Elvis Really Tears 'Em Up
By Jim Knippenberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer
November 12, 1971

It was rip 'em up, tear em up, give em hell Elvis night at Cincinnati Gardens Thursday as well over 13,000 jammed the hall to be floored by King Elvis.

And floor them he did. It took no more than a casual stroll onto the stage to the strains of "Space Odyssey" and Elvis had them wailing, shrieking, sobbing and squealing his name. There were more hysterical women than in a B-grade prison movie. The men weren't doing too badly, either.

The full house - amazingly well-behaved aside from the awesome traffic jam - saw Elvis open his show after 50 minutes of warm-ups.

FIRST there were the Sweet Inspirations, three black girls with a lot of energy and the ability to whip up the audience - as if it needed whipping up.

Then it was a comedian who got in lots of barbs about human inconsistencies.

And then it was just like the old days. Elvis appeared and hysteria erupted. From the moment he entered the hall to the moment he left, the air was supercharged - with enough flashbulbs exploding to give the effect of a dozen strobes.

He was backed by an orchestra of about 20 and a chorus of equal size. But then most people didn't notice, all they saw was Elvis and his guitar.

Resplendent in black bells and a cape with gold sequins everywhere, Elvis put on a show that was a curious mixture of then and now.

He looks very "today" - a sort of like an eccentric hippy - singing both current hits and those wonderful numbers from bygone years. He definitely has something for everyone.

"I Got A Woman," "Proud Mary," "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," "Jailhouse Rock'" "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Blue Suede Shoes" were the highlights of the show.

Even the Gardens' notorious sound system could do no damage. Though it did him no favors, he looked and sounded wonderful, like Regency rake.

AS WAS the case back when Elvis started doing his thing, the swiveling pelvis was an important item - as wild and uncontrolled as ever. To protect the wild pelvis, there was a phalanx of policemen in front of stage.

Undeniably Elvis' crowd was a much of a show as he was. Such a glorious frenzy we have never seen the likes before.

No complaints about the production and management of the show either. It was punctual, well-handed and a flaming success.

Courtesy of Sebastiano Cecere