 I Must Rock You
Monday night at the Blvd was a great way to start out the week! For $5 we got good beers, a friendly crowd, and plenty of room to dance. Full of punk rockers and people of all ages & sorts, everyone was there to see the one and only rockabilly surfer rock band known as The Red Elvises. But before they took the stage a gentlemen named Craig graced the Blvd with his talented guitar playing and blues tunes.
Craig opened up his set by playing his guitar like a steel guitar that sounded pretty darn good. He had a following that took up the front row and by the end of his set I think he had some new fans. He wrote a song for his aunt that had passed away; I thought that was a very sweet and something you don't always to get to hear at a live show. His fans in the front held up lighters during parts of his set, he is lucky most musicians these days get cell phones. Technology I tell ya!
His set was a little mellow but by adding in hints of the blues and little bit of a western fix here and there he did a good job. Towards the end of his set he let his friend Zack come up on stage and rock a cover of Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis. Then Craig followed behind him to close out his set with Van Morrison's "Moondance," and the Red Elvises started to set up their gear!
What's not to like about a group of kids (I say kids but they were adults) wearing animal print suits and playing surfer rock with a Russian front-man? I mean when do you get that on a Monday night in Spokane? The Red Elvises were a complete blast; Bursting with character, sex appeal, and spunk.
 With a sax, trumpet, accordion, bass player, keyboard, guitar player, drummer, vocals, and lots of clapping it reminded me of a "Big Band" on a beach. They would be a blast to see outside of a camp fire on the ocean shore or even in some big ballroom.
My favorite song by them was "Your Love is Better then Cocaine," where the two females in the band rocked it on vocals! It was cool to see people dancing at the Blvd too, I was in the front at first and yeah people were clapping their hands and moving back and forth but when I decided to move back.... it was a full dance floor. The Red Elvises even did a Waltz song that got everyone moving their feet. I might of learned a few new dance moves, not sure yet though.
Their costumes were pretty cool; they reminded me of the Flintstones a little bit. At one point the whole band gathered around the drums and they each took their turn doing their own mini drum solo. At the end of that the drummer played the drums like he was auditioning to be in the world’s best band for about two minutes. The bass player also did a phenomenal solo which I must say was better then some guitar solo's I have heard.
The band had great charisma and every one had smiles on their faces. It was a perfect live band. The front-man even picked up the mic stand with the mic on it and held it over the audience for us to sing along. I would say the night ended up being very electrifying. It was pretty funny the front-man said "If you don't like our music.... you can buy a t-shirt, a poster, or a condom." That sums up this band except I am pretty sure you would want the music too. I would love to see the Red Elvises again and without a doubt I will be ready to get down and dance.
Check out more pics from the show HERE!
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com |
