There had been some concern about the rather idiosyncratic system used to get seats in the pre-sale, which seems to have impinged to a lottery. Suggestions we’d get better seats if we waited until they were reeled to the general public were countered with a fairly definite I don’t care on my part, largely because I wanted to get to all four shows, thank you very much, and a glance at the seating arrangements as published on line suggested there probably weren’t any bad seats.
When we made our way into the auditorium our seats on were on the balcony, more or less dead centre, three rows back on the balcony. From where we were it looked like I’d been right, and there were no bad seats, but things may have been different on the floor if you're not inclined to stand up. The front section was standing more or less from the start, and I when I checked the following night there was a slight camber towards the back, but you’d probably have ended up on your feet once those in front of you were on theirs.
As predicted, the show was excellent. One can find all the gory details, along with another exposition of gripes about bullhorns and compulsory drinks, here, but, if you’re not into the arcane aspects of Costello fandom, a here’s a brief explanation that semi-justifies Hughesy’s four concert agenda.
For a start, with the proverbial extensive back catalogue to draw on, Costello tends to vary the concert set list quite a bit, so you’re not going to get the same old show night after night. He’ll prepare a set list before a regular show, but that’s largely for the benefit of the guitar technician who needs to know which particular instruments will be required, when they’re likely to be required and what key they need to be tuned to.
But that’s Elvis operating in regular mode, and while there’s no guarantee he’ll stick to what he’s listed, it isn’t exactly random either.
Which is where the Spectacular Spinning Songbook comes in. Take what amounts to a gigantic chocolate wheel, replace the numbers you’d use to decide who wins the prize with the names of songs from the old extensive back catalogue, and you’ve got an interesting way of randomising what gets played.
Fill some of the slots with jackpots and bonuses (Time, for example, or I Can Sing a Rainbow, or Imperial Chocolate) and you’ve added a further randomiser. Time, for example would produce two or three songs that include Time in the title, or, possibly, songs about the passage of time if you feel like going that way.