The Spirit of the King

Nearly 43 years ago - on May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla married in a private ceremony at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. Your Host likely will commemorate the event next month, but to get a taste of what's to come, I've posted a review of an Elvis tribute show I had the honor of experiencing a couple years back by Chicago's own Mark Hussman. Enjoy...

Telling someone you’re going to see an Elvis show is tricky. Thousands of hacks have tried to capture the essence of the man who – more than anyone – embodied popular American music for the second half of the 20th century. The best they could come up with has been a bloated, mumbling caricature of the King, an embarrassment to Presley’s legacy as a performer.

Look around. Every town has its “Elvis impersonator,” some middle-aged white guy with sideburns the size of sirloins and a one-dimensional persona: bad. And they all seem to be channeling the same Elvis era – the early-‘70s kitsch when, honestly, the fame had caught up with him, and he wasn’t in the best shape of his life both professionally and personally.

And that’s exactly why tribute artists such as “Elvis Spectacular” creator Mark Hussman deserve a look.

Chicago’s favorite Elvis doesn’t actually “do” Elvis. That’s left up to the amateur impersonators.

Hussman doesn’t even sound entirely like The King, but he’s got a heck of a capable voice and a range that allows him to segue smoothly from the tuneful “Blue Spanish Eyes” to yearning “The Impossible Dream.” He doesn’t even entirely resemble Elvis, except for the full – and natural – hairdo. He is who he is: Mark Hussman. And the guy excites in the passion of performing.

That was evident with the sold-out crowd at the Beverly Arts Center Friday night who packed the theater to see what is likely to become a tradition of sorts the weekend after Presley’s Jan. 8 birthday. The crowd didn’t show up hoping to see The King alive again. No way. They showed up with a little fun in their hearts, a little love for the music and a whole lot of appreciation for a damn good show – and Hussman & Co. perform a darn good show.

Hussman was backed by the 10-piece ExSpence Account Showband, the Elvis tribute band selected by Elvis Presley Enterprises/Graceland to perform at the official 30th Anniversary Elvis show in Memphis. Clad in pink and black, the EAS sounded superb – not uncommon for musical acts at the Beverly Arts Center, one of the classiest performance venues in the area.

And the crowd: It’s quite a feat to sell out to an audience rowdy enough to stick around after a two-hour first set, even for those who have chosen to carry Presley’s legacy – and I’ve seen performers of all sorts: that nutty band of broads known simply as the Wayniacs who religiously follow Mr. Las Vegas across the country from one gig to the next, Neil Diamond’s rabid faithful and the feral females who toss their unmentionables Welsh stud Tom Jones.

But Elvis? I know, I know. He was the first performer ever to sell out Madison Square Garden, and he had more gold albums than the Beatles. Still, the guy’s been dead for 30 years, yet his tribute shows still pack the house. And his own fans – in this case ranging from toddlers to hip-shakin’ seniors (irony-obsessed twenty-somethings were thankfully absent) – go nuts for guys like Hussman, who’s found his own orbit in the Elvis universe. The Mount Prospect native was tops of the Chicago All-Elvis Championship in 1993 and has performed during Chicago Bulls games and at the House of Blues during his own wildly popular Elvis Spectacular at the House of Blues.

He treated the audience to a first (he had never before performed “Walk a Mile in My Shoes”) as well as a host of stuffed teddy bears (during, well, you guessed it) and leis (for his Hawaiian set that included “Blue Hawaii” and “Rock-a-Hula Baby.” Hussman rarely performed an entire song, ever-aware that he had hundreds of eyeballs watching and feet waiting to tap a new tune. He also didn’t hog the stage, thanking pretty much everyone involved with the show, plus friends and Presley contemporaries from Ann-Margret to Brigitte Bardot.

Hussman mines deep into the Presley songbook, from rock ‘n roll to country to hymns and ballads. His are arena-style interpretations that sounded quite at home at the 420-seat Beverly Arts Center. The gig was typical of a Hussman bonanza, which combines Presley’s famed ‘70s-style concert format with The King’s film performances – spectacles in themselves.

Owing allegiance to Elvis’ popularity as a rock performer, Hussman wasn’t shy in pushing the BAC’s sound system to its limits, once even demanding: “Crank this (microphone) until we hear feedback!” after an enthusiastically received rendition of “My Way.”

After nearly two hours without a break, Hussman and the band performed an inspired “An American Trilogy” followed by the “Star-Spangled Banner,” during which his Margrocks dancers – a Vegas-style troupe reminiscent of Elvis’ dancers during his movie musicals of the 1960s – distributed American flags to the more than 400 audience members against the backdrop of a stage bathed in red. The crowd rose to its feet and joined him, waving flags and singing solemnly, turning the BAC into Las Vegas Hilton, circa 1972.

But don’t be mistaken. This is the Elvis of the 21st century: With references to MySpace peppering his dialogue with the audience, the early-‘70s vibe ends where the naval piercings begin (seriously – one of Hussman’s backup dancers shimmied with a sparkling belly chain). And there’s no problem with not convincing oneself that you’re in Nixon-era Sin City, because Hussman is a tribute artist – not an impersonator – and he’s less concerned with creating a facsimile of The King’s snarl and karate chops than he is with bringing his passion to his audiences.
Still, Hussman’s own contribution to Presley’s music is entirely worth the price of admission.

During a fabulously soulful “In the Ghetto,” Hussman wisely kept the stage to himself during what was one of Elvis’ most socially conscious tunes. That led into an impromptu “duet” with the audience after he crooned just the first couple notes of “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” – at which point the crowd joined in and didn’t stop until the final verse.

Following Elvis favorites such as “Viva Las Vegas” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” the Hussman and the band broke into a gorgeous rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The number left no doubt about a band that really is in its prime and a vocalist who, after a marathon three-hour set, still had it.

- Jan. 26, 2008 “The Southwest Observer”