August 22, 2001 at "The Globe"
By Heidi Rojo
It was our 20th wedding anniversary night. I had been planning a
celebration of family and friends for almost two years. But, due to
assorted circumstances, we sat at the bar of The Globe ~ just the two of
us ~ looking at each other in disbelief. Had anyone told us we would be
celebrating our anniversary in a small, dark bar on the "East side" of
town, we surely wouldn't have believed it. But, here we were, waiting
for Igor, Oleg and Zhenya to arrive. They finally arrived after much
talk among the patrons as to their actual start time. It was published 3
different ways. Zhenya sauntered proudly in the front door wearing a fur
coat. (Remember, it was August in Milwaukee!) These hard working guys
carried in all their 'stuff' and set it up, with the help of their right
hand man, Pehlan. A very noticeable part of the tiny bar was a huge
sound system and a man to run it. Unlike the last concert here in
Milwaukee, at the Ale House, where the sound was pretty garbled and
disappointing ~ NOT at all due to the Reds ~ but to the stage positioning
at the Ale House, the sound at the Globe was well balanced, perfect,
great, wonderful and krasiva! After a short absence, the guys reappeared
dressed in some of their finest.
I'm sorry I can't report a list of songs, because I am in such a
delighted cloud of delight when they start playing, that I can't
remember. One thing I do remember is that the front of the drum set had
Red Elvises hastily drawn in black marker. The guys said the front just
shattered one night in New York. There also was the very ugly doll
sitting up there on a speaker. And Zhenya was making very ugly faces as
he sang :(
When I told him he shouldn't make those ugly faces when he sings, he said
he does that because when he looks across the stage, Oleg is always
smiling, so he wants to do the opposite.
The crowd was eclectic, and all enjoyed themselves. The evening went
much too fast, as usual. The musicianship was awesome, as usual. And
once again, the "three man drum solo" was a big hit.
So, part of my dream came true. I had wanted the Red Elvises to play at
our 20th anniversary ~ and they did. Thanks guys~
Heidi Rojo
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