Red Elvises at the Handlebar in Greenville, SC
October 22, 2009
ByKayt
Thursday afternoon between approximately 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on October 22, 2009 found me sitting in my parked car next to the Handlebar, the large venue in Greenville, South Carolina where Red Elvises, and of course, Igor and Red Elvises, habitually play when in Greenville. I parked facing Stone Avenue and sat there waiting for my first sight of their ginormous new Dodge van, feeling not unlike a stalker. I didn’t have to wait very long; within about 20 minutes they showed up, the musical kings (and on this tour one queen) of the highway, majestically rolling down the street toward the driveway to the back (side) door of the club. That was the first time I saw the new van “in person,” and yes, it’s bigger – and taller - than it even looks in photos. I moved my car over behind the van and got out to say hello. This was the first time I’d seen them since Musikfest, in August, because I couldn’t make it to the Raleigh or Winston-Salem shows during the week due to my crazy work schedule. It was great, as always, to see them again.
At the Handlebar, the band usually enjoys a leisurely, thoroughly entertaining sound check on the club’s huge stage and then usually grabs some dinner. Igor put the merchandise in the permanent, built-in merchandise booth that makes it such a pleasure selling merch at the Handlebar. No begging or scrambling for tables or lights – it’s all right there, every time. It seems like the last few times I’ve seen them at the Handlebar, they’ve played a new song during the sound check. This time the new song was one of Milka’s, “Grape Jelly and Chili,” about a couple who are very different from each other… “We go together like grape jelly and chili.” A friend of mine told me later on in the tour that she makes meatballs using grape jelly and chili seasoning and they’re delicious. I’ll have to try that. The song is very cool too, so I hope they record it on their next CD.
So I ended up having two dinners because I ate with Igor, Adam and Kfir, and then a little while later ate again (a salad, I think…) with Milka, to have the opportunity to talk with her and get to know her a little better. She’s a really cool girl, in addition to her obvious musical talents. Then I went back to my hotel to get ready for the show.
The band sounded great and had a good time onstage. They looked great too, with Igor in his pink Thai suit, Milka’s pink multicolored paisley dress, Kfir in his usual tiger stripes and Adam wearing his red sequined shirt, they presented a very colorful lineup. They played a lot of their most popular songs, including, probably, in no particular order, “200 Flying Girls,” “Ukranian Dance #13,” “Love Rocket,” “Ticket to Japan,” “Strip Joint is Closed (sung with great enthusiasm and fine voice by Milka), “Lovepipe,” “Gypsy Heart,”, “Better Than Cocaine,” “Rocketman,” “Winter Reggae,” “Memoirs of a Hooker,” “Sad Cowboy Song,” “Belly Dance,” of course, and plenty of others. I think somewhere in the second set they played “My Love is Killing Me.” I wrote down all the songs, but unfortunately have not been able to find my list (sorry!). During “Belly Dance,” among the beautiful belly dancers onstage was Hitomi, from Seattle. You never know where she’ll show up! It was great to see her again.
The crowd didn’t fill the venue, but it is a BIG place, so that’s understandable. I did my usual multitasking thing of selling, talking to people and keeping an eye on the merch booth while making a few runs from side to side to snap a few photos. Quite a few audience members visited the merchandise booth to buy stuff and ask questions about former and missing band members they came to know and love, but for some reason the audience didn’t start dancing and going crazy till near the end when the band played “Closet Disco Dancer” during the encore. By the time the crowd got really into it and revved up, the show was almost over. Then all too soon, the band hit the last note, the audience went home and it was time to pack up the gear and merch for the night.
So it was a fun night of great music and great food at the very cool Handlebar. I highly recommend seeing the band there if you’re ever in the Carolinas when they play there, and be sure to say hello and bring your cameras too. The next day we all left for Florida!
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