Musikfest:
MaryRose Merkel, a.k.a. Jibbs

"I'll have a blue Christmas without you..."

...and on croons the King, music blasts out of the car's radio and brings back many good memories of my last Red Elvises concert.

The stage was set as Musikfest in the little town of Bethlehem (Pennsylvania). Our heroes, the Red Elvises, rescued a few damsels in distress from an attack of the Summertime Blues that day (8/15/99).

The show began with the high powered surf instrumental "El Nino." The act was full of energy, even when they were playing mushy love songs. One such love song was "Wonderful Night," "...I'm waiting for my beer. She's waiting for romance. It's a wonderful night to fall in love." It was Oleg's birthday, so they played all the songs he sings. "Scorchie Chornie" brought the house down towards the end of the show. Everyone at the concert was dancing and singing and movin' to the groovin'.

I have to admit, at times during the concert I was wondering whether I was deliriously happy or just delirious. This was especially true when Elvis made a guest appearance onstage, doing graceful pirouettes while hanging from the scaffolding supporting the speaker system and crooning "Blue Moon." Songs like "I'm not that Kinda Guy" and "Strip Joint was Closed" made me wonder if I was so far beyond crying I was laughing or so far beyond laughing I was crying, but all the same, the music made me happy. It also made the people I was with happy, a mix of people who loved the Backstreet Boys, people who hated the Backstreet Boys, people who loved hard rock, people who hated hard rock, people who loved Oldies, people who hated Oldies, and people who were just clueless. Everyone had a blast and by the end of the concert believed the statement "Elvis is not dead, he's just red."