"Elvis Impersonator"
The
first concert I ever saw was an Elvis impersonator.
I was about 11 years old at the time, and the real Elvis was still freshly
dead. I suspect that, in some circles, having witnessed this first wave
of post-Elvis impersonations would give me bragging rights equivalent
to, say, having seen Hendrix at Monterey. Or the Ramones at CBGB's. However,
I sincerely hope to never find myself in such circles.
The venue was perfect - the east bank of Mississippi river levee, the
ultimate redneck amphitheater. The stage was a river barge anchored just
off shore. The opening act was Chubby Checker, which is not really relevant
to the story except that it was fun watching drunk people trying to do
the Twist on a slanted surface. This was further complicated by the constant
stream of empty Miller Pony bottles rolling underfoot, making
their way towards the river.
The concert wasn't exactly a pivotal moment in my life, as I didn't really
care that much about Elvis. However, the one moment that I remember, a
non-musical moment, has stuck with me all these years.
During the concert, someone from backstage - the manager, perhaps? Who
knows? - came up and whispered something into "Elvis's" ear,
right in the middle of a song. I realize now that this isn't necessarily
out of the ordinary, but at the time I wondered what was so pressing
that it couldn't at least wait until the end of the song, if not the end
of the concert.
In fact, I'm still wondering, enough to make a list:
POSSIBLE THINGS THAT THE MYSTERY MAN COULD HAVE WHISPERED TO "ELVIS"
* You do realize that the original
lyric is "You ain't nothin' but a hound DOG," right?
* Don't get me wrong, here... your
Tai Chi moves are impressive. But I seem to recall that Elvis was a little
bit more into Kung Fu.
* Your jumpsuit is unzipped.
* Traditionally, Elvis threw his
scarf into the crowd, not his shoes.
* I'm pretty sure Elvis never said,
"Let's tear the roof off this mother%$#! place!" Plus,
it's an outdoor concert, so there is no roof. Love your energy,
though.
* 53 across, "moves like a
dragonfly," five-letter word, starts with "p." Any ideas?
* Not to bring you down or anything,
but let's do a quick reality check here: you're standing on a river barge
anchored off the levee in Greenville, Mississippi, pretending to be a
dead man in an embarrassing phase of his career. Those people out there
have no concept of suspended disbelief, they're just
so drunk that they'd think my cat was Elvis if I held her up and made
her throw little sweaty towels into the crowd. I don't know why, but I
just thought you should know that before your encore.
* Do you know any reggae songs?
* There are some large, serious-looking
men backstage who want to discuss Elvis's role in stealing the Black man's
music. When your set it done, I suggest you take your chances
with the fierce current and jump in the mighty Mississippi rather
than returning to your dressing room.
* So, this guy walks into a bar...
* I love you.
* I never thought I'd say this
to anyone, but you're actually too fat to successfully pull off Elvis.
* Are you available for weddings?
* Sorry to interrupt but ... um...I
forgot what I was going to say. Hang on, it'll come to me. Mmmm...wait
a minute. Nope. Lost it. Tell you what, we'll talk later.
* Hey, what's the capitol of Rhodesia?
* There's a green Buick
LeSabre in the parking lot with its lights on. Could you announce
that before the next song? Also, warn people to stay away from the brown
cotton candy.
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