Elvis weekend 2: El Vez - 8/17 @ The Earl
Now after El Vez's appearance the night before at the Kingsized show where he announced this performance, I knew that this show was going to get packed out like crazy. It had to, there was over 1,000 people at the Variety who just got told about a show at a club that maybe holds 200 tops. How could it not? Well, it didn't. I still don't understand it honestly. Maybe the people who would normally go see El Vez were scared off by the possibility that the show would be sold out and full of post-yuppies? And very likely, those same post-yuppies were scared of going anywhere near East Atlanta. Sure, they can "slum it" and go to the Variety Playhouse in Little 5 Points, but they wouldn't dare go past I-20 on Moreland, not in their right mind. I kind of find it interesting that the Kingsized Elvis shows sell out every time and yet anyone can see Kingsized on a weekly basis at Ray's or they could catch his other band, Tongo Hiti every Thursday at Trader Vic's (enjoy your free plugs, Mike).
Personally, I didn't particularly mind that I wasn't dealing with a sold out crowd. But I still thought that more people probably should've been there. At least this time there was more people I knew at the show. Hung out with Chris and Diana (she might boycott the Kingsized crowds, but she can't resist El Vez), Jeffro and Jordan. Also spotted Jonas and spent a bit of time chatting up with Mike Geier after his set . I got there as soon as I could because I heard it was going to be an early show (perhaps another reason people didn't show up, as the Earl is a notorious late night venue). And Mike Geier's Polynesian combo, Tongo Hiti were already onstage. As I mentioned before, you can pretty much always catch them at Trader Vics, but it was nice to see them out of their element once in awhile. And though they do play some traditional Hawaiian/Tropical/Lounge type stuff, more often they'll do covers of songs filtered through an island style, i.e. - Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out" or the one-two punch of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" followed directly by Dio's "Rainbow In The Dark." Seriously, you had to be there.
After Tongo Hiti finished, Lysa Flora performed. I had no idea who she was either. But turns out, she's one of the back up singers in El Vez's band and she got the opportunity to open the show and perform some of her own material. It reminded me a lot of mid 90's chick rock, ala Juliana Hatfield and Liz Phair, but with a Spanglish bent. It wasn't bad by any means, just didn't really seem to fit in with the rest of the bill. But then there doesn't seem to be much demand these days for mid 90's chick rock. At least no one is trying to resurrect Lilith Fair as far as I know.
And finally it was time for the main attraction, El Vez. The theme to this tour was "El Vez for Prez," which was his take on a campaign trail. I remember that he did a similar show four years ago, and I want to say it was at the Cotton Club. Then again, I can't say for sure as I've seen El Vez at just about every club in town, so things start to blend together in my memory. Either way, he was out on tour to get people rallied up and to take back the White House. Granted, he wasn't serious about campaigning for president himself, but he did have some ideas he wanted to convey...by song! He introduced most of the set by reading questions in a town hall like scenario and then sang the appropriate number as the response. Basically compiled a set list of his songs that fit political topics like immigration, inner city education, etc and of course to take potshots at the current president with a reworking of ABBA's "S.O.S." as "S.O.B." Yes, subtlety is not a strong suit in an El Vez show. And speaking of suits, the guy went through about 6 or 7 costume changes throughout the show. He is definitely the king of the tearaway pants! And once again, he put on one solid show. The guy never disappoints. Can't wait for his next tour and thankfully I won't need to wait four more years.
Looking back, having a weekend with both El Vez and Mike Geier (via Kingsized and Tongo Hiti) is truly having two great tastes that taste great together. Like, say a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Personally, I didn't particularly mind that I wasn't dealing with a sold out crowd. But I still thought that more people probably should've been there. At least this time there was more people I knew at the show. Hung out with Chris and Diana (she might boycott the Kingsized crowds, but she can't resist El Vez), Jeffro and Jordan. Also spotted Jonas and spent a bit of time chatting up with Mike Geier after his set . I got there as soon as I could because I heard it was going to be an early show (perhaps another reason people didn't show up, as the Earl is a notorious late night venue). And Mike Geier's Polynesian combo, Tongo Hiti were already onstage. As I mentioned before, you can pretty much always catch them at Trader Vics, but it was nice to see them out of their element once in awhile. And though they do play some traditional Hawaiian/Tropical/Lounge type stuff, more often they'll do covers of songs filtered through an island style, i.e. - Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out" or the one-two punch of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" followed directly by Dio's "Rainbow In The Dark." Seriously, you had to be there.
After Tongo Hiti finished, Lysa Flora performed. I had no idea who she was either. But turns out, she's one of the back up singers in El Vez's band and she got the opportunity to open the show and perform some of her own material. It reminded me a lot of mid 90's chick rock, ala Juliana Hatfield and Liz Phair, but with a Spanglish bent. It wasn't bad by any means, just didn't really seem to fit in with the rest of the bill. But then there doesn't seem to be much demand these days for mid 90's chick rock. At least no one is trying to resurrect Lilith Fair as far as I know.
And finally it was time for the main attraction, El Vez. The theme to this tour was "El Vez for Prez," which was his take on a campaign trail. I remember that he did a similar show four years ago, and I want to say it was at the Cotton Club. Then again, I can't say for sure as I've seen El Vez at just about every club in town, so things start to blend together in my memory. Either way, he was out on tour to get people rallied up and to take back the White House. Granted, he wasn't serious about campaigning for president himself, but he did have some ideas he wanted to convey...by song! He introduced most of the set by reading questions in a town hall like scenario and then sang the appropriate number as the response. Basically compiled a set list of his songs that fit political topics like immigration, inner city education, etc and of course to take potshots at the current president with a reworking of ABBA's "S.O.S." as "S.O.B." Yes, subtlety is not a strong suit in an El Vez show. And speaking of suits, the guy went through about 6 or 7 costume changes throughout the show. He is definitely the king of the tearaway pants! And once again, he put on one solid show. The guy never disappoints. Can't wait for his next tour and thankfully I won't need to wait four more years.
Looking back, having a weekend with both El Vez and Mike Geier (via Kingsized and Tongo Hiti) is truly having two great tastes that taste great together. Like, say a peanut butter and banana sandwich.