Rosanne Cash Surprises by Bringing “Mystery Guest” Elvis Costello Into Her Concert

If you weren’t living under a rock last week in the city, you no doubt heard of the two big Events in music: Paul McCartney’s three shows at the 575-capaacity Bowery Ballroom and the 50th anniversary concert for Saturday Night Live.

But lucky me. On Feb. 13, I got to see a genuine musical event when Elvis Costello joined Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal for an hour at the 92nd Street Y, now known as 92NY.

Cash was her usual delightful self, opening the show by singing 10 songs, eight of her standards–including “The Wheel” and the opener, “Modern Blue”–as well as moving renditions of Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil” and Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billy Joe.”

Her set, covering roughly 45 minutes, showcased her gift for combining moving vocals with entertaining commentary. Guitarist Leventhal, her husband of some 30 years, was a revelation and quick to add a quip of his own.

Then Cash looked expectantly to the wings and playfully introduced that “special guest”–none other than Costello. This evening of entertaining music now became an unforgettable memory for us in the audience.

Rosanne and Elvis, two accomplished storytellers and singers who clearly loved performing together, played a beautiful version of Bob Dylan’s epic “Girl from the North Country.” Afterward, amid thunderous applause, Costello, one of the wittiest musicians around, quipped that he didn’t know “those Timothee Chalamet” songs, a reference to the hit Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.

The song took on a special significance, too, as Rosanne’s father, the great singer and songwriter Johnny Cash had accompanied Dylan on the same song on Dylan’s 1969 album, “Nashville Skyline.” Obviously, Cash and Costello could have selected any number of vintage Dylan songs to collaborate on, so you’d have to believe they relished singing one that is so near and dear to the Cash family legacy.

Cash and Costello participated in The 92nd Street Y’s series of Lyrics and Lyricists. That there were no keyboards or drums present added to the intimacy of the evening. For Costello, who will soon hit the road for a tour with his longtime keyboard maestro Steve Nieve, the set gave him an opportunity to play a show without having to succumb to his hits of “Alison” and “Pump It Up.”

Special Event

I’m not criticizing anybody for being brave (or foolish) enough to camp out overnight to see Paul McCartney play 22 songs on stage in a small Manhattan club. Surely, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to breathe the same oxygen as someone certifiably great. It was a memory that would last forever.

Ant the SNL 50th anniversary excitement? Ditto, in a word. There were more celebrities than anyone could count, all gathered together to toast the most remarkable entertainment television show of all time. If “60 Minutes” ever tried to have a similar milestone party, you’d get a bunch of journalists and politicians in the same place. Yawn!

But I feel fortunate to have caught the Cash-Costello show. There is something magical about seeing two creative icons performing in the same space. Yes, they were collaborating and working together but I got a sense that they also wanted to prove to the other that they were at the top of their game. For the good of the music, they pushed none another to excel.

They had fun. You could see the joy on their faces.

Costello’s Magic

There is something magical about an Elvis Costello performance. I first saw him play on Dec. 2, 1977, at the Riviera Theater in Chicago. He and his fabulous band, The Attractions, opened the concert for the headlining Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Costello & Co, played a blistering 50-minute set, never pausing to grab a cup of water or something harder or even to towel off. Every song was performed at a breakneck speed. It was magical (In fact, when Petty took the stage, his set seemed so draggy by comparison that I walked out of the hall about an hour in).

Since that night, I have seen Costello play more than 80 times (and I’ll be there on Feb. 24, in Montclair, NJ, to catch his show yet again). He has never let me down. He always has another trick up his sleeve to thrill and delight his audience.

Clearly, Costello and Rosanne Cash knew what they were doing that night. They were more than entertainers. They achieved the ultimate accolade: They were crowd pleasers. And anybody who was lucky enough to be at the 92nd Street Y that evening won’t soon forget the event.