Elvis Rocked The Big Apple Last Night!

As NYers walked passed & read the venue, there were many comments

One guy said Elvis Presley In Concert? Only in America!

A group of 30 of NYCs Finest Elvis Fans Met 4 Dinner Before The Show!

Tally & Brian B

The Infamous Phil Gelormine (Philly to me) & I

Brian B & Philly - Two of the Best guys Ever!

The King Is Back In The Big Apple!

James Burton

Ronnie Tutt on drums & Nathan East on bass

Click on photos to enlarge

The crowd cheered The Imperials after Sweet Sweet Spirit

Audience stood clapping after How Great Thou Art

Intermission

Bob Klein & Brian B - Maybe alittle Too Much Cleavage Brian!

Bob Klein & I - East coast die hards!

Estelle dedicates Sweet Inspiration to Sylvia & Myra then introduces Cissy Houston from the audience

Nathan East & James Burton

The whole audience was clapping & cheering during Suspicious Minds

American Trilogy got a standing ovation

Can't Help Falling In Love

Nathan East

Walter from Brazil came to both shows on the east coast.

My good friend (and the most important Elvis photographer) Alfred Wertheimer & I after the show

Me, Al and my Mom after the show.

Seeing a show at Radio City is a pretty memorable event even to the average tourist. But for me it means so much more. As a little girl, my mom took me every year for the Radio City Christmas Show with the Rockettes. I can remember sitting there as a kid with my cousins in amazement as the shows came to life. It's such a beautiful venue with amazing sound. She also took me to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and countless other shows.And then in 1997, I attended Elvis The Concert for all three shows. And that was an unforgettable time. New York media was all over the event. NY Daily News, The NY Post, WCBS ( when radio was still alive in NY) and countless other media sources. NYC was intrigued by the show. It was a proud moment as an Elvis fan but also as a NYer. This time around when the tickets went on sale last minute buy one get one free, I panicked and was frustrated. I wanted Elvis to succeed in NYC once again. I was frustrated because the media paid no mind to the show. Elvis was dead in NYC (so I thought). The biggest problem this show has is the average joe does not understand the concept. They are expecting an impersonator. The show needs a lot of explanation. I suggested to EPE and Stig that they try to reach out to the local media possibly with live interviews with James Burton talking about the show and use clips from the actual show to show people what the show was about. I also think while it is great to use the Elvis site and Elvis Radio to promote the show, Sally in Idaho is not flying in for the show. This show needed to be sold to the locals. But I have to say that this show was damn near SOLD OUT. Radio City was jam packed! They came so close to selling out. Fact: Radio City has 5,931 seats for spectators, and additional seating can be placed on the pit elevator during events that do not require that space bringing the seating capacity to over 6,000.
Before the show, a group of us, 30 or so of NYC's finest Elvis fans gathered for a pre-show celebration. We had friends from all over the east coast, NY, NJ, PA and even Maryland. We had a blast gearing up for the show, talking Elvis with lots of excitement. Then we all walked over to Radio City together to experience the show.
Before the show, I had a lovely visit with James Burton and his wonderful wife Louise ( who looked like a Hollywood Starlet). Looking good Louise!
And then I ran into Gary Hovey, Scott Williams and Jack Soden who were all excited about the show and the great turn out. Jack was in great spirits and we had a nice chat.
Pretty soon it was show time, and maybe I'm alittle jaded but I have said this before and I'll say it again, there is nothing like seeing Elvis The Concert in NYC. New Yorkers ( and east coast people in general) are very passionate people. So to see so many different generations of locals cheering, standing, smiling and singing along through the show was a proud moment for me. I often looked around at the audience and I was so happy to be sharing this experience with my fellow people who do not share my devoted passion for Elvis. I experienced happiness watching them get enthused by the show. And I hope more than a few of them go home and buy an Elvis CD.
I had been told by one of the cast members on Saturday night that Ronnie Tutt might be at the show. So I will say many of the Elvis fans were thrilled when the curtain went up, and there was Ronnie on drums!
The sound was amazing but that goes without saying in such a spectular venue. But the center screen was horrible. Mohegan Sun was much clearer. This screen looked like an old tv tube with rabbit ears. Wouldn't it be incredible if they showed Elvis in high definition? That would be cool!
Many times during the show, the crowd cheered, sang along and got up off their feet. Even a few standing ovations. The crowd also seemed to take a shining to James Burton, often times when he would be playing the crowd would cheer James. And you could see it touched James.
How Great Thou Art was a crowd favorite as was Polk Salad, The Wonder Of You and most of all American Trilogy (and that is no doubt because NYers Never Forget 9-11).
During intermission, the merchandise stand was packed and many items totally sold out. People were in the lobby talking about the show with such excitement. It was an amazing energy here tonight. I wished it could have lasted many more hours. It was what we Elvis fans live for.
When the show came back on, The Sweets took center stage and Estelle dedicated Sweet Inspiration to Sylvia and Myrna who we lost in 2010. Estelle then introduced Cissy Houston (original Sweets member and mother of Whitney Houston) who was in the audience. It was great that Cissy was there. Too bad she didn't  jump up on stage with the girls.
By the end of the show, the entire audience was on their toes. It was an incredible night. After the show, there was an after party at Radio City. I also ran into my good friend and THE most important Elvis photographer Alfred Wertheimer. We had a fun conversation. He's a great guy! And I'll bring you more on Al later. Now after a ten minute car ride home, and two hours to find a parking spot....I need some rest. I'll add more photos and details I left out tomorrow. I wish you all were there with us to share this experience. There's nothing in the world like having special friends to share Elvis with....and so many of you are special friends to me!
Elvis Presley Rocked The Big Apple Tonight...and I hope Elvis rocks the USA with more tour dates soon!
Viva Elvis!
Megan