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Elvis Las Vegas 1974 Revisited
VEGAS '74 REVISITED
(by Anne E. Nixon)
- The recent (unofficial) release of two shows that Elvis did in Las Vegas in August/September, 1974, and which I attended, has inspired this article, the idea of which is to expand on the shows as released on CD by filling in the missing bits and mentioning some of the visual things that went on.
'Desert Storm' came first, a timely release of the September 2 Closing Show, and it was followed soon after by 'Night Fever In Vegas', comprising the August 30 Midnight Show, both of these are soundboard recordings.
The 'Night Fever' show was the second show I saw in 1974, having earlier that evening seen the Dinner Show, and a few hours later, Elvis was back on stage for his Midnight Show (not 3 am as the CD states). He was wearing one of his soft leather two-piece outfits, amber-coloured, with studs and blue and gold rhinestones, known as the Wineglass suit, and from our seats near the stage to the right of centre, we had a very good view, or at least as good a view as a $10 tip each would get you!
You can hear Elvis, on 'Night Fever' apologising for the lights bouncing off his guitar and dazzling some folks during and after C C RIDER, he also stuck his guitar pick in his teeth like Dracula during this number. In the AMEN tag of I GOT A WOMAN, while JD Sumner was doing his voice dive, Elvis was doing his dive-bomber impression, and he had some wonderful facial expressions. He'd dragged his microphone over to JD (you can hear it scraping across the floor), and he dragged it back centre-stage at the end of the song.
After LOVE ME he said to a fan who'd given him a gift, "Thank you, I won't put it on, I'll put it in my Trophy Room". The gift in question was a blue and silver crown. A song or two later, as he did a leg-pumping BIG BOSS MAN, the ad-lib, "You're just short, that's all", was directed at Charlie Hodge. In FEVER, he groped towards the ramp in the dark, joking about getting lost. On the backdrop, a flame effect added to the atmosphere, causing Elvis to joke, "The place is on fire!" He didn't take this song seriously at all, joking about the microphone looking like an ice-cream cone with hair on, repeating the line, "Cats were born to give you fever", to himself as he counted on his fingers, and telling his quivering legs to "Quit, quit, quit!"
A group of girls up in the balcony shrieked out his name, and, amused, he got them to yell it again, but ignored them as they inconsiderately yelled over the spoken introduction to SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU. After drinking Gatorade, he accepted a bouquet off a girl, telling her that it was pretty. One of the Sweet Inspirations called him "Elvy", and he grimaced and voiced his dislike of this childish nickname.
As he prepared to sing AMERICAN TRILOGY, a girl yelled "I love you, Elvis!", "I love you, too, sweetheart", he tenderly replied, and someone near to me said, "Doesn't everybody?" Apparently not, for from the back of the showroom a guy called, "I hate you, Elvis!" and he was rewarded immediately with an expletive from Elvis that took us all by surprise. And yet - and this may sound silly, but other fans have said this, too - when Elvis swore, it didn't sound as bad as anyone eise swearing. The audience didn't take offence, anyway, judging by the cheers and applause. Elvis tried to redeem his lapse by saying, "Ha ha, just kidding", during the Stamps' singing in TRILOGY. Then it was forgotten; the crowd settled down, and Elvis put in a strong performance of the song.
After SUSPICIOUS MINDS, the introductions got underway, but Elvis got side tracked and started to talk about the Hilton showroom's decor. Unfortunately, the 'Night Fever' release omits a great chunk of this dialogue. Elvis went on to say that because the stage was so wide, he tried to go to each side, and had had the ramp built so he could go out a little closer to the crowd. The decor of the room wasn't to his taste; he said, "Put the spotlight on those - see those things over there?" He meant the full-side Elizabethan statues halfway up the walls. "Tom Jones was in the other night and I said, 'What is that, Tom?', and he's from Wales - Mississippi, or wherever it is! - and he said that it was King, er, what was the one? King George. Well, God Bloss him! Put the spotlight a little higher. Look at those fat little angels! See how they're facing people the wrong way?" He jokingly likened them to something that JD would date after the show. "Put the spotlight over here on this side. You will notice a slight difference, those of you of the Caucasian race. That's what we are, aren't we? lt was on my army draft card, Caucasian. I didn't know what it meant. I thought it meant circumcised!". He let the joke wash over the crowd. "The other night, about 4.30 in the morning, 'as I lay sleeping"', he broke into song. "Er, three guys that work for me, and myself came down here". One of the guys had been Red West, Elvis said, mentioning several songs West had penned. He was introduced and popped up from somewhere behind the band on stage to take a bow. "Red climbed the fence back there where they keep all the supplies and the paint and all that jazz ... and he took his shoes off and climbed a wire fence as high as this curtain"
(Elvis wasn't exaggerating, the fence was extremely high) "and he went down and got a bucket of black paint and tied it on to his belt and came back up", Elvis said in a conspiratorial tone. "We stacked up two tables, and I got the paint and brush and I carefully painted the statue, got back down, put the paint away, put the ladder away ... I haven't heard a word from the hotel. I don't think they know the difference!" (Close inspection of the statue showed that Elvis' "careful" painting of the lady's face, neck and hands had resulted in splashes of black paint being spilt down her red and yellow crinoline dress. The statue was left that way for years). For us fans seated close to the stage, it had been a magical few minutes, because Elvis had been standing still just a few feet in front of us while telling the tale.
At this point 'Night Fever' rejoins the show, with Elvis doing the lengthy intros. When it came to Charlie, Elvis stuck out his arm and laid it across the little man's head. "Don't do that!" Elvis rebuked, as Charlie waved his hand about under Elvis' armpit. lt was all a set-up, of course, as Elvis joked about 5-day deodorants.
So to the karate demonstration and lecture, a unique part of several shows that season. Elvis disappeared into the wings, to soon emerge wearing his black karate jacket, belt and shades. He did a few pirouettes and stances, sang IF YOU TALK IN OUR SLEEP with the karate demo during the break, when he threw off his heavy Maltese Cross and his shades to perform the kata. At the song's end, he apologised to a girl down front who had been frightened by his martial arts display. A long lecture on karate followed, with the crowd listening intently. When he spoke about the eagle crushing its victims, Charlie backed off, and it broke up Elvis, who struggled to get back to the serious nature of the talk. Kang Rhee was introduced and appeared momentarily on stage.
Back in singing mode, HELP ME was followed by the always popular LET ME BE THERE. At the end of the song, someone handed Elvis a stuffed tiger about 3' high, which had on a black karate jacket and belt, with the red patches marking 8th Degree. (Elvis had just got his 8th degree black belt and become Master Of The Art). lt also had his name and his karate name, "Tiger", on it. This was one gift that he really appreciated, although he said he'd give it to Lisa, six, who was arriving in Vegas a couple of days later. He thanked the girl who'd given him the huge tiger, and also thanked her for a hand-made necklace she'd given to him earlier in the show.
As the show was drawing to a close, Elvis' voice took on a hard edge as he briefly scoffed at the junk about him in the movie magazines. He began a tender "Hawaiian Wedding Song". He was walking towards where we were sitting, and stopped just a few feet before he got to me. He bent to kiss a girl, hesitated on purpose, then gave the longed-for kiss. I had a fantastic view of this (and my turn would come a few shows later ... ). Then he kissed an elderly lady very tenderly, quietly saying to her, "I've got a grandmother, too". He was given a blue lei, which he placed around Kathy Westmoreland's neck as they duetted at ihe end of the song. The lights dimmed as he kissed Kathy. One woman at the front was overcome and was crying, and Elvis spotted her and got a scarf from Charlie to give to her.
The end of the show was, as you'd expect, the usual rigmarole of Elvis dishing out scarf after scarf and kiss after kiss. He seemed to not want to leave, and the crowd devoured every second as he stood lingering on the ramp, holding a glittery red cowboy hat he'd been given, and had briefly worn. He finally left the stage, but 'Night Fever' continued in the showroom as elated fans recalled the superb performance they'd just witnessed.
We fast forward to four nights later, the closing show of Monday September 2, as heard (in part) on 'Desert Storm' was an Elvis album ever better titled? For this show, we tipped $15 each and got a red velvet booth near the front, finding ourselves seated not far from Priscilla, Lisa and Elvis' girlfriend Sheila Ryan.
Elvis had reverted to his trademark jumpsuits and was wearing the magnificent Tiger suit. The large stuffed tiger mentioned above had been placed in front of RonnieTutt's drum-kit at succeeding shows. The start of the show is missing from 'Desert Storm'. C C RIDER kicked off the show, with Elvis turning his guitar over in the break and pretendind to strum it. He repeated his Dracula impression with his guitar pick. He beckoned to Joe Esposito, who was sitting with Priscilla and Lisa, and motioned for him to swap places with Sheila Ryan, so his girl was seated in the same booth as his ex-wife!
'Desert Storm' picks up the show as Elvis complains about his microphone. lt was set too low, and during I GOT A WOMAN, he discarded his guitar early and balanced the mike against his throat, which accounts for some odd-sounding "wells". As the song segued into AMEN, Elvis began to shake in time to the drumbeats, first one leg and then the other until his whole body was quivering, and the crowd was in a state of great excitement. lt was strange to see him do his B52 dive bomber impression sans guitar, and once again, we were treated to priceless facial expressions.
Someone asked him about the stuffed tiger on stage. He explained, adding a brief mention of his interest in karate.
UNTIL IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO signalled the show's first scarves being dished out. Elvis caught his microphone in his necklace on the end of his chin. He wrapped some scarves around his eyes and accepted an ugly model of a Scotty dog. He turned to face Kathy as she sang the song's high notes. Sherrill Neilsen, harmonising on IF YOU LOVE ME LET ME KNOW, was given credit as Elvis asked for the spotlight to be put on the tenor.
Elvis looked out towards the Presley booth in IT'S MIDNIGHT, adding "Listen, 'Cilla", at one point ... "You're just short, that's all" was directed at Charlie in BIG BOSS MAN, and "You're just tall, that's all", to JD. He was really into this song, getting down on one knee at one point, and then in YOU GAVE ME A MOUNTAIN he dropped to one knee again as he began to speak the word dramatically, acting out the song. A tremendous ovation greeted this performance, and Elvis responded by grabbing both ends of his scarf and pretending to hang himself and slice his throat, although no doubt he was really delighted with the ovation. Trying to explain about the song, saying the words had nothing to do with his private life, he introduced Priscilla. She stood up and blew Elvis a kiss. lt was then Lisa's turn in the spotlight. The tiny blonde child in the white dress stood up and turned around, enjoying being in the spotlight. Elvis stood looking at her with a silly grin of pride on his face. On the other hand, Sheila Ryan, a sylph-like creature in a silver gown, seemed a trifle embarrassed as she was introduced. A long piece of dialogue then, as Elvis spoke about his divorce, and although some fans see this as over-the-top and unnecessary during a show, it was fascinating to see and hear Elvis opening up on his private life, and I for one am eternally glad that he was able to tell a little of his side of the story, and not without touches of humour.
Before the show could resume its normal course, Elvis' wide leather belt had to be adjusted by Charlie and Elvis made a joke out of it, his ever ready wit providing much amusement. Another diversion, then, as he spotted old friend Judy Spreckles seated rampside, and told us about meeting her in Hollywood in the fifties.
During the spoken introduction to SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU, showroom staff rattling glasses were admonished by Elvis. HOUND DOG, which followed, was a scarf song, and a good many fans received a cherished souvenir. More readjustments to the stripy Tiger belt, and it was off into a splendid AMERICAN TRILOGY, Elvis marching on the spot when he sang "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah".
As far as I know, it was during this show that Elvis got the notion, for the first time, to ask several of his musicians to do solos. He gave great encouragement, especially to Ronnie Tutt on the drums. When it came time to introduce Voice, Elvis got the further notion to ask the trio to sing. Their pianist, Pete Hallin, was sitting at a table near our booth, and at Elvis' request he got up, brushed past (treading on the foot of one of my friends!) and joined Elvis and Voice on stage. The microphones were set up as Voice came to the front of the stage. Elvis, left without a microphone, began to talk to the audience, and we strained to catch what he was saying, telling about the song Voice was about to do. "Desert Storm" omits the first of ihe songs, I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU, a beautiful melody lent distinction by Pete Hallin's piano-playing and singing. Elvis was squatted down on the ramp, out of the spotlight, his back to the audience. Before the song ended, he got up and joined Voice, making up a quartet, although still out of the spotlight. Elvis borrowed JD's mike and joined Voice for BRINGIN' IT BACK, on which Sherrill Neilsen had main vocal honours. Elvis sang bass, glancing over at JD on occasion for is approval. The bass singer nodded, smiling. The short jam session concluded with AUBREY and as Sherrill sang, Elvis spoke the words, and at long last, after much hand-signalling to the lightman, got a spotlight turned on himself. It was quite amazing to see the new "Million Dollar Quartet". As Pete Hallin left the stage to return to his table, he trod on my friend's foot again!
Another dose of dialogue included a graphic account of a liver biopsy that Elvis had undergone, and as he told about the long needle stuck into him, he exaggerated by stretching out his arm!
The show rolled on, and when it came time to sing IF YOU TALK IN YOUR SLEEP, Charlie stood dutifully in front of Elvis as he skilfully executed his karate kata. There was no belt, jacket or shades, or long monologue, as in many previous shows. He pretended to walk in his sleep at one point in the song. When Ed Parker was introduced, the huge, grey-haired karate man stood up in the spotlight. Charlie handed Elvis a book, and he began a long discourse that started off amusingly enough with a joke about a Polaroid camera and ended with his infamous diatribe about the movie magazines and the strung out/drugs rumours. Again, some fans have been very critical of Elvis in reviewing this show, and don't care for this untypical outburst during a show, but what other choice did he have to tell his side of things? (If only he'd spoken out about the Hollywood movies a decade earlier ... ). Whether you care for this outburst or not, 1 can tell you that it was riveting to see the drama being played out just a few feet in front of your eyes, and the crowd on the night were 100% supportive of Elvis.
lt was quite amazing to see how Elvis' angry mood fell away as be began The HAWAIIAN WEDDING SONG. He accepted a Bible off a girl, and was given a real Hawaiian flower lei, which he placed around Kathy's neck (and whose sweet fragrance the Sweet Inspirations were all enjoying afterwards). He insisted, jokingly, on showing how he'd run his fingers lightly down Kathy's front as they ended the song, and they were both laughing.
The show was heading for its inevitable conclusion as Elvis introduced his father. Vernon Presley walked out of the wings, held his arms high, and basked in the warm applause. As the last note of CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE faded, and the gold curtain descended, Elvis went along the ramp shaking hands, and telling about a fellow down front (a Presley lookalike!) who had made a guitar for him. The curtain went back up and stayed up. Elvis was still busy hand-shaking. Finally, at 2.35 am, he gave a karate salute, turned, and walked from sight. The desert storm subsided, the big balloon deflated, but what an amazing show, in a season of unique shows. It had lasted just 100 minutes, and it was the best showthat I ever saw. I still get shivers up my spine when I recall those '74 shows, especially the karate routines. What a showman Elvis was!
Joe Tunzi's superb "Sessions II" book more shows from '74, as well as from other seasons that I was at. There may well be more CDs in the pipeline with some of these shows. How I'd love to see a release of the incredible September 3, 1973 Closing Show. Meanwhile, I'm playing these two '74 shows so far issued, and experiencing all the thrills and memories of seeing Elvis over again and in sound quality that I never expected to hear them in.
Pure unadulterated JOY!
Geändert von cos (12.03.2009 um 09:54 Uhr)
Grund: Lesbarer gemacht, schwarz auf dunkelblau ist schlecht zu lesen ;-)
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12.03.2009, 09:49
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