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Although Peter Tosh and U.K. have not toured all the major pop markets in the states yet, they have made it to Austin.
Another rocker who assuredly goes over well in this area is Elvis Costello. Elvis' third trip to Austin culminated in a screaming concert Saturday night at the Opry House.
While the sound system occasionally distorted Costello's already-nasal sneer and the hot flames of his Attractions, the show was a huge success.
There were no tickets unsold; a hungry crowd jammed the entire open area in front of the stage as soon as the Rubinoos, the warmup act, had finished.
Punk and soul records poured over the PA until Costello and his trio emerged from the shadows and rifled off "Accidents Will Happen" from their new LP Armed Forces.
The main set was only an hour of white noise, dynamic punch and throbbing volume yet a very intense one.
Costello and crew piled one great tune onto the next, seldom wasting a minute. There's no doubt that the Attractions are killers, stinging the crowd with a wailing backbeat best heard in "I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea" (available only on an import), a stunning "The Beat" and "Lipstick Vogue."
Two encores and three tunes later, the audience belonged to the exiting Elvis.
Berserkly recording group the Rubinoos, four clean cut, fun-loving rockers, opened the concert with joyous original material; their first tune was an a cappella '50s number recalling the Cadillacs' "Speedo." The remainder included mid-'60s power pop, and smile-laden thumpers like the Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard" and the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run." The Rubinoos are cool.
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