Red Elvises in Tallahassee, FL
Sept. 15, 2000
By Kayt

How HOT was it? It was SO hot that shirts were changed and eventually came off!

So the spoiled southern California girl went to Florida, by way of a flight to North Carolina and then a car ride with my mother down to my hometown of Jacksonville, before heading on to Tallahassee and St. Petersburg. For some strange reason I wanted to surprise the guys by showing up at two of their Florida shows, although I don't know why, at this point, they should be surprised at anything I do. Another reason I wanted to see them at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee was because that was my school, I graduated from there a long time ago. So I was very excited...I had just seen them on September 2nd and 3rd, less than two weeks previously, but I don't recall ever showing up 3,000 miles from home and surprising them before.

I got ready, forcing my excitement down to a low roar, and took a cab to the FSU campus to avoid any parking hassles. I'm not telling how long ago it was that I went to college there, but suffice to say, Tallahassee and the FSU campus both look a lot more expanded now than they did then! It was amazing to be back there again, it stirred up a lot of good memories...and a lot of memories I won't tell just anybody about...especially anybody under 21 years of age.

My original thought, if I can be forgiven some sentimentality, was to get to the campus early and walk around looking at stuff before the big red van containing America's Singing Sweethearts arrived. So I found the Student Union green, where the large temporary stage was being set up, and then walked a little east of it... and got confused because it seemed like there were buildings in my way that hadn't been there in my student days. My next thought was to sit down somewhere and wait because Reality took over -- one memory I had let slip was how hot and humid Tallahassee was, even in mid-September! So I didn't get to see the beautiful green in front of the library again where Streaking began (Streaking, for anyone too young to remember that mercifully short lived naked fad, involved running like mad without benefit of clothing through groups of people for sheer shock value. It started long before I got there. And no, I never did it!). I also didn't get to see my old dorm where I...uh...well, nevermind...I studied there too, some, honestly. But, back to the point, as I sat near the Student Union green and told some people walking by that they should come back later for a great show, I did get to see the big red van pull up and park behind the temporary stage. And when I couldn't wait any longer (oh, all right, I didn't wait at all, I'll admit it!) I walked over to say hi and answer questions about how I came to be 3,000 miles from home on that humid September evening in the South.

It's always great to see these guys any place...I was warmly greeted by 3 Elvises and Phelan, their road manager with that maniacal urge to drive. (See the interview with him and Zhenya in the June issue). Igor was still in the van, trying to rest up for the show, since he had just flown in from Russia that afternoon. Too much travelling in too short a time makes for a very tired Russian musician. They started setting up and doing sound check. I sat relatively quietly in the doorway of the van and tried not to get in the way too much. The stage, complete with colored lights and enormous speakers - FSU Student Campus Entertainment rocks! - was large and high, with stairs leading up to it on one side. A crowd began to form during all this and when the show started the grass in front of the stage was thick with happy dancing FSU students and just about anyone else who had happened to wander by.

Do I have to say it... The show rocked, of course!! Showtime found Igor frantically putting on his snakeskin shoes and rallying to the cause of putting on another great show. All the guys had flown in from someplace (California, Texas, Russia...) but jetlag had no place on that stage, not so the general public could tell anyway, in my opinion. What songs did they do? There was no beer at this show but I still didn't write anything down...the ones they usually play, that is to say a lot of them, most of the favorites, including "Gypsy Heart," "Red Lips Red Eyes Red Stockings," "Rocketman," "Sad Cowboy Song," "Harriet," "Belly Dance" of course, the rocking songs from "Shake Your Pelvis" and my favorite from that CD, "Colors of Rainbow." I ran from Phelan's merchandise table over to the side of the stage for that one. The crowd was thickest in front of center stage, so I mostly hung around the sides or just behind the speakers. Most of the time, though, I was running around taking pictures, trying not to trip over cords and such, attempting to stay eardrum-safe distance from the huge speakers on either side of the stage and trying to be of some intermittent help to Phelan, although he was holding his own quite well with the flirty young college girls hovering around his table.

This was an outdoor concert, under the stars, but it was as hot as if it had been inside some small non-air conditioned bar. It was the humidity, most of all, like everyone says. The guys kept changing their shirts, and toward the end of the show Avi's and Zhenya's shirts just came off, to the delighted screams of the female members of the audience. The bass balalaika broke a string, causing Oleg to have to temporarily switch to a regular bass guitar while Phelan repaired it, but I don't think the heat had anything to do with that. The sound overall was fantastic. It's amazing how a temporary stage/sound set up can be so great, when some clubs that have a permanent sound system can't get it right...speaking generally of course, in the entire scheme of touring bands that play bars and clubs. But this show did sound great, and there were smiles on everyone's faces, those dancing and those just standing taking it all in. What a great and fun night it was, blending old memories with the happiness of seeing my favorite band play my old college campus! I'd have to say Red Elvises were a big hit at FSU. Red Elvises, Your Favorite Band and well worth traveling for!