Red Elvises at Rusty's Surf Ranch
Santa Monica, CA March 29, 2002
By Kayt

It was another fun filled night at Rusty’s with those unpredictable zany Russians we all love to see and hear. This was the kickoff show for the 2002 tour and the first time we had seen them play in the Los Angeles area since January. Rusty’s was filled to just shy of the rafters with people there to get crazy, drink beer and groove to the Moscow beat. So we had the Elvii on their home turf with plenty of terrific music, lots of beer, Igor’s birthday on March 27^th to celebrate and another night of dancing and merriment on the Santa Monica Pier. With surf boards overhead and a dance floor at our feet, who could ask for anything more?

I was out on the back patio with friends during the opening band’s set. We bravely ordered food, wine, beer and soda, respectively, and I ended up with a free entrée when my “veggie burger” I ordered turned out to actually be some sort of meat patty with a big honking slice of pineapple….not what I had in mind at all. But that was the least of my worries, because the night got much better after that. Our Fearless Leader Ealasaid had ventured south to Southern California and was sitting at the next long table with various folk, amongst them Zhenya and others. Oleg and Igor wandered back there and said hi to all of us. It was very very very good to see them all again, and yes, I know I had only seen them two months previously and tend to hang on the spoiled side. Still, it’s always very nice to see these guys.

Another Red Elvis-ite had traveled down from northern California to join in the festivities; right before the show started I was introduced by Ealasaid to Dr. John Saranto, who took pictures at Skipper’s Smokehouse and wrote the fine Field Report on the Tampa New Year’s Eve show of December 31, 2001. It was very nice to meet him and his wife. We all ended up in the front part of the crowd to enjoy the start of the show.

The guys started with, if I remember correctly, Red Lips, Red Eyes, Red Stockings and moved on into many other songs we’ve come to know and love, including, in no particular order and not limited to this partial list, Spacecowboy, Who’s Your Daddy, Gypsy Heart, Rocketman, Lovepipe, Scorchie Chornie and many others. I am guilty of procrastination with this write-up, I admit, and parts of this night are now sort of a blur. But I can say it was a high-energy, rocking fun show…one of their best. They didn’t have any new songs for us or any new CDs yet, but they played a lot of older songs and the crowd seemed just as happy.

During the break we were treated to a debut performance by Russian Sweets, an all-female group of Red Elvises’ long time friends, dressed in traditional-appearing Russian costumes, complete with elaborate headgear. Now I must apologize for the lack of photographs to give them proper credit; I was having some camera issues at the time and also didn’t a spot in the packed house where I could work my way back into the front to get good shots at that time. The crowd had backed away from the very front of the stage to give them more room, so the dance floor space was even more scarce than usual. Anyway, the Sweets sang what I presume to be traditional Russian ditties, which the crowd appeared to love. The whole effect was fun and outrageous and hilarious. Even Igor got into the act, dancing on stage with them and even putting on one of their dresses and headpieces at one point….and I’m very bummed and apologetic that I failed to get a picture of that! From my side vantage point, though, he looked like a sight to not soon forget.

The second set got started afterwards with more Red Elvises songs we love. At some point (was it during Sad Cowboy Song?) a wild and crazy harmonica-playing guy just stepped up onto the stage and briefly became part of the show, playing a mean harmonica which fit in quite nicely. Oleg obligingly let him have the microphone, and it seemed everyone enjoyed it. (Speaking to him briefly after the show, he was quite pumped that he had done it.) When the song the crowd was screaming for, I Wannna See You Bellydance, began, two of the Russian Sweets joined the guys onstage, wearing bright overstuffed costumes that not only showed their bellies but had way more than adequate padding in…uh, strategic areas, and false eyelashes out to there. They were hilarious and totally uninhibited, to say the least. Soon Igor started pulling some of us other females up there; we filled the small stage and all I could see was a sea of people all having fun. Miraculously, the rafters were still there when the song ended and no earthquakes were reported in the area. The stage at Rusty’s is apparently sturdier than it looks!

Well, it was another very special night at Rusty’s, with Our Favorite Band there, and tons of people enjoyed seeing them and had fun. Life is good for Red Elvises fans when they’re in town, no matter which town they’re in. And more good times are ahead – we’re all looking forward to new CDs and new songs to groove to, rumored to be not only amazing but also coming soon!