Presley Thrills Crowd At Arena
by Jeff Share
The Sun Bulletin
May 27, 1977

The gyrations which made him famous on television are a distant memory - and the ever-present paunch is an unpleasant reminder of age - but to the 7,000 who packed the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena last night, Elvis Presley sounded better.

"He was just super, I'll never be the same again, never, never, never," said one middle-aged housewife as she led her seemingly indifferent husband through a throng of people after Elvis' 60-minute show.

Several members of the audience said they were disappointed Elvis didn't perform longer. Several others said they were upset by his pudgy appearance. Still others complained that Elvis should have sung more of his early numbers.

Presley, regarded as a father of rock 'n' roll with record sales of more than a half billion, was ushered by limousine into the arena past 30 fans about 15 minutes before his show.

Elvis followed three warm-up acts and an intermission before making his long awaited entrance.

After repeated requests for the audience to return their seats, the lights were dimmed. The crowd hushed. Then - accompanied by the alternating blue and red spotlights - came the roll of the drums, and the band's rendition of "Thus Spake Zarathustra" - the theme of the movie "2001"

A crescendo of screams and squeals started erupting from every corner of the Arena. Then, suddenly under the white spotlight, Elvis appeared in mid-stage.

Presley, dressed in his now familiar well tailored white jumpsuit decorated with golden brocades, grabbed a guitar and started his performance with the disco sounding CC Rider.

Elvis followed with several uneventful gospel numbers before launching the crowd to its feet with one of his all-time golden oldies, "Treat Me Like A Fool".

During the number, Elvis started his crowd-pleasing but distracting routine of wiping the sweat from his forehead with scarves provided him by a stage hand. He then tossed them into the hands of his creaming fans, some so hysterical that they almost fell over a railing in their attempts to nab the prize.

Elvis performed facsimiles of his famed pelvic thrusts during "Hound Dog," "Teddy Bear," and "Johnny Be Good." Last night, the gyrations were little more than waves of his arms, flexing of his legs, and a rare deep knee bend.

Elvis ended his 22 number show at 11 pm by kissing an attractive blonde sitting in the first row and singing "Falling In Love With You"

Presley will present a second performance tonight. The show has been sold out for weeks.

Courtesy of Francesc Lopez