Red Elvises at Rusty's Surf Ranch

There’s only one word for this night, and that word is “Rockin’!” And the question of the day is, does Rusty’s still have rafters? Because this was one kick-ass show! Back on home turf for the first time in a month and a half, the guys played two highly energized sets to a packed house that included several members of Adam’s family as well as many old and new fans. One person with the good taste to attend this show enthusiastically told me, “This is our second show, but we drove four hundred miles [from Sedona, Arizona] for it!” That’s the spirit! Another happy enthusiast came from even farther away; she was Red Chat’s own “Sexier Than Mango,” Lisa, who came from Houston to visit friends in the L.A. area and was fortunately able to schedule her trip during the time that Red Elvises were playing Rusty’s. Such is the devotion these guys inspire in those who come to know and love them.

I only drove for about half an hour to be there, but this was a momentous occasion for me, a real milestone, my 75th show! Since I’m lucky enough to live so near their home base, I’ve only been seeing Red Elvises for a little over four and a half years to achieve this many shows. For 75th wedding anniversaries (yes, every now and then some people do manage to stay married for that long…hard to believe, huh?) the traditional gift is “diamonds, diamond-like stones or gold,” according to one website I researched for at least eight seconds. (I try to stay away from wedding and marriage-oriented information, for the most part.) But since I’ve never married anybody, just support a well-deserving band, and since this is not years (thank goodness none of us are that old!), just many happy shows, of course no gifts are necessary for this type of occasion. Nonetheless, Oleg told the guy at the door, “It’s her 75th show, she deserves to get in!” (Many thanks, Oleg!), so that was a very nice thing. Right before the show began, Oleg pulled me up onstage and announced my milestone to the crowd, so that was fun, official recognition being gift number two. And later, during the break and after the show, Igor asked me to sell merchandise and brought me some beer for that, along with giving me a t-shirt and a nice warm hug. (Thanks for all that, Igor!) So I do feel very appreciated, as well as having had the gift of being able to see this terrific band of warm, sweet, ultra-talented guys seventy five times since October 29, 1998. These and all the other experiences, laughs and fun memories are my diamonds and gold, as far as Red Elvises are concerned. I just want to go on having fun with my favorite band through my 100th show and beyond.

Now, for the part for which you’ve been waiting breathlessly…the show highlights!

I got there nearly an hour before the show began, as I usually do, and talked to (long-time band friend) Alex and Chris, the nephew of Dave and Diane, former Fans of the Month, for a little while. Then I saw Lisa from Houston arrive, and since I had been looking forward to meeting her, from chatting with her in Red Chat for a while, I went over and introduced myself. We hit it off immediately and were soon sitting on the bench that runs along one wall talking and giggling like old friends. We watched the guys set up for the show. I also watched the spot right in front of the stage where I like to stand for optimum photography opportunities and ultimate dancing excitement (yes, I’ve admitted many times how spoiled I am, but after seeing them at Rusty’s over thirty times you can’t really blame me for having a favorite spot, can you?), so that when the time came I had a decent chance of getting there. Of course I’d never push anyone out of the way for that spot, but it is nice to have it if I can claim it first. Lisa sipped her cider and I sipped my beer and soon it was showtime.

They started off with “I’m Not That Kind of Guy” and then moved on into “200 Flying Girls.” I’m pretty sure the third song was “This Night is Wasted (But I’m Not…),” although that could have come a little later. Some of the other first-set songs, not in order, were “Lovepipe,” “Boogie on the Beach,” “Telephone Call From Istanbul,” “Strip Joint is Closed,” “Gypsy Heart,” “Night Butterfly,” “Jerry’s Got a Squeeze Box,” “Love Rocket” and the ever popular “I Wanna See You Belly Dance.” The stage quickly filled with girls to dance for “Belly Dance,” and I went up there too. Dancing is such a fine celebration of the spirit, and dancing onstage with all that powerful kick-ass sound and sexy musicians around you is an even finer celebration, believe me. Having no feasible place to stash the camera (leather pants, no pockets), I just danced with it in my hand…I’m so glad my camera is tiny!

The song ended and as the break began, I heard Igor calling my name. They needed someone to help sell the CDs, shirts and so on, and since I have prior experience I readily agreed. Alex was kind enough to help me with the CDs (thanks, Alex!). I sat on the stage with the suitcases of merchandise open in front of me, looking for shirts people asked for in the sizes they asked for them, with the hot lights highlighting the merchandise very nicely. Soon, Igor brought me change and then beer, so that helped a lot. I hope everyone who bought things enjoys their purchases. Support your favorite band! Buy more merchandise at the next show…it’s fun and you get a flyer with their upcoming shows (naked picture on it is a bonus!). Featuring Red Elvises condoms for only $2, a real bargain! I did ask Igor, “Just how current are these condoms?” I was assured they’re probably fine, but even if you don’t have occasion to use them, they make great conversation pieces!

Okay, commercial break over…back to the show…

During the second set is when I think they did “Sad Cowboy Song,” although I could be getting the sets mixed up. A guy behind me tried to get me to start the conga line, but with my lack of coordination there’s no telling where that would have ended up, so I politely declined with a “That’s okay…” And yes, my ulterior motive was to keep my primo spot in front of the stage, you got me! It’s kind of hard to have a conga line with that many people in so small a space anyway, but toward the end of the song one did get going. Adam had a great drum solo and Igor and Oleg joined in with two more sets of drumsticks, banging away at the drums and giving us triple rhythm to enjoy. Oleg-Schramm had drumsticks too and used one with a tambourine to join in the spirit of the drum solo.

May I say right here that his keyboard playing, notably during “Strip Joint is Closed” but also during many other songs as well, along with his accordion playing (especially on “Jerry’s Got a Squeeze Box,” obviously), adds so much to the sound of the band. It’s really a kick to hear the older songs with the new twist! They also played “Sex In Paradise” with all of us, instructed by Igor on the hand and body motions, participating with the waving of our hands on “blue blue skies,” flying and butterfly-eating motions for the “stupid bluebirds” and appropriate pelvic movements for the title lyrics. Igor’s part consisted not only of the singing but also, of course, much jumping around and pelvis rotating, which always makes the girls scream. During a song we haven't heard in quite a long time, the very fun "Hawaii," from the "I Wanna See You Belly Dance" CD, the guys were joined onstage by two very talented dancing Russian girls dressed in matching white outfits, and they were a lot of fun to watch. They both dance at a nearby Russian restaurant, Oleg told us later, and had taken off work for half an hour to come over to Rusty’s and dance during the show. Cha cha cha!

There were of course quite a few more songs during this set but once again I took no notes…hard to take notes with a camera in one hand and a glass of beer in the other! But we all had a lot of fun anyway. Another audience-participation song (aren’t they all though, really?) was “Closet Disco Dancer.” The air was filled with fingers pointing toward the surfboard-decorated rafters and we all discoed our little hearts out. And all too soon, it was time for the encores and all the screaming that accompanies that time of the show.

“Do you want to hear one more?”

“Yes!”

Igor cups his ear, as if he can’t hear us. “Do you want to hear one more?!”

“YES!”

“Do you want to hear ONE MORE?!!”

“YEEESSSSSSSSSS!!”

Let the encores begin! After the first one, "Rocket Man," we still wanted to hear “one more.” We always want to hear “one more” or three more, or six more, or however many more we can get! You betcha! They don’t call this Our Favorite Band for nothing!

The last encore of the night was the hilarious perennial crowd-pleasing favorite “My Love is Killing Me,” and, for the first time ever at Rusty’s, girls spontaneously started getting onstage to dance to it! A girl near me said that I should be onstage for it… (thanks, anonymous nice girl!), and Igor agreed, so up I went. The lyrics of that song are the funniest ever to hit a microphone, and they’re even more hysterical when you’re dancing with a crowd of people right next to the guy singing those lyrics. The crowd was wild. We onstage were wild. It was like a jungle in there…or, well, more like a surf ranch I guess. It was an incredible amount of fun, anyway. Afterwards, Lisa and I were up onstage to sell more merchandise and pose for some photos Alex took, and Lisa said that the experience was a little different than a show in Houston. I said, “That’s why people come from miles around to see a Rusty’s show, because we ROCK here!” And it’s true. Everyone should see Red Elvises on their home turf at least once. It’s a wild, fun-filled extravaganza. Throughout the night I had such a great time that I completely forgot to check and see if the rafters of the place were still there, but if they did indeed blow off, just look for angels hanging ten on the surfboards that were attached to said rafters. Rock on!

Chris, Lisa and Alex

Kayt and Lisa onstage

Alex, Oleg, Kayt and Lisa

Lisa, Igor and Kayt