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Tonight, I saw an episode of Austin City Limits that I think is possibly the best ever, and maybe even the best televised concert I've ever seen. The artist was Elvis Costello and the Imposters, and the episode was aired in 2004 but was new to me. I already knew Elvis was a good performer, but I didn't know he was THIS good!

I really felt like I was at an actual concert. The live concert experience is very hard to translate to television, even a DVD. Elvis' Austin City Limits peformance, though, felt like a concert, sounded like a concert, and most importantly it had the energy of a concert. Elvis has a good sense about pacing, timing and energy flow while he's performing. The slower songs have that slow-burning, intense energy that makes you watch and listen very closely. The faster songs have that manic energy and sound and make you want to dance. As a viewer, you get very caught up in the passion and emotion that Elvis is injecting into his playing and singing.

If I had the feeling that I was actually at an Elvis Costello concert, just by watching the TV performance, then you can bet his performance was the real deal. He even brought members of the audience onstage during the last part of the last song, which was "Pump It Up." That's the kind of thing that takes a show above and beyond. I hate to keep saying it, but the word that best sums up what I just saw is "energy." Elvis brought so much energy that it left me in a daze.

If this is ever released on DVD, I am buying it!