Red Elvises at Home, Part II
Lobsterfest at San Pedro Pier, September 30, 2000
By Kayt

"Funny, smart and just about the best musicians to hit the stage since Elvis. Don't miss their show!"

The above line is from the Red Elvises' description on the Lobsterfest website, and it's not only good advice to not miss their shows, it's entirely true praise, as we all know. So, that being the case, our same trio as the night before set out for San Pedro to find this place. Armed with directions and a less-than-great map, we got lost, got on a street other than the one we thought we'd be on, had to stop to ask directions and finally managed to find one of the parking lots to catch the shuttle over to the festival. But it was well worth all that effort, of course, once we finally got there.

After figuring out where to get in (I think the whole thing of getting there and finding the virtually unmarked entrance must have been some form of IQ test…uh, guess I didn't do too well on that!) and paying our $6 each, we followed the sound of live music like lemmings to the back corner of the festival. As we walked past the stalls selling everything from jewelry to lobsters (and let me say here that I'm a cheap date and honestly can't stand lobster, although other seafood, including scallops, is more than welcome on my plate), I soon realized we were hearing the strains of "Who's Your Daddy." Obviously we were heading in the right direction.

Our guys were playing on a stage under a red and white tent, to a crowd of dancers and watchers just taking in all the wonder that is Red Elvises. There were rows of chairs farther out and on the right side where more people were sitting, and the merchandise table was set up on the left, manned by Special Agent Vladimir G and band friend Dianne. We walked over to the right side at first, being careful to avoid being deafened by the large speakers on either side of the stage. And of course I couldn't stand not being in front for very long, so I edged my way into the crowd…and found Rachel there right in the middle like the secret prize in a box of Cracker Jacks…well, sort of, although she wasn't cheap or plastic. The crowd was so thick I didn't see her till I was almost right next to her, then we said hi. I moved up closer to the front when it was safe to do so without stepping on feet or otherwise infringing too much on other audience members' rights of Elvises appreciation. The front was mostly filled with children - a few boys, lots of girls of various ages and a few of us who are just "young at heart." It was very cute to see the kids enjoying this music and having fun. My ultimate move to the front was helped by the performance of "Sad Cowboy Song," because it was then that the conga line started and took a lot of people along with it. The line of conga dancers bounced along just behind those of us closest to the stage, dividing the crowd a bit like the parting of the Red Sea, although on a much less majestic scale than that…and there was no water involved…oh, all right, so it was nothing like the Red Sea at all, I just really like the idea of a body of water called the RED Sea, okay? Okay! And yes, I'll try to be more careful with my metaphors in the future, but for now, back to the important stuff!

Like the previous night, the show was mostly the classics from the first three CDs, with the aforementioned "Who's Your Daddy," "Space Cowboy," and I don't even remember if they played the Shake Your Pelvis songs (I think so, maybe "Everybody Disco?")…not to mention the few I missed at the very beginning. One of the little girls, who may have been about 10 or 11 years old, got onstage and danced during a song or two, an interestingly odd combination of foot shuffling and jumping while she kept her arms by her sides…she definitely rated an A for effort and for not being afraid to get up there and have fun! A lot of the others stared at Igor and Zhenya, depending on which one was singing at the time. This was one show where it was almost as much fun to watch the audience as it was to watch the band!

Okay, from the greatness of the music to something a lot less pleasant…and this is my only criticism. The great minds that plan the Lobsterfest placed the stage right next to apparently a LOT of dumpsters behind a fence, which, as the night wore on, smelled more and more like dead fish. It hung over the area like an invisible cloud of "Ew! What's that smell?!" My friends and I started to wonder if we would survive the stench through the break…the furthest thing from our minds was food, to be sure. From what I've heard, that situation is the same every year, or at least existed last year. If they asked me, which they didn't, I'd have to say that not even the greatest and most fun music on the planet could totally obliterate that smell, although it does wonders for taking one's mind off it for a while! Please, Lobsterfest people, I would say if they were reading this or had asked me, for the sake of future music-loving generations, put the stage somewhere else next year! I would endure just about anything for my favorite band, but maybe if the stage were farther from the dumpsters more people with less endurance would have come and enjoyed the show.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled entertainment, already in progress…the second set was as great as the first and even better for me since I got to see all of it. I don't remember which songs were played, or in what order, but I do remember a rocking rendition of "Rocketman" and someone yelling for "Suzanna," which wasn't played (maybe due to little kids being there and the lovely "F" word and certain fun, although adult, references in it, who knows, or maybe they just didn't feel like doing that one). At the end they played one encore and afterwards people were still screaming for "one more song!" But the show was over, and we had all had a great time. After hanging out talking for a little while, we said our goodnights and started the trek back to the shuttle bus, with kick ass music still rocking in my head….hmmm, maybe I did get a little too close to those speakers after all.