This was 'live music week' as part of our NYC city summer.

First - Tuesday, 7/19 ELVIS.

Central Park Summerstage was ninty-plus degrees. The crowd was huge. And Elvis was his dynamic, diverse, amazing self. A great show (and a great gift from my family to me as a birthday present).

I've been to a number of his shows, and he always has a way of mixing in new stuff, some old favorites, and a few country tunes from Almost Blue or his other non-rock excursions. His guest on this tour was EmmyLou Harris - so there was a good deal more of the country genre (maybe even than the crowd expected.)

He performed with The Imposters (drummer Pete Thomas, keyboardist Steve Nieve, and Davey Faragher playing bass).

He opened with Red Shoes and Radio, Radio through to Country Darkness and It's Needle Time from Costello's latest, The Delivery Man.

Guitarist Larry Campbell was mesmerizing.

The venue was very mellow about technology (no one had camcorders, but lots of people had phones).

I'm not sure why but the guy next to us kept reading his phone book, picking a name, and then calling them so that he could tell them he was at the show and hold up the phone for a few minutes. Is it meant to create community, or jealousy, or both? Not sure, but the whole 'virtual concert' phone thing is real.

Oh, ok, yes, we did shoot a few pictures on our phones, and record a bit of video, and take a family picture. But hey - it was an 'event'. But live isn't dead, no where near. It's the best way to experience music by far... and summerstage is a great place to be right in the middle of new york.

The live Elvis show came on the heals of our Sunday trip to Bethel New York in the Catskills.

Now, most everyone on the planet knows that Bethel is the actual place that the Woodstock concert took place. But what you may not konw is that there is rising on Max Yasgur's farm a pretty amazing music venue called the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Our long time friends David and Lou Ann Carlucci invited us to take the 90 minute drive and get a personal tour of the site (David is President and Executive Director of the venue).

We started at the marker of the original concert... and that was pretty cool. And then we went through the gate and into the property. The view is dramatic. The 'shed style' amphitheatre is rising from inside a natural bowl on the side of the hill. This is a project that is cutting no corners - 63 million in costs at this time.

The plan is that the venue will open next summer, with the the New York Philharmonic will open the season in June 2006. And there is a promise of a number of big rock acts as well.