Rusty's Surf Ranch, Last Show of the Shake Your Pelvis Tour 2000 November 10, 2000 By Kayt

We knew this would be a special night, the last night of this year's tour before the guys took their long and well-deserved break. They've entertained us all year far better than anyone else could even imagine doing and have worked extremely hard under incredible circumstances to do it. Touring is hard work, for anyone who may think it's all fun and glamour. It's not the easiest job in the world, being a musician, even when you weigh the "fringe benefits:"

1. Sleeping late (when you don't have to travel early to get to the next show)
2. Drinking on the job (some of us just wish we could!)
3. Doing what you love to do for a living
4. Receiving the love and admiration of Red Elvises fans, new and seasoned, across the U.S.
5. Having fun with people (yes, girls are part of "people") before, during and after the shows…

1. Being crammed day after day with four other grown men into one van that looks big but doesn't seem so roomy inside when full of equipment, clothing, (nice) shoes, merchandise and we-can-only-imagine-what-else
2. A schedule requiring playing night after night even when exhausted and/or hung over (see #2 above!)
3. Venues all over America offering sound systems of varying quality and sometimes very little quality to contend with
4. Bad hotel/motel beds (or just the fact of a different bed each night to get used to)
5. The daily grind of being away from your own home, bed, friends and other day-to-day concerns while on the road
6. Potentially dangerous weather conditions - avoiding tornadoes in the Midwest, outrunning hurricanes in Florida, etc.
7. Other tensions and stressful situations we may thankfully never experience ourselves.

So we knew they'd be happy to perform this last show of the year 2000 at Rusty's and then relax, indulge in some personal travel and otherwise catch up with their own lives for four months. And do we miss them now? You bet we do! But think how happy we'll all be to see each other again in 2001!

But back to November 10th at Rusty's… It was unusual in that there was an opening band, called Stone Bogart. They tried hard; it just wasn't what some of us were used to hearing. And speaking of hearing, they were louder than the Red Elvises, if that can be imagined. I actually had to use an earplug in my closest ear to the back of the stage where we were sitting, not to be mean but to avoid actual pain. Eventually they finished, and we were able to have a nice, non-screaming, chat with Avi, who told us the van had gotten blocked in and that's why the other Elvises weren't there yet. So Our Favorite Band started their show a little on the late side due to that technical difficulty…all the terrors of touring can't stop our guys but a car parked in just the wrong spot sure can cause a delay to anyone. Ironically enough, our two friends who we had talked into coming to this show - their first Red Elvises show - had the same problem and arrived even later. It didn't matter too much though, because once they got there and heard and saw the Red magnificence before them, they were hooked, and are now looking forward to seeing the band in March 2001.

This was one amazing show! Of course, it goes without saying that the guys kicked major ass, since they always do. I can't tell you all the songs they played but it was two sets of mostly older favorites and a few from "Shake Your Pelvis." The songs I remember included "Telephone Call From Istanbul" and "Scorchie Chorneye" AND, yes, yes, yes, "My Love is Killing Me!" They also did "Who's Your Daddy?" and "Space Cowboy," both of which have become very popular songs that we hope to see recorded in months to come. And of course "I Wanna See You Belly Dance," with a stage full of girls helping out on the dancing. Rusty's doesn't have a very big stage but there were quite a few girls up there, and audience participation is always fun.

By now a lot of you have probably seen the pictures taken that night, or you've heard about the special treat we all got during the second set. In the spirit of the movie "Almost Famous," a new movie should be made starring the Red Elvises, called "Almost Naked," because starting with Avi, the clothes began peeling off! Since drummers sit most of the time, Avi kept his pants on and just removed his jacket and shirt to show us some skin. But the three Russians stripped down to their underwear, settling any questions anyone may have ever had concerning "boxers or briefs" - which, believe it or not, is a burning question of our time amongst large portions of the U.S. female population! Oleg's were light blue, Zhenya's were navy, I think, or black, and Igor…well as amazing as his sock collection must be (from the pairs I've seen over the past two years), his briefs collection must contain quite a wild bunch too; his briefs were white with black polka dots and red flames on them, serving to both thrill and amuse us at the same time. All these guys are quite sexy anyway, of course, clothes on or off, (speaking affectionately, not sleazily here) but it was such an unexpected treat to see them like this, and to think they would do this for us and play several songs in their underwear, that the audience went wild with excitement. The stripping itself produced screams of excitement loud enough to be heard out in the Pacific Ocean. We want to see our Elvises naked and famous! Or, I suppose, nearly naked…and as famous as they want to be.

Now as hard a time as I have remembering what songs were played on a "usual" night, when the clothes started coming off I concentrated on snapping a lot more pictures and angling for good shots. Although I heard the sound of the music during that time, my brain didn't register enough of it to know now what actual songs were played then. I just know it sounded great! All I can definitely tell you is that Igor did "Blue Moon" wearing only boxers, his gold jacket and socks, and he also did the drumming for Avi's performance of his crowd-pleasing "Play That Funky Music."

And was that crowd ever pleased! Rusty's was so incredibly crowded that night that I was unable to work my way around further than the side, and could not get to the front of the stage to take pictures because people literally had nowhere to move to let anyone through. It was great to see so many people there enjoying their music. By the middle of the second set, a very tight box of Red Elvises-loving humanity had surrounded the stage on three sides (the fourth side, Oleg's end of the stage, is flush against the wall, and there is a wall behind about half of the stage too, ending a couple of feet from where Avi sits). Everyone was firmly in place at the front and side, and there was very little jockeying for position, not to mention very little room for dancing. Wiggling in place was about the most manageable activity, some people wiggling more than others. I just hope everyone had at least a half-decent view, because this was definitely one show to SEE as well as hear. All Red Elvises shows should be seen, of course, but of course this one was even more of a visual feast than usual.

At the end, after the last notes were played, each of the guys hugged briefly before leaving the stage, as if to say "Job well done! Now we have vacation!!" I couldn't agree more, they sure have earned a fun and relaxing break after all the great music and fun times they've given us for several years now, not to mention a touring schedule that may have broken a lesser band this year. Have a terrific break, guys, and we'll look forward to more fantastic sounds and shows in 2001!