On Saturday evening the Trifolion in Echternach was at almost full capacity for a musical celebration to commemorate Elvis Presley, on the 82nd anniversary of his birthday.
Steven Pitman, Luxembourg's world-famous Elvis impersonator, and his band The Celebrations, entertained the enthusiastic 550-plus strong audience for three hours of high-octane songs, with some slow songs and ballads thrown in for good measure.
With introductions throughout the show in both English and Luxembourgish, the music charted Elvis' career, including rock'n'roll, blues, gospel and more besides, with songs from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Many of the seats at the front of the theatre were taken by members of the Elvis Fan Club of Luxembourg, some of whom were selling merchandise before and after the show in the foyer.
With six musicians and three backing singers (the Celebration Singers) on stage, plus a 5-strong brass section for some of the songs, and with "Elvis" himself centre-stage, the perfomance area needed to be large, with the large 600-seated threatre at the Trifolion perfect for the show. The white backdrop was pivotal in enabling the lights show to illuminate the entire auditorium, with everyone in the tiered seating having a grandstand view of the concert, and the venue's superb acoustics enabling everyone to hear every syllable and note.
Guest, and fellow Elvis impersonator, and fellow European Champion Elvus Impersonator, Kevin Lohr from Frankfurt, was first on stage and warmed up the audience with an energetic rendition of Shake, Rattle and Roll, followed by Keep on Shining and Don't Be Cruel. In true Elvis fashion, off came his tie mid-performance for King Creole...
On the half-hour mark, Steven Pitman then took over and started slowly with an electric Peace in the Valley followed by an equally chilling version of Amazing Grace.
After a couple more songs from Kevin Lohr, Steven Pitman then delivered a medley of Elvis' songs to rapturous applause, before taking the audience on a musical journey from rock'n'roll to blues, leading to the classic Love Me Tender, with arguably the biggest cheer of the evening for his high-tempo Jailhouse Rock, before the 20-minute intermission.
Out on stage again, with another wardrobe change, this time a red sequinned white suit with wide flared - and sequinned- trousers, in legendary elvis style and panache.
He opened the second half of the show with a number of cover versions including It's Only Words by the Bee Gees, the ballad You Don't Have to Say You Love Me originally recorded by Dusty Springfield, and Simon and Garfunkel's A Bridge Over Troubled Waters. It what was fast becoming a cabaret, the audience were calling out for more and he delivered with two songs by The Beatles - Yesterday and Hey Jude - followed by sume "funky" gospel.
Toni Calzone, of The Celebration Singers, then got his chance to shine and, boy, did he deliver, with a mash-up of It's Now or Never with the operatic O Sole Mio.
Steven Pitman then performed The Righteous Brothers' That Lovin' Feeling and In The Ghetto, and ended with On Blueberry Hill, before the audienced clamoured for an encore when he delivered One Night With You and We're Caught in a Trap / Suspicious Minds. Elvis then left the building.
With this show, and despite one song in which he and the band were not synchronised, Steven Pitman way outdid his previous performances by a long shot.
Long Live the King!
