At the North tour concert in Denmark in november a guy from the audience yelled, when there was total silence: "I want you!!" EC replied "the question is, do I want you?"
He seemed quite allright with the guy breaking the silence. So I was wondering, how does EC usually react in these situations?
For the record, EC did seem to be in a very good mood that night. Almost three hours smiling
regards
"when I said I was lying, I might have been lying"
I think Elvis has a great way of dealing with situations like that. In Nashville last month someone yelled out "Aaallllissssonnn!!" He replied, talking about Alison Krauss, "She couldn't be here tonight" and something about getting those $2 million shoes ready for the Oscars. I thought it was a clever tie in to the name of the song. The audience loved it.
Of course that was the only time I've seen him in concert, but I know other people have stories as well.
At the Albert Hall during the Lonely World tour someone up in the gods kept shouting out for Tramp the Dirt Down. Elvis replied he wasn't going to play it and the guy shouted 'That's so fucking hypocritical - you wrote that song'. It was getting a bit heated, the place went quiet, very tense. Elvis then delivered a verbal tirade against the government and looked up to the gods saying 'but I'm still not gonna fucking play it!', which turned the situation around around and the bloke finally quietened down.
Another time at Robert wyatt's Meltdown festival, just before he started Shipbuilding someone shouted out 'Can you do it better than Robert Wyatt, Elvis?' (Wyatt was in the audience). A nervous looking Elvis sarcastically replied 'Thanks a lot mate!'
I told on one of the old boards of the time in Dublin in 1991 when EC was playing with the Rude 5 and Cait was trying to throw a chair at a guy in the front of the audience and EC was trying to play and stop her. He is still banned from the venue apparently.
Here's the alltime classic! Toronto's Massey Hall in 1999, Elvis was telling of coming through Canada Customs from Detroit earlier in the day. The customs official said to him 'bitchin' job in Austin Powers!' The crowd all laughed and then someone yelled out 'Beyond Belief'! After a pause of about two seconds Elvis snapped back sarcastically, 'it certainly was sir.' It was absolutely hilarious! It worked though: after then performing 'Almost Blue', Elvis conferred with Steve for a couple seconds and they did 'Beyond Belief'! The moral: sometimes Elvis does do requests.
It worked though: after then performing 'Almost Blue', Elvis conferred with Steve for a couple seconds and they did 'Beyond Belief'! The moral: sometimes Elvis does do requests.