jordan@UCBARPA.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan Hayes) (10/13/86)
three nights in sfo is enough for anyone to get worn out. elvis did just that. the first show was just the standard attractions show. all the faves. thursday night was a "wheel-o-fortune" type deal -- spin the wheel, play the song that comes up. neat. friday night when we were there, elvis takes the stage with an acoustic guitar and a slide show. "my holiday snaps" he quips. his ferocity is highly tuned when he's alone. he spent some time on background information about the songs he was singing. very nice to the audience, and very well received. he played a few obscure songs from goodbye cruel world and such, and then brought out "the confederates" put together by his old pal t-bone burnette, who looked like a nuevo-wavo-wanabee-eric-burdon with dark glasses and a two piece shirt (?!?). tight band; good sound. elvis' voice was failing towards the end of the second hour, but he still had 120% of his heart in it, crooning a very interesting mix of his middle period (almost blue, goodbye cruel world, etc.) and songs from his newest album. the confederates left and the king headed for a little switch put on stage "by the experts" that lit up a little orange sign reading "REQUEST" ... the crowd let loose a bunch of suggestions as he rapped with them a bit, adjusting his glasses, drinking large amounts of liquid to keep his voice from drying up and blowing away. i thought for a moment and shouted for green_shirt ... 15 more seconds and he began to strum the opening chords. a righteous rendition followed. he played chocolatetown and the deportees club (which he explained was a further telling of the opening scene from charlie chaplin's the_imigrant) and others, bringing back the band again for some blues-y stuff. he played for almost 2-1/2 hours, but it was more than the beat-girl could take as she slipped off into slumber on my shoulder, ending a long week of too-much-to-dream. all in all, as fine of a performance as i've seen him give in 8 years, but those with me were disapointed that they didn't get to hear the songs they came to hear. i guess you just have to see him a number of times to be comfortable with just his show rather than the hits. /jordan