ELVIS TRIBUTES (Wynn’s Hotel, Mean Fiddler and Temple Bar Music Centre)

ELVIS LIVES, okay. On August 16th, the twenty-first anniversary of the King’s death, there were, in Dublin alone, at least half a dozen gigs marking the event. Multiply that by the number of events in similar cities all over the world and you’ll get some sense of just how pivotal Presley still is to pop culture.

Mind you, as much as I love the man, moving between three of these Dublin gigs was the most I could manage on the night! First up was the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Ireland celebration in Wynn’s Hotel which really was like a wedding reception where old friends gathered together, organised singing competitions, an Elvis ‘mastermind’ quiz and raffles, and danced joyfully to even crappy tunes like ‘Do The Clam’. But the real treat was the live performance by The Runaway Boys, who captured not only the spirit of early Elvis to perfection but also the sounds of other seminal rockabilly singers like Carl Perkins. Believe me, this band’s love of the music was tangible enough to shine like a beacon all the way back to Sun Studio in ’54. Great stuff.

Similarly, when John Coates and his band, in The Mean Fiddler, hit their stride on ‘That’s All Right, Mama’ and ‘Mystery Train’, it really was amazing to see the effect it had on an audience, most of whom weren’t even born when Elvis died! Congrats, most of all, to the half dozen twentysomethings who were standing right beside me and could sing word-perfect, not just Presley’s lead vocal line on ‘I Just Can’t Help Believin’ ’, but also the backing vocals as originally sung by The Sweet Inspirations!

The whole audience became a choir on other ballads like ‘In The Ghetto’ and, most movingly, ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’. As for Coates, all he needs to do is tighten up his knowledge of the lyrics and lighten up physically to match the dexterity of his band. They, too, play like they love the music.

Moving from The Mean Fiddler to The Temple Bar Music Centre in time to catch Whipping Boy deconstruct ‘Suspicious Minds’ and haul it into the 21st century, was almost culture shock! Someone said “Elvis must be turning in his grave”. Well, if so, it would be with delight, to hear one of his songs remain totally true to the roots of rock while, at the same time, become so futuristic. A stunning performance, in every sense – though, again, it’d be better if the band got the lyrics right.

The gig was to launch the innovative and occasionally irreverent Temple Bar Sound Training Centre CD Natural Born Elvis, which features, among others, An Emotional Fish, doing a pretty post-modern reading of one of Presley’s lesser songs, ‘Wear My Ring Around Your Neck’.

Much more effective was their live reading of ‘Blue Moon’, and an original track which sampled the wordless vocal from one of Elvis’s most haunting songs, ‘That’s Someone You’ll Never Forget’. Great to see that when bands tap into the man’s music they don’t just go for the obvious.

The best thing about the way Dublin celebrated August 16th was the fact that the music was brought to a new generation. Elvis has become cool for kids of 1998 in much the same way he defined youth culture in 1956.

As I say, Elvis lives, okay.

• Joe Jackson