Scheduled to give a concert at O'Keefe Centre tonight, Elvis Costello made a special appearance at the El Mocambo last night at ll:00 p.m. Costello was apparently paying off a debt of gratitude he felt to the club for having hosted him several months ago when his career was beginning its meteoric rise.
Word about the special event got out on Wednesday night although rumors had been flying thick and fast around Toronto pop music circles for days. Many people thought Bob Dylan was the secret performer booked into the El Mocambo - supposedly closed upstairs for Thursday.
Without any preliminaries Costello came onto the stage with his band and played a generous set before a highly appreciative but sedate group. There (were) no hoards lined up outside shoving to get in as there had been for the last Costello concert in the spring.
In all, 320 tickets for the performance were sold but they only went on sale yesterday afternoon.