Seeing an Elvis Show: Vince King
I didn't expect to be seeing a follow-up Elvis tribute show so soon, but the timing worked. As well as a weeknight far far away could, anyway.
I brought my brother along and it was a long drive over, but we ended up arriving about 45 minutes before the show. I opened the door expecting the venue to be maybe a quarter full, half full at the most, but it was PACKED, oh my god. I remember looking around walking up to the host and wondering where I'd even sit because all the spots looked taken!!
Well they weren't, obviously. Seats were assigned, so there were some by the front of the back seats.
The crowd was the age range I expected: nearly all older people, but unlike the last time with a similar crowd, I didn't feel alienated. In fact, I was chatting up the pair at our table. It was an older gentleman and a woman who was his neighbor. I introduced my brother, and we exchanged surface-level pleasantries. The cool thing of note was that the guy had seen Elvis live during his infamous Ed Sullivan show appearance.
The conversations came so easily, which isn't like me at all. Then it dawned on me: all these tribute shows, I think I'm beginning to speak their language. I don't know how that makes me feel… I just had this strange feeling it was past my bedtime even though it was only 7:30 PM!
Before the Show
I went to this place before so I knew where the green room was and observed the door leading up to showtime at 8:00. Not much activity going on save for a group of women walking up to it and seeing themselves in, offering me a look inside. For a couple seconds I could see them talking and laughing with someone (presumably Vince) who was out of view, then the door swung shut over them with an ominous air of finality. I did not see them come back out.
Could there have been another door they went through? Did they leave while I was taking a pre-show bathroom break? No. There can only be one logical explanation: he ate them.
Then the time turned to 8:00, and I exchanged glances with our tablemates. It was time!! I saw something in the corner of my vision, and it was coming from the green room again. A man who I'd later realize was the show's MC was halfway through the door talking to Vince inside, probably to check that things were a go.
When they were, the MC opened things up, warming us up with some jokes (I wonder if he was an aspiring comedian), and cleared the way for Vince to take the mic.
The Show
At last, out of the green room came Vince striding confidently up to the stage, but something was different, and it took me a second to process what I was seeing. I was expecting the typical white bedazzled Elvis fare. What we got instead was this stripped down, jet-black outfit I'd never seen before.
It evoked the image of a gi, made sleek and dangerous. Running down his plunging neckline was a shiny trim with colored stripes reminiscent of a coral snake. A black and red martial arts belt was slung asymmetrically along his hip. While very minimalist and stripped down, it does a LOT with very little. I think it was very intentional that the knot of the belt rested above his left leg, presumably to accentuate any leg bouncing or what-have-you.
Zooming back out to its wearer, Vince picked up the guitar sitting stage right and began with a cover of Blue Suede Shoes. The backing track already contained guitar, so he had to pretend to play. It made me wonder if it would've been different with a live band?
He'd stab at the air with the guitar at the end of his segments, then put it away fairly soon. I think what tickled me was that he was air guitaring immediately after. The other Elvis tribute artist I'd seen also did this, so I think I can reasonably assume that this was indeed something Elvis did.
And let's talk about that for a moment, because for some reason I was surprised seeing the same stuff between two people? It's absurd in hindsight because when the goal is to faithfully imitate the same guy, it's gonna look similar! It means they're doing their job well, but ironically it poses a bit of a writing challenge. I'll just have to do my best.
Vince came across to me as very gestural: lots of sweeping hand motions, lots of making use of the space. In fact, I had a lot of fun coming up with dumb nicknames for the moves he did, a favorite of mine I call "rattling the shopping cart." It looks EXACTLY like the experience of trying to move a cart when its wheel locks up.
He'd mostly end each number by holding a hand out or doing these Tai-chi like motions as if he were bending the music itself, all very fun.
The biggest thing that I noticed (and can't get around) was that the last Elvis show I saw was aimed at families, which meant certain things were held back. Well this time there were no children, so gyrating was present.
The funny thing was that the bar seating put a row of older gentlemen right between me and the stage, blocking my view of Vince from the waist down with their heads. So basically, I was being Ed Sullivaned live and in person.
I would've been fine with that, but the FOMO got to me. I'd be leaning to the side for most of it to see everything, but Vince would either move to another part of the stage or I'd relax for a moment, and THAT's when the crowd would ooh and aah at something he did. I wouldn't get it at first because his upper body was still, until I realized what it meant-
I'd throw my head to the side again to see, but it was too late. Every time, I'd be slightly disappointed in myself because why did I just do that?
While I couldn't see everything all the time, I could hear just fine, and Vince finally started explaining to us what the whole deal was with the black outfit. It was to play to what Elvis was wearing in 1969 when he played in the International Hotel, predating the jumpsuits.
Through this bout of unexpectedly educational dialogue, Vince answered something I was DYING to know but could never ask him (or anyone) cold: how do those pants not explode into shrapnel doing all the kicks and squats he was doing?
The answer goes back to Elvis himself, whose pants did indeed give out. A lot apparently. Pants simply could not contain him, but jumpsuits could. The way they are structured somehow prevents these wardrobe malfunctions from happening. Since his outfits were "just a onesie" without a belt anyway, that's what led to the jumpsuit in the end, according to Vince.
…I'm noticing a developing pattern of describing these costumes in perhaps too much detail, but it's not without reason: the fact that Vince talked at-length about the origins and construction reinforces my belief that these costumes are very coveted in that space. They also cost more than my rent, so I feel justified taking the time.
I can only imagine the PowerPoint presentation these folks would've needed to explain the exact specifications to their tailor.
Vince promised a rotating assortment of other outfits to match various famous Elvis tours in the coming months, none of which I'd get to see, so no Elvis fashion show for me. My disappointment is immeasurable.
There was a Gospel Elvis show he had coming up next, so he gave us a bit of a sampler singing Oh Happy Day, a classic. You need to understand that growing up, all I knew was that Elvis scandalized America, so Gospel? What would that look like?
Well Vince sang it, and actually it wasn't as crazy as I thought. No gyrating for Jesus or anything like that, but this is still ELVIS, the man pastors warned people about. It's going to take some getting used to.
Well into the setlist at this point, I noticed that I'm vaguely starting to recognize many of the songs. Not enough to sing them obviously, but a song will come up and I'll be like 'Oh it's that bouncy song,' 'That's the horny song,' 'The song with that vaguely threatening opening.' 1
Speaking of songs, I didn't mention his singing, and that's because… I have no clue how to talk about singing. However there was one thing that stuck out to me, and it was a small moment, but it absolutely floored me. At the end of one of his asides (I forgot which one), he went from his normal speaking voice to just belting out his next song at full blast in the same breath.
…I think I figured out why he also covers Tom Jones, guys. It all makes sense.
One such aside was Vince mentioning how he got off an Elvis cruise and that sign-ups were opening for the next year- Wait, ELVIS CRUISE??
And there was no elaboration! Just some general commentary about how you're a psychopath if you go to the gym on a cruise. I mean that's just facts, but not the ones that would tell me what an Elvis cruise actually entails.
So many questions…
As Elvis, Vince covered several artists which I found rather interesting: The Beatles with Yesterday, The Bee Gees with Words. I thought they were out of pocket, but guess what? Elvis sang those in '69.
At this point, what didn't Elvis cover?
Viva La Vida by Coldplay.
I'm sure the rest of the tracklist is true to that time period as well, which I appreciate even though I would never have known.
Vince later asked the audience (I'm not using "we" here) if anyone had seen the actual Elvis in concert, and there were no takers.
"I'm just asking because you never know. I've met people who've seen him in Vegas and how their friend kissed him on the mouth-"
"Was he alive?" A voice would break through the surge of chatter.
As opposed to what? Being dead?
Vince blinked for a moment and responded in bemusement, "Yes, he was still alive."
We all erupted into laughter at that one.
"Can't be kissing fans after 2020," He continued with a chuckle. "Times sure have changed…"
And this line of conversation somehow turned into a tangent on inflation, which I found to be rather funny in a surreal way. Put it in perspective for a minute: Elvis addressing the broken state of our economy.
Honestly I'd pay for more of that, just a set full of stuff like "You used to be able to buy a pack of gum with a penny. Now we don't even have pennies!"
A couple songs later and I'd get the next best thing: passionate deep dives.
So apparently I missed the fact that this new Elvis movie came out called EPiC, using well-preserved lost footage that was recently "found in a cave somewhere." (I thought he was joking. He wasn't joking.)
It was cleaned up, re-edited, and produced by Baz Luhrmann of Elvis biopic fame, creating what I can only call the Elvis answer to The Beatles: Get Back.
Vince talked about him and his buddies watching it and being able to finally see Elvis in 4K, down to the detailing of his rings. Before the film, there was this one ring Vince could never find due to subpar photo/video quality. Well, with this new HD footage, him and his squad were able to put their heads together to figure out what ring it was to make it possible to craft an authentic reproduction.
And that fascinates me so much because, to an extent, ring-level visual mimicry obviously isn't for the audience, it's for themselves. But why?
I wonder if it makes them feel more connected to Elvis when they perform, or it's a form of social currency. Whatever the reason, there's something unexpectedly sweet about a group of people working together to reverse-engineer a ring like it was some great unsolved mystery. There was no other reason than that they just had to know.
It gives me the same energy as the "lost media" searches of my generation (Gen Z). It's not earth-shattering to find a TV special that aired once in 1990 under the light of a blue moon, but now we have it, and that's pretty neat.
We were well into the latter half of the show, and it felt like by then, Vince had loosened up. He was more playful and less afraid to show off a little, whether it was his moves or his wit. He'd knee-bend nearly all the way to the floor with a grin on his face and do a bit of karate during musical interludes.
As for his wit…
"You'll have to start again 'cause I missed it!" some drunk guy called out after Suspicious Minds.
Vince cracked a grin, not missing a beat as he took his mic from the stand, "Well that's just too bad. Here there's no rewind, no redos, no replays! You'd just have to come to my next show."
I couldn't help but smile at that. He has no idea someone in the back was planning on writing an account of all this. (Though why would he?)
This exchange really sent it home to me this particular quality Vince has. I don't know how to describe it, but you know how you can't think of a good comeback in the moment and you find the perfect line the next day? It's like he always knows what to say from the get-go.
My first instinct was that it had to be rehearsed, because how else could you effortlessly spin it so well? But you can't plan for a random heckler, so Vince must just be like that.
There was a tap on my shoulder and I turned to the side, it was my brother.
"I'm going to the restroom," he mouthed to me and slid off his chair to go. Put a pin in that.
Throughout the show, Vince mainly stuck to the stage. Sometimes he'd step down to shake some hands or give hugs to the front row, but otherwise he'd just be up there singing and chugging his water.
…Until he stepped down during a cover of What'd I Say by Ray Charles and began moving through the crowd.
My brother stepped out before the ONE defining Elvis thing.
It wasn't anything crazy, just hugs and handshakes, maybe some brief words with the people he knew. When he approached my table, he did the same with the pair I spoke with earlier and quickly moved on.
Getting back onstage with time to spare, Vince lamented how a live band is much better for that kind of thing because he doesn't have to rush through it.
He then took a moment to thank the venue, the staff, and his fans for a final time (he'd been doing it throughout the night). He did some self-promo shouting out his socials, then casually dropped at the end that he ran an Elvis music festival with 4 other "Elvi" in it.
Wait.
AN ELVIS MUSIC FESTIVAL-???
My brother came back and I could tell he was antsy to leave, which was unfortunate because there is an encore!!
Can't Help Falling in Love with You, of course. My personal experience with this song is that every German person I knew would bust this out on karaoke nights. Try it for yourself sometime.
The ending was almost like a movie, Vince dramatically bending his knee while everyone stood up to applaud, cameras flashing around him. He totally played into it, turning around or reaching out into the air.
With a final wave, he said his parting words, "Thank you very much and God bless you!"
And just like that, he was gone, back in the green room.
Afterwards
See, I originally planned to stick around so I could go up to him and say something deep and meaningful… Which likely would've collapsed into something generic like "Wow great show" because of nerves, but I still wanted to do it.
Vince said earlier he'd be out for pictures, but unfortunately, my brother needed to get going, so there was no time for his re-emergence.
Brother went to close our tab, and in the meantime, I wanted to see Vince's merch table which sat in the corner. I rushed over, taking a respectful look from a "just browsing" distance behind the people actually looking to buy something.
Before this, I never knew how many ways there were to market yourself. This table had the answer: there was him on cups, him on earrings, bracelets with his name on them, sparkly T-shirts, a display of collectible cards with him in various outfits.
It was the wildest assortment I had ever seen, and this is coming from someone who went to anime conventions for ten years (if you know you know).
I wanted to see more, but my brother was heading my direction, so I took one last moment to drink it all in before we both walked over to the parking lot.
Past the double doors, I was finally able to speak my mind. "Dude, you missed him coming down and hugging everyone…!"
"…Sounds like I left at the right time," he snorted. Clearly he wasn't getting it.
Usually I take the drive home as a chance to think about what I saw, but with him we preoccupied ourselves talking about other things on the way back… Over an Elvis Greatest Hits Spotify Playlist.
Luckily in writing all this, I got that chance to reflect.
If I had any last words to say about Vince, it's that he has a way of leaving doors ajar, and like in that green room, he lets you see just enough to keep you guessing. That’s the distinguished mark of an industry veteran right there.
Oh and also, I'm starting to regret not getting one of those cards…
Blue Moon of Kentucky, Heartbreak Hotel, and Suspicious Minds if you’re curious.↩