Review: Elvis is in fine form at the fair

By Jon Bream, Star Tribune

Last update: August 26, 2002 - 11:00 PM

Elvis lives. He does. I saw him perform Monday night at the Minnesota State Fair.

I know most reports indicated that Elvis Presley died 25 years ago this month. But you might have a hard time convincing the 4,352 diehards who were at the grandstand Monday. The woman two seats over believed that Elvis winked at her. Too bad she left before he started handing out silk scarves to the ladies. And I swear that when I was in the backstage restroom at intermission, those white boots and the bottoms of that jumpsuit in the stall behind me, they could only belong to the King.

Frankly, watching a video of Elvis in concert from the early 1970s on a giant screen accompanied by live musicians wasn't much different from being at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday and watching Carlos Santana on the giant live video screen from halfway back in the arena.

Let's be honest: At the grandstand, if you're not in the first 20 rows in front of the stage, you're probably watching the show on the big screens anyway.

Elvis was in good voice. The band was top-notch, the backup singers first-rate and the orchestral arrangements splendid. This may have been the best concert that Elvis never gave -- at least in the final years of his career.

OK, you may not buy into the creepy/kitschy concept of "Elvis -- The Concert," as it is billed. The Elvis footage comes from two concert movies and one TV special from the early '70s. The band and the backup singers are the same ones who accompanied the King back then. You could see a long-haired, brown-bearded drummer Ron Tutt on the video screen; then in front of the screen, silver-bearded Tutt was pounding away, rolling his head just like on the video. And James Burton may not have had the same guitar he did in the video but he was sporting the same pinkie ring, and his notes nicely complemented Elvis' singing whether it was rockabilly, gospel, country or pop.

The performance had energy, both on the screen and on the stage. And the ever-playful Elvis injected some humor, including a spontaneous bit -- well, it was spontaneous when it was filmed -- when his microphone went dead; he tested four new ones at once to see which worked.

The Elvis footage from the 1973 TV concert "Aloha from Hawaii" was him at his best. In video from the other two concerts, his face looked bloated and his eyes looked stoned. But he was in good voice for the most part. Highlights of the 31-song, 100-minute performance included a dynamic, turbo-charged "Suspicious Minds," the gospelly country ballad "Just Pretend" and "An American Trilogy," which earned him a standing ovation.

After the traditional closer "Can't Help Falling in Love" Elvis exited, the band played on and the emcee announced: "Elvis has left the building." And the fans -- wink, wink -- started laughing.

-- Jon Bream is at popmusic@startribune.com or 612-673-1719.