It was good to see Elvis again. I'd never been to the Taste of Chicago before, in fact I actively avoided it for many years, but I couldn't run away from Elvis. I didn't actually buy any food when I was there (no gator on a stick for me), I just went straight to the Petrillo Music Shell and sat down to wait. There's a seated area nearer the stage which you need to have tickets for, but I couldn't figure out how to get those tickets. Anyway, in between the seated area and the lawn for the hoi polloi there was an empty buffer zone about ten yards wide, and I was right in the front, so I had good sight lines although Elvis appeared even smaller than usual from the distance I was. More importantly, I could hear fine.

I got there just as the opening act was doing her soundcheck. (I was disappointed there was an opener; I was hoping it would be like the last time I saw Elvis, when he played for three hours straight, no opener.) It was a lady with a guitar and I hoped it was Laura Cantrell (she opened for EC quite a bit last year), but it turned out to be Alice Peacock, who doesn't really look much like Laura Cantrell, but I was pretty far away, so give me a break.

She came on just at 3 and did some songs. They were okay. It was really hot. And then during her next-to-last song the clouds started building fast, and it began to rain. Hard, like Florida in the summer, a sudden, really violent thunderstorm that blows over in about ten minutes and leaves the ground steaming.

Except this rain was really, really cold. At one point it was actually hailing. I don't think, if that had continued, I could have stayed, even for Elvis, but it did clear up and the man came out and by now at least everybody was standing up because the ground was soaked.

Setlist:
I Hope You're Happy Now / Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution) / Everyday I Write the Book / Less than Zero / (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea / Everybody's Crying Mercy / Clubland / Clown Strike / Pump It Up / Dust / Alison / Tracks of My Tears -> Tears of a Clown -> Suspicious Minds // Uncomplicated / I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down // Deep Dark Truthful Mirror -> You Really Got a Hold on Me / Beyond Belief / Radio, Radio / (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love & Understanding

A couple of mp3s from the show available as linked. I didn't bother bringing my camera; I knew I'd be too far away to get any good pictures.

I'd actually never heard Everybody's Crying Mercy before, but I thought it was just incredibly fantastic. And as for Beyond Belief, if I ever wrote a song that good I'd sit back and fold my arms for the rest of my life, and think, "I've made a positive contribution to human civilization and now I can rest."

I love watching Elvis do solos. They're so...Elvis. And Pete Thomas really rocks me. I don't know what it is about him. Maybe it's because he's so tall.

The clouds came in again during Beyond Belief, which went excellently with the mood of the song; happily, it didn't start raining again until the show was over and I was heading toward the bus stop. Then it poured, and for a lot longer this time. Still, the show was about 80 minutes, and it was free, and I got a free ride home: everybody's transit cards and money were so soaked from the rain that the fare machines on the bus wouldn't take them, and the driver waved us all on indiscriminately.

It was mostly a hot, sunny day; I wore a cami; I hadn't exposed my shoulders to the sun in about a year. Yeah, I totally got burnt.