Der er skrevet rigtige mange Elvis-koncert anmeldelser i løbet af årene. Og mange af dem giver et ganske godt jurnalistisk billed af koncertoplevelsen. Det var somregl den lokale avis, der gav deres besyv med. En spændende måde at få en - objektiv - vurdering af en Elvis koncert. Desuden er det jo en professionel vurdering, om jeg så må sige. I får dem selvfølgelig på org. sproget. Jeg har forsøgt at gå udenom skandale/uprofessionnelle anm. som vi desværre herhjemme kunne læse om Lana Del Rey i EB. !!

(http://ekstrabladet.dk/musik/koncert_anmeldelser/article1948823.ece)

I første omgang har jeg valgt at bringe de nok mest spændende fra Elvis koncert karriere. Min hensigt er bestemt/(selvfølgelig) ikke at dække Elvis fulde koncert karriere. Men derimod højdepunkter samt koncerter som udg. via FTD.

Først Elvis Las Vegas koncert comback i 1969; NY 72'; 'Aloha showet' fra 1973; koncerterne fra hhv. Rapid City & Cincinati, som blev klippet sammen til Elvis sidste tv-show: Elvis in concert. Så har jeg selvfølgelig også bragt Elvis' sidste koncert fra Indianapolis. Som iøvrigt var et rigtigt flot og værdig afslutning på en fantastisk koncert karriere.

Comback koncert i Las Vegas

July 31, 1969. Las Vegas. NV. The International.

Presley breaks attdance records in Vegas
By Myram Borders
Nevada State Journal

LAS VEGAS, Nev (UPI) Swivel-hipped singer Elvis Presley broke all attendance records on the "Strip" during the first seven days of a month long engagement.

About 125 persons were lined up at the showroom reservation counter early Monday, normally a slow day. Last Saturday some 500 persons were there at 10 am in hopes of getting reservations during the busy weekend. Many were turned away.

Officials at the International Hotel said weekends were sold out and that bookings during the week were "tight" for Presley's first appearance before a live audience in eight years.

Some Presley fans came all the way from Europe to see the show.

The hotel received a letter from a woman in France with a 100 franc note enclosed as a deposit for 10 shows. The woman wanted reservations for both the dinner and midnight shows for five straight days.

"So far we have yet to have an empty seat in the house. He is the hottest thing that has hit Las Vegas," said Bruce Banke, an executive of the hotel.

It was his first stage appearance in eight years and his only return engagement to Las Vegas in 13 years.

Presley in the flesh has lost nothing. It was still all there. Gyrating legs... wide stance ... a bobbing head with tossed black hair ... rotating guitar .. knee bends and the pounding rhythm of such tunes as "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock," "Heartbreak Hotel" and one of his newest recordings "In The Ghetto"

He was contracted to appear here for sn undisclosed salary.

"We are very happy with the deal." said Col. Tom Parker, the distinguished Presley manager with the honorary southern title. He blithely side-stepped the question of how much the performance was costing the International Hotel.

Reportedly, Presley is being paid as much as Barbra Streisand who opened the resort in early July for a reported $1 million during a three-year period.

Parker has deftly guided Presley, the Tennessee country boy, to the top of the heap in money earnings. Presley has recorded almost 50 gold records, an unprecedented number, and has made millions in movies.

Presley arrived in Las Vegas a week before the July 31 opening and practiced daily. He still was rehearsing at 5 p.m. on opening night - two hours before the invited guests began arriving.

Actor George Hamilton was among the first nighters along with performers such as Carol Charming and businessmen of the Howard Hughes organization. A plane load of admirers flew in from Atlanta, and members of the news media converged here from the East Cost and Europe

Temperatures outside the International Hotel neared 110 degrees the night Presley opened inside the 2,000 seat showroom - after viewing an hour of Presley's gyrations - blood pressure were on the rise.

"Oh... it's Elvis," walled a woman in her 50s as if she were surprised to see the star after fighting long lines for hours to get a seat.

Presley received a long standing ovation. It was one of the the rare occasions when a Las Vegas standing salute was sincere rather than rigged with a few cronies of an entertainer planted down front to stamp and scream approval.

(08.08.69)

New York 72'

June 9, 1972 (8.30 pm) New York City, NY. Madison Square Garden.

Presley, Talents Richly Intact, Shifts Emphasis to Rock/Gospel
by Don Heckman
New York Times

Elvis Presley finally made it to New York Friday night, in the opener of four sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden that represented his first live appearance in Gotham.

The show was planned with the crisp dispatch and efficiency of the various Presley enterprises, all run by the powerful pitchman's had of the singer's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, The Sweet Inspirations , a soul group, did a respectable group of songs, and an aging comedian badly misunderstood the interests of his audience and beat a hasty retreat. Then -more suspense- a brief intermission.

Finally, the lights dimmed, the momentous production was made and Presley came bounding out, glorious in a white jumpsuit with gold-trimmed cape. For three or four minutes he moved through a series of tableau poses that would have intimidated Charles Atlas, while an explosion of Instamatic light cubes turned the Garden into a mass, stop-action strobe light show.

Shows Sense of Humor

But the Presley dug in. No nosense, little banter with either audience or accompanists - simply a sold professional doing a job he probably can do better than anyone in the world. In his maturity Presley has developed his sense of humor to a finely honed edge. When he finally got around to singing the much-anticipated "Hound Dog" he made several intentional false starts and finally, surprisingly, sang the song with a strong soul feeling and little of the country-boy grunting and grinding that had given the tune such early notoriety.

The most noticeable development in Presley's style, in fact, was the minimizing of the country and Western elements that had been so vital to his early music. The great majority of his numbers -and he ranged from current standards like "Bridge Troubled Water ," "Proud Mary," among others, to older hits like "Love Me Tender" and "Heartbreak Hotel"- were firmly locked in the currently trendish rock / gospel styles.

Cooly Relaxed Ability

Since Presley's music was one of the motivating forces behind the early evolution of that style, he uses it with understanding and ease. But at least some of the old, coarse power has been glossed over by his cooly relaxed professionalism, and his affection for the Dean Martin ballad sound is more is evidence than ever.

It turned out to be a program with a fairly rich menu but not much staying power. After 45 minutes he was gone without an encore. The effect was almost anticlimactic. Yet in sum we had heard enough to confirm that, even after 16 years, the Presley magic was as incredibly effective as ever. He is, without question, one of the real ones.                          (10.06.72)

January 14, 1973. Honolulu, HA.

Gold Crown Awarded to "King" Elvis
by Wayne Harada
Honolulu Advertiser
January 14, 1973

(Courtesy Of Scott Hayward)

Elvis Presley received a golden crown - and a standing ovation - at the conclusion of his unprecedented satellite live TV concert beamed to a global audience of over 1.5 billion in the wee hours of the morning yesterday. A perspiring Presley simply held the crown, as he accepted the accolades - and thus, The King vanished backstage, another night's work completed.

The HIC Arena, dammed with 6000 Hawaii fans, became a supersized TV studio for the hour-long spectacle, "Aloha from Hawaii," which was televised to nearly 40 nations. It was a thrilling compact hour - long on music, loud on screams - Presley performed a total of 25 songs, including a rare and poignant rendition of Kui Lee's I'll Remember You. Like Friday night's dress rehearsal, yesterday's performance was a benefit for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund.

But unlike any other charitable production here, this one had that aura of The Big Time: a superstar doing a super performance, right before the eyes of the world. Camera crews were everywhere: on stage, in the aisles, in the audience, zooming in on Presley and his breakthrough performance, coordinated by RCA Record Tours. "Aloha from Hawaii" is the first entertainment special telecast live to a global audience; it will be expanded into a 90-minute NBC-TV special, for viewing here and on the Mainland later this year.

Perhaps only a phenomenon like Presley could pull off such a coup, at such a wicked showgoing time - 12.30 AM curtain, Hawaii time - yet draw a full house. The concert was similar in format to his pair of November shows at the HIC: it began in darkness, with the "2001: A Space Odyssey" fanfare preceding Presley's entrance; it ended with Presley singing Can't Help Fallin' in Love with You. Of course, there were differences. For starters, Presley hurled his flowing, white, studded cape - a trademark for his final number. That was a souvenir collector's dream come true. Too, the usual assortment of scarves went sailing into the audience at certain points of the show.

The specially erected set, on an unusually large stage with a protruding platform, consisted of basic black scrim that was as long as it was high, reaching to the ceiling of the arena. A series of mirrors framed both sides of the stage, and special lights - silhouetting the Presley form, spell out his name not only in English but in foreign toungues - flashed on and off occasionally. Once Presley emerged, he never was off stage. Once the show was under way, it didn't stop for commercial breaks.

For the Hawaii audience his I'll Remember You vocal easily was the most sentimental. The Presley version retained the Hawaiian flavor, but also capitalized on the International scope of the tune; it easily could emerge as Presley's next No. 1 hit. His American Trilogy medley - fusing Dixie, Battle Hymn of the Republic and All My Trials - was another emotional instance, sending several hundred fans to their feet. But apparently the necessity to move on the show - when such TV airing time is so precious - forced Presley to cut short the audience response.

The concert was smartly paced and packaged to suit all camps in the Presley following. There were the old hits - Love Me, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, Johnny B. Goode, Long Tall Sally. There were the recent clicks Suspicious Minds, Burning Love, What Now My Love. There were the soulful slices - C.C. Rider, Something, Fever, the latter with the classic Presley shuffles, from the hips on downwards. And there were the special Presley renderings - of Welcome to My World, It's Over, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.

Only once did he pluck his guitar. After all, he had all the musical backing he needed: a six piece combo that travels with him, J.D. Sumner and The Stamps plus The Sweet Inspirations doing the background vocals, and a gigantic orchestra of about 40 pieces, including a splendidly nimble string section consisting of some of our symphony musicians. Presley kept his talk to a minimum. He quipped about Hound Dog: "I was just a baby when I did that song. With sideburns." He introduced Jack Lord as one of his actor favorites. And he reported that his original goal of $25000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund had been exceeded, with more than $75000 raised prior to show time.

Presley's Aloha for Hawaii has been demonstrated before, when he helped raise funds for the building of the USS Arizona Memorial a decade ago. Yesterday's show reaffirms Presley's and manager Col. Tom Parker's philanthropic fondness for Hawaii. Like the enduring nature of Kui Lee's music, the incandescence of Presley is incomparable. Perhaps Presley had a hidden meaning regarding the late Kui Lee, when he sang the composer's closing lines in I'll Remember You, as follows: "...love me always, promise always, you'll remember, too."

Rapid City.. (Elvis in concert)...

June 21, 1977; (8.30) Rapid City SD

• There's no doubt about it -Elvis is still 'king'  
• 10.000 audience
• by Jeri Gulbransen
• Rapid City Journal:

(Courtesy of John A. Doerner)

For the last 20 years he's been called the king of rock'n roll and there's no doubt he still wears that crown. Elvis Presley sang, swiveled his hips, played the guitar, threw scarves, cracked a few jokes and gave the capacity audience at the grand opening of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center their money's worth Tuesday night.

From " Jailhouse Rock"and " Are You Lonesome Tonight" to "If y ou Love Me Let Me Know ," Elvis gave old favorites and newer songs a real crooning treatment.

Although the gyrations that helped boost Elvis to popularity with teenage girls in the 50's are fewer and farther apart, the voice that continued to sell gold record after gold record sounded even better in person.

Clad in a white suit decorated with gold, the king performed for the audience and CBS- TV cameras for almost an hour and a half. Footage from the Rapid City performance and an earlier one in Omaha will be used for a special television program this fall.

The well run show started almost exactly at the appointed hour, but that didn't mean the crowd didn't have to wait.

Small groups trying to enter the arena were gathering around the civic center as early as 4 p.m., although the gate didn't open until 7 p.m.

The parking lots of the civic center were quickly filled and late comers parked as far away as St. Joseph Street, leaving a long walk to their seats.

The lights, sound system and instruments had all been carefully checked during the afternoon. The CBS crews took almost an hour of candid shots of the crowd assembling, cameras being checked and concessions being sold. Hawkers were selling souvenir programs, Elvis necklaces and giant posters.

Finally the lights dimmed --and in a rarity for concerts --the show started shortly after 8:30 p.m. The band played the opening number, then a male gospel group sang several numbers.

A comedian joked about Hermosa, Spring brook Acres and the reaction of women to Elvis. Three female singers with a decided Motown flavor really warmed up the crowd.

Intermission

The crew wearing the red jackets with "Elvis In Concert" started to change the arrangement on stage while many of the more than 10,000 crowd moved quickly to the concessions stand. While popcorn sold well, soft drinks were definitely the most popular item in the warm arena. Souvenir programs were used as fans in the balconies.

The stage was set. The band clad in white. The crowd started clapping and stamping for Elvis. Backstage Rapid City Mayor Art LaCroix presented Elvis a plaque with an engraving of Mount Rusmore and the inscription "In appreciation to Mr. Elvis Presley for the grand opening concert" Presley was also given a hand-beaded medallion of life by young Monique Brave. Not included in the formal presentation, but also given to Elvis was a T -shirt promoting the Boy's Club Rent-A-Kid program.

Then the lights were dimmed, purple spotlights were focused on the band and the theme song for "2001 A Space Odessy" was played.

As the purple lights got brighter and brighter, the audience was on the edge of their seats.

Then the king was on stage. And while he was there was no question that he was in command of the audience. The young, the middle-aged and the old all listened, all applauded, all watched a super performer in action.

While a few of the oldies were missing from the program, others like "It's Now Or Never" and "Don't Be Cruel" never sounded any better .

His detractors may call Elvis aging and fat, but his fans who pack into every show he does know better.                              

He's the king. 

Cincinnati..(Elvis in concert)...

June 25, 1977. Cincinnati, OH.

Presley "Rite" Attracts 17140 Fans to Riverfront Coliseum
by Cliff Radel
Cincinnati Enquirer:

It was not a concert. It was a rite. The doors opened at 7PM, 2 1/2 hours before showtime. This was an exceptionally early opening for a reserved-seat show. But there was plenty to do before the house lights went down for the first time. There were, as an unseen speaker told the rite's 17140 celebrants "all the great Elvis super souvenirs" to be sold. Posters went for $5 and $3. Programs cost three bucks and depending on the hawker had 28, 25 or 14 "full-color pitchers of Elvis." A button with Elvis' visage on it required the expenditure of $2. Binoculars ("Have a front-row seat wherever you sit!") took $5 out of its purchaser's purse.

The people inside Riverfront Coliseum Saturday night were being offered "two brand-new super Elvis souvenirs. A necklace for five dollars and in limited supply tonight, a gold, belt buckle for $10." All this merchandising was in preparation for the appearance of a 42-year-old man from Tupelo, Miss., Elvis Presley. The vendors must have had a field day Saturday night. The sold-out crowd had to wait five minutes shy of two hours before they got their first glimpse of the man who has been dubbed "The King of Rock 'n' Roll."

The Hot Hilton Horns came on stage first. They played Gonna Fly Now from "Rocky." The Stamps, always a staple on a Presley show, performed next. This four-man vocal group was joined by its leader, J.D. Sumner, the man with the grand slalom of range, for 14 minutes of song. After Sumner, attired in a three-piece white suit with a black shirt and a red carnation, left the Stamps off the stage, comedian Jackie Culhane arrived with many of the same jokes he told before Presley's last Cincinnati appearance March 21, 1976.

His 13 minutes of humor was followed by 28 minutes of singing from the Sweet Inspiration. The three-woman vocal group left the stage at 9.31PM. And then the wait began. The intermission was supposed to last 20 minutes. It lasted 55 minutes.

The wait was making David and Carole Hawthorne more nervous than they already were. The couple had traveled from County Down in Northern Ireland to see Presley. "We're here with 254 other members of the Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain," David Hawthorne said. "Most of us are from the United Kingdom, but there are others from Denmark, Belgium and, of course, Ireland." Hawthorne indicated he became a "fan of Elvis' in 1963 or '64. The first LP I bought was his Golden Hits Volume One." His collection of Presley albums, single, 78s etc. is nearing the 200 mark.

Among his siblings Hawthorne is the only Presley fan. "My sisters were Beatles fans," he said, "and they had Stones posters all over the wall." Why is Hawthorne different from his sisters? "Well, you know it is like John Lennon said, nothing was really going on until Elvis came along." Elvis finally came along at Riverfront Coliseum at 10.25PM. After singing C.C. Rider, he told the audience why he was late. "I had some dental problems," he said, "and (sticking his finger into his mouth) I got a filling. So if I go (he winced) you'll know why." The audience also knew why he received the title "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." He sang C.C. Rider and the next song, I Got a Woman, with a looseness and light-hearted spirit that was missing in his 1976 show at Riverfront Coliseum.

Presley continued in this spirit for the final two songs this writer heard before a deadline called me away from the Coliseum, Jailhouse Rock and It's Now Or Never. The former song was recorded in 1957 and the latter in 1960 and Presley managed to melt the years, if not the poundage from his body away when he sang these songs. His voice was as high and as clear as on the originals. It was almost as if he was proving to his loyal fans who have reached for his scarves when they have been offered to them at concerts and his albums when they are released that he, too, remembers how he used to sound, and more importantly, when he wants to, that sound can be recaptured.

26 june, 1977.

(Courtesy of Scott Hayward)

Elvis' sidste koncert

June 26, 1977 (8.30 pm) Indianapolis, IN. Market Square Garden.

Elvis performs in true Presley style before 18,000
By Rita Rose
The Indianapolis Star:

Elvis looks great and Elvis sounds great!" exclaimed comedian Jackie Kahane to 18,000 enthusiastic, sweaty-palmed fans at Market Square Arena last night.

And Indianapolis once again prepared to great royalty-the hip-swivelling singer who has been called the King of rock 'n' roll since the Mid-1950s.

Elvis. His name was everyhwere: on posters, buttons, souvenir books, T-shirts, hats, and homemade clothes that proclaimed with personal touches, admiration for a man idolized by millions.

The big question was, of course, had he lost weight? His last concert here, nearly 2 years ago, found Elvis overweight, sick and prone to give a lethargic performance. As the lights in the Arena was turned down after intermission, you could feel a silent plea rippling through the audience: Please, Elvis, don't be fat.

And then he appeared, in a gold and white jumpsuit and white boots, bounding onstage with energy that was a relief to everyone. At 42, Elvis is still carrying around some excess baggage on his mid-section, but it didn't stop him from giving a performance in true Presley style.

His opening number, the audience-grabbing C.C. Rider," got his portion of the show off to a flash-bulb-popping, hand-clapping start. His Amen," in which he encouraged everyone to lap and sing along, seemed to bring everyone together, as did "Jailhouse Rock" and "I got a woman."

His older numbers seemed to draw more applause, although just about everything he did created mass� hysteria, especially his "leg jerks." (In case you have never seen Elvis, this particular maneuver consist of one singer, standing perfectly still with his legs apart, then making his legs ripple like jelly, completing the action with moving first one leg and then the other bruptly to each side.)

Elvis has limited his karate movements, but the stances he takes with his guitar generated screams and shrieks from delighted fans. One of his best numbers, we feel, was "It's Now Or Never," followed by a medley of his hits. He also offered "This Time You Gave Me A Mountain," and "Fairytale," plus several others. He also did his famous "I uh, we uh, well, well, well, well, well, well" monologue, which seems to turn dyed-in-the- rood Elvis fans on. He coveted scarves, tossed into the audience after gracing the singer's neck, caused mad scrambles by the stage as he got rid of them just about as fast as they were put around his neck. The fans were well-behaved, considering the usual ampedes that take place at rock concerts.

The first half of the show consisted of the usual stuff - the Stamps singing, Jackie Kahane with his Elvis jokes, and The Sweet Inspirations in song. But we'll mention them only briefly, since most fans just want read about the King.

The packed Arena was indication enough that Elvis is still as popular as ever. Well, well, well, well!