Elvis Concert Termed "Entertaining"
by Elizabeth Roberts
Alexandria Town Talk
March 30, 1977

There's a show on stage at the Rapides Parish Coliseum that is staged very professionally - that's with a capital "P" as in Presley. And it's Entertaining - that's with a capital "E" as in Elvis. But it's not a grade A performance, I'll grade it a B minus, but as I said, it's entertaining.

There's no need to rush and push tonight and there's not a chance of seeing Presley other than on stage. He won't begin singing until about 10PM (his plane doesn't arrive until at least 8.30 tonight) and when he does here, he'll be driven inside the coliseum so there's no need to stand outside. Once you're in your seat, you stay there. No rushing the aisles for picture taking or for a closer look. The guards see to that.

Tuesday night Presley was on stage less than an hour; he was impossible to understand when (or if) he talked between numbers; his How Great Thou Art should have been How Loud Thou Art; he never said one word to the audience or mentioned how nice or not nice it was to be in Alexandria or said "hi, how are you, we're going to have a good time tonight and hope you enjoy the show." He came on stage, did a few numbers and then dashed off - no encores, no extra bows, no nothing.

He relied heavily on his back-up group and when one of the singers dropped a microphone after singing O Sole Mio, he made the guy sing it again. There were false starts on a number of songs and his repertoire was mostly 1950's early-EP songs.

Yes, that's how he got his start and those are the songs we screamed over years ago, but times have changed and so has Elvis. He's not the skinny young man from Memphis by way of Tupelo and the Louisiana Hayride. He's a good singer and a showman but neither talent showed up in Tuesday night's show.

He should update his performance and add more contemporary numbers. He's certainly capable - his version of Early Morning Rain was outstanding. The rest was pure early Presley: Jailhouse Rock, Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman, C.C.Rider, It's Now Or Never.

In between, a lackey followed him around, draping scarves around his neck, so Elvis could toss them to admiring fans. I'll give The Man credit for consideration, though. He did remember there were hundreds of people sitting behind him and tossed a few scarves in their direction and did a couple of bumps and grinds. Of course, that set off the screaming masses who saw for the first time a bump and grind from the rear.

If you're going to the show tonight and going only to see Elvis, there's no rush. The "warm-up" program begins in the vicinity of 8.30PM. Tuesday, it ended at 9.27 for a "intermission while we prepare the stage don't forget the souvenir concessions outside." At 9.57PM, the "Hot Hilton Horns" began playing the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the thousands of flashbulbs started exploding like strobe lights.

Then The Man appeared, dressed in gold embroidered white jeans and jacket and a gigantic belt which he had to keep hitching up. Around his neck were two necklaces (a short neck chain and a gold coin on a gold chain) and on his left hand, a gigantic diamond ring.

There were the usual warm-up groups. Gospel singers in yellow-trimmed-in-black liesure tuxedos; the Jokers: a "inspirational" comedian dressed in a denim jumpsuit embroidered with Walt Disney characters (On Gay Liberation: "If God had meant people to be that way, he would have created Adam and Freddie"); and a trio "The Sweet Inspirations" who were worth the admission price.

If you're a people watcher, the concert is great fun. If you're an Elvis fan, you might be disappointed. There's more (and better) music on any record album of his you have.

Courtesy of Scott Hayward