut in 2005, produced by Steve Albini. Unlike Elvis Costello, Spy didn’t charge for the download — only the vinyl.

After a line-up change, Spy changed its name to East Orange. They plan to record again with Albini this year.

Spy’s Mark and Jon Skinner with Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio recording studio in Chicago in 2004. (photo by Andisheh Nouraee)

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This past Saturday, when presented with the choice either to “Pump It Up” at Gwinnett or be felt up at the Girl Talk show at MJQ Concourse, the decision was easy: I went to the show I had tickets to. That the former required less physical movement and featured Elvis The-Love-of-My-Life Costello along with Bob Oh-My-God-That’s-Bob-Dylan Dylan also played a major factor.

Gwinnett Center has great sound, and the performances were stellar. If I were blind, it would have been, for me, a fabulous show. But this is what my $49.50 (not including service charge) bought me:

(Photo by Michael Ruther)

This is Bob Dylan and his band during the encore. Bob’s the one in the hat.

And just imagine Elvis Costello (solo, for the first time in 12 years) in the same space. One tiny British man serenaded 13,000 with an acoustic guitar that, from my seat a quarter-mile away, was smaller than the beer in my hand.

As for Dylan, do I think he’s over-the-hill? Do I think he’s past his prime? Musically, no. I couldn’t determine anything else without binoculars ($10 by the merch table).

I know large venues such as the Arena at Gwinnett Center are necessary, especially for such big acts. But sometimes, when I pay to see a band, I want to see a band.

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