Concerts

[Molly]

Yeah! With the help of a burly Harley looking guy at the show tonight, my niece and I got ushered down by the front of the stage for the Jimmy Wayne concert.

He did a shortened set since he was the opening act, and he seemed uncomfortable in a walking cast due to a freshly broken ankle -but it was a terrific show nonetheless. He has such an amazing voice!

I got to meet him for a minute after the show and told him that I had volunteered to work with his organization. He's so passionate about it his eyes lit up when I said it He took my hands and held them for a minute, asked me my name and repeated it back to me a few times like he was committing it to memory. Very sweet. Wish I could have had a chance to talk to him but the line was sooo long behind me.

During the show, he took my camera from me and took a picture of himself with it! He either have hit the off button coz it's not on the disc!! By the end of the show my battery light was coming on-so that may have been the problem. Anyway, it would have been a cute pix-but it's nowhere to be found.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

What a cool experience, Molly. That's great that you got a chance to chat with him after the show. And I love that he took his picture with your camera. How disappointing that it didn't turn out though. Oh well, I guess you'll just have to commit your visual experience to memory.

[sodascouts]

Sounds like a lot of fun! How cool that he was so demonstrably appreciative of your support of his cause.

Now, where I can I find this Harley guy? I want to bring him to all concerts which I attend. lol

[sodascouts]

Tomorrow, I plan on seeing Billy Burnette (formerly of Fleetwood Mac) and Billy Swan (formerly of Meisner, Swan, and Rich) perform together at the University of Memphis. Should be interesting!

[TimothyBFan]

Oooh- I love that song Billy Swan had in the 70's called I Can Help!! Have a great time Soda!

[sodascouts]

Well, it was an interesting show. Turns out it was a tribute to Elvis and a benefit for a woman named Myrna Smith who has suffered a stroke. The were only about 200 people in the audience, and the vast majority of them were in their 70s. Walkers and canes abounded.

There were all sorts of Elvis' old compadres playing in the band on stage. I felt like a real poser because I didn't know who any of the musicians were, yet it was obvious from the Elvis fans' reactions that these guys were really epic so I pretended I recognized them, too. The names that I remember: Reggie Young, "Cowboy" Jack Clement, and The Holliday sisters. A man named D.J. Fontana was also there, but he didn't play - just told some funny stories about "the old days" when he was a drummer for the likes of Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as Elvis of course. He was a hoot. Another man named James Burton came onstage briefly and said a few words, but didn't play either. There were several other "Friends of Elvis" from Sun Studios in the audience as well. There were lots of hugs onstage as apparently some of these people hadn't seen each other, much less played together on stage, for 20 years or so.

The two folks I was there to see were the least Elvis-y of the group! Billy Swan was first up and performed a few songs which I didn't recognize, except for "I Can Help" which he said Elvis had covered at one point. He was outta there like flash after the show, so I didn't get a chance to get him to sign my Meisner, Swan, and Rich CD. I hate to say it, but he's looking really old. If I were to guess his age, I'd say mid-70s at least, but it turns out he's my parent's age: 68.

Next out was "Cowboy" Jack Clement. The 79-year-old gave a "grumpy but loveable grandpa" vibe as he was onstage, but his voice sounds terrific - just like a combination of Johnny Cash and George Jones (two people he wrote for). I didn't know any of the songs he performed either, but they were catchy. A lot of them were about girls breaking up with him like "Gone Girl" and "Just a Girl I Used to Know." One really cracked me up - it was called "Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart," a song he'd written which Johnny Cash recorded on his At Folsom Prison album. Clement proudly declared that every time there was a "Worst Country Songs Ever" list compiled, "Flushed" was always on it!

Billy Burnette's parents, musicians Dorsey and Alberta, knew Elvis and that was his connection. Billy was the "youngster" at 57. He performed some Elvis covers as well as a song his daddy sold to Rick Nelson - "It's Late," I song I actually knew. He said his father bought a "Map to the Stars' Homes", found Rick Nelson's house on it, and literally waited on Nelson's doorstep until Nelson drove up! When Nelson got out of his car, he approached him and asked him to listen to the song. He did, and the rest is history (ah, more innocent times - nowadays that kind of thing would get you arrested).

Burnette also did "Don't Stop" to my delight, although he was apologetic about it! "Well, a while ago I was in the rock band Fleetwood Mac and someone asked me to do this song tonight, so I'm doing it even though I'm not sure it belongs here..." I just inwardly thanked the person who asked him to do it! Most of the elderly audience members seemed confused about the Fleetwood Mac reference, but "Don't Stop" is so irresistible that I don't think anyone minded.

It was cool in the sense that there was so much history on stage, but there were some weird elements, too. For instance, the emcee was this Dutch guy who didn't know what the heck he was doing. He forgot to introduce Reggie Young, rambled on and on about stuff nobody cared about but him while the musicians stood around and waited to play (example: "Let me tell you about the time I met Priscilla Presley..."), and repeated himself to a ridiculous extent. After we would clap, he would say "Come on, let's give so-and-so a hand!" He did this again and again, after every song. It was ridiculous and the musicians looked embarrassed.

There was also an Austrian singer who sounded like Elvis but looked like Simon LeBon of Duran Duran. He performed several famous Elvis songs, and though he was a bit silly sometimes, at least he engaged the audience by trying to get us to clap, sing along, etc. (You can't expect the old-timers to do that.) I knew two of the Elvis songs he did - "Suspicious Minds" and "Johnny B. Goode." The other songs he did that I've never heard before were "Don't Cry Daddy" and "The Wonder of You."

The old lady in front of me didn't like the Austrian guy and heckled him. She must have been at least mid-70s, but she wasn't exactly the "sweet grandma" type! In the small room where everything echoed, she'd call out stuff like "No more jokes!" when he was trying to be funny in between songs and "Those aren't the words!" when he made a lyric flub. I was cringing. She laid off as the night progressed, thankfully.

For the big finish, everybody came back out and did "That's All Right, Mama" - although the Dutch MC tried to guilt them into doing some other song called "Sweet Inspiration" (?) for Myrna (poor thing, I hope she gets well - from what they were saying, she's in bad shape). The Dutch guy was being so annoying. I mean, I don't mind that he asked them to do the song, but when Reggie Young answered "We're gonna do 'That's All Right Mama' for the finale" the Dutch guy turned to the audience and yelled "Clap so they'll play 'Sweet Inspiration'!" They just ignored him and went into "That's All Right Mama" lol.

Afterwards, I hovered near the stage and waited for Billy Burnette to finish talking to his Memphis relatives - he's from here - while the other folks went over to talk to the likes of Reggie Young and "Cowboy" Clement (as I said before, Swan made himself scarce). Once the relatives dispersed, I stepped up and asked him to sign my Behind the Mask CD, the first Fleetwood Mac album on which he appears. Even as I asked him, I pulled the CD booklet and a pen out of my purse - I was prepared! He looked really surprised, then smiled at me and said "Sure!" He asked me my name, shook my hand, and wrote "Dear Nancy, Keep on Rockin' - Billy Burnette." Nice!

The concert was not what I expected - that's for sure! - but I'm still glad I went. I also now have a new prize for my memorabilia collection!

Side note: I actually got in free! I got a little lost, so I arrived at 8:10 instead of 8:00 when the show started. I went to the ticket window but no one was there. I knocked on the door and security let me in to the foyer. "Where can I buy a ticket?" I asked. "Oh, the guy who works the ticket booth will be back soon, I'm sure - don't know where he is right now..." everyone - security, the people at the concession stands - started looking around to see if they can find him. Nobody can. After about five minutes, we could hear that the show was starting - still, no ticket guy. After several more minutes of waiting, one of the security guys finally says, "Just come in with me - you can be my special guest tonight" and escorted me into the theater, all the way to an empty seat in the fifth row, before going back to his post. Very cool!

[TimothyBFan]

I swear Nancy, even when you are not actually TRYING to get a good seat, you mange too! Sounds like a different kind of night for sure but that's pretty cool. Glad you enjoyed yourself and got that new autograph to add to your collection.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Well - sounds like an 'interesting' evening Nanc. Glad you were able to get Billy's autograph. No matter what, this will always have the distinction of being your first official concert as a resident of Memphis.

[Brooke]

Nancy, I'll bet you were the rockinest (is that a word?!) person in that group!

Glad you had a good time and got that autograph!

[Freypower]

I saw a bit of an Elvis impersonators competition on TV which was also on in Memphis.

I have never understood why so many of these people do the 'jumpsuit' years (including Glenn....) maybe because there was nobody like young, hot, raw, Elvis. I don't regard myself as a real fan but I get so bored with the finger pointing and the 'thangyouveramuch' stuff. There was more to him than that. He ended up a parody of himself. Why does he have to be remembered that way?