Reply With QuoteWOW thank you so much, brilliant
For the video please go to the following URL:
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=y41AJPfQqCE
Brian
WOW thank you so much, brilliant
I was there. I wish every Elvis fan could have been. It was so much fun. ELvis' work and talent are truly timeless. Thanks for posting.
Are they kidding???
Did they really get so stupid and tacky as to use an Elvis impersonator emerging from Graceland to kick this show off??
"It's a big place, man" ... gimme a break!
Is there no depth to which EPE won't sink??
It was bad enough on the DVD of the show from a few years back, using "Elvis" in a limousine, but this ... !??!!
Sickening! Just sickening ...
Joe and Jerry ... Priscilla and LISA MARIE ... hang your heads in SHAME!!!
I thought it was kind of cool, as they were trying to portray that he is still with us....which he is....in our hearts.....I belong to the TCB Fan Club...awesome group.
Perhaps. But I do not need some lame impersonator to remind me of this fact.Originally Posted by ksimms2
The whole idea was tacky and tasteless in the extreme, IMO.
The concert has been around for years without this ridiculous gimmick, and if the stories are true that the concert has officially ceased to be, then I for one am glad.
And that's all it is, to make it a more perfect event for Elvis fans.
Don't get uptight about things like that srj, look upon it as fun, like most of us do.
Sonny
I can't believe you can say this!
How is it fun to have an impersonator do a crass re-enactment of Elvis coming on stage, and then actually walking on stage during the 30th anniversary show???
The impersonator contest sanctioned by EPE was bad enough, but this simply reeks of tastelessness in the extreme.
Anyone else feel the same way? Please tell me I'm not in the minority here ... restore my faith ... it's taken such a battering these past few weeks.
Sillerman, you rotten **** !!
IMO It is to help create an illusion. The illusion of Elvis actually being there. IMO. The people who never had the chance to see him live are wanting to imagine what that was like-if this helps them I think its great. Its obviously not everyones cup of tea. One mans cealing is another mans floor, they say..
Better believe I said it lol...
I understand your point of view completely, believe me. But keep in mind that over the years Elvis has turned into an "industry".
Fans come to see the show, and EPE and Sillerman will try anything to make it more into a media circus.
But we can get mad over it as much as we want, it will not change a thing. Elvis' name is big bucks and it sells.
And yes, the Pyramid would've been sold out that first time without that intro. But I can also understand that people being there live thought it was a cool start for the show.
And I look at it as just that, nothing more, nothing less.
Sonny
The people who were lucky enough to see Elvis in concert got just that ... him in concert! There was no footage of him backstage (except in TTWII and EOT) and the whole point of the show was to build up to the end of 2001 and see him bounding onto the stage like no other!
Why create an illusion that Elvis was actually there, when the whole point of the show was to acknowledge 30 years since his death?
Somebody else ... please ... back me up here!!!Am I the only one pissed off at this tackiness??
I wasn't thrilled with the idea of Sonny West having an imitator with him to promote his book. But he did it. I know a lot of people on the musical end of Elvis's life-The late Charlie Hodge, The Jordanaires, the TCB band, Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, etc... have all worked with the imitators. I am not a huge fan of that. But its done and I don't think these people are trying to harm anyone. But at least in this instance-Elvis is center stage you end up seeing and hearing the real Elvis Presley. His talent is shown in the reality of what it was. IMO its not a horrid thing, just an addition to the illusion for some-not all but some are there to get as close to the actual thing as you can. Maybe you or I do not need it but maybe it helps add to the enjoyment of some there. I just don't see how that may be bad. Anytime someone gets a smile is that bad.
But this idea of the imitators being used to sell Elvis product of one kind or another is not new. Thats my opinion, its not everyones elses.
Last edited by KPM; 08-20-2007 at 01:04 PM.
SRJ-I don't see the point of an argument over this. There was NOTHING tacky or tasteless in any way about that. All they were doing was making it a special night for those who paid $100 a ticket to see a virtual EP. Since they didn't have footage of him actually coming down the stairs of Graceland and flying over the new Memphis arena, then they went with the image of him actually being there and the fans seeing it play out. This has actually been done for other artists over the years.
The "it's a big place man" was EP himself. Taken from his Madison Square Garden concert. Not an impersonator talking like EP. The image of him walking on stage under the big ELVIS sign was EP himself. It w as the part where EP thanked the crowd at the very end of Aloha. You can see him holding the crown that a fan gave him. The impersonator wasn't even seen facially. For all we know they used a teenager. I doubt it was even a real ETA in the first place. I bet Jerry and Joe got a big kick out that. I'm sure it brought back some wonderful exciting memories seeing it play out like that.
No way would I pay $100 to see a virtual image. But I do have to give EPE some credit here. That stage, lighting and effect was the best to date for this show that I have seen. This show simply blows the current 25th anniversary show out on DVD out of the water!
[QUOTE=Sonny;129270]And that's all it is, to make it a more perfect event for Elvis fans.
Don't get uptight about things like that srj, look upon it as fun, like most of us do.
Sonny[/QUOTE
I agree Sonny
100% AGREED! I WISH I WERE THERE...(sorry for the caps...)
I don't care for all the "gimmicks" but this one was done in good taste at least.
Diane
I was there and it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen, especially for a person that has been dead 30 years. I was uneasy with the intro, but if you didn't like the intro you wouldn't like the end either - "Elvis has left for Graceland". It was well-produced, the TCB band, Sweets, Millie Kirkham, The Imperals, The Jordanaires and The Stamps were all fantastic. It was so good, in fact, you couldn't watch the stage for looking at the video screens. The sound was the best part. It was like Elvis was live with his band, etc. As Lisa Marie said, "who else could sell out a concert that has been gone for 30 years". She said that she could not be any place else; that she had been left with a lot to "carry"...meaning his legacy and charity, rubbing her belly!!! Elvis and his band "rocked the house". Priscilla emerging from the middle aisle in the audience was also good. She was very friendly and spoke and shook hands with people. She introduced Lisa Marie's video. Some people paid more than $90 for a ticket; the cheap tickets were in the "nosebleed" section. The Insiders paid at least $250 per ticket for seats in front of the stage, to be able to go back stage and mingle with the band, Priscilla, Lisa Marie and EPE people. I was just so happy to be able to see this concert since I never got to see Elvis live in concert. So, all the naysayers about EPE producing and Lisa Marie's video, may have nothing to "pick on" after this year. Priscilla announced that this was the last concert for the TCB band. It was a fantastic concert and I feel lucky to have been in attendance.
Last edited by cprimm; 08-20-2007 at 02:57 PM. Reason: oh heck
Srj1967 - you called this tacky. Well, I think and I believe most on here and all who went to the show says different. I like how they did that with the 2001 theme where you see the world and then zooms in on Graceland goes right into the bedroom and see Joe, Jerry and I can't tell who the other is getting into a helicopter going to the arena. That was simpily cool. They gave the idea of how could they making a entrance. When you here "It's a big place, man", that was the real Elvis saying that. I believe it is on the Afternoon in the Garden cd. I might be wrong. They just took the audio out and brought the words more clearer.
Oh by the way, the Elvis Impersonator walking across the stage isn't doing the opening as it was in Aloha. He is doing the exit right after Can't Help Falling In Love without the cape. I think I am the only one who caught that since some says he is doing the opening.
I THINK IT'S GREAT ! To create the illusion, what people have already said.
I went to Memphis and i thought the 'Tribute artists' were great out there and i wasn't a fan, and they helped me to become one, again, it's a great atmosphere there.
Srj, you need to let others have their opinion, Ok you have said yours, now it's our turn
You are correct. It was taken from An Afternoon In The Garden.
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