Indianapolis'74

[Robert]

Indianapolis’74 AS



Indianapolis.. any true EP fan thinks about the final 1977 show at the Market square arena..

Truth is Elvis also played Indy in 1972 & 1974..
The 1972 show was a triumph, the whole tour was good and thank god MGM was present to capture some great moments on film. Few seconds of Indianapolis’72 can be seen in the movie. It’s the footage of Elvis entering the stage in his blue ‘’Hampton’’ suit, it’s a split screen scene, featuring Vernon.
Indianapolis can be recognized by the colour spotlights at the edge of the stage..

Elvis ’74 shows were held at the Expo convention center, 14000 fans in attendance for each show. After some strange Las Vegas shows in August, this October tour produced some of the best and worst shows of the year.
I remember the first time I heard the 2nd College Park show.
I was shocked, period. The College Park show a day earlier was even worse.
Elvis reportedly fell out of his limo before the show, and even bandmembers noticed Elvis being all f*cked up.
He should have cancelled, some reports claimed he had the flu…

Pictures of Elvis with policemen in the hotel in College Park are the ultimate proof there’s something wrong.. The worst thing about these shows is the absence of his greatest talent: his unique voice.
I give credit to the College Park audience, the show is well received.
Too bad Elvis failed to make up in this area…Baltimore’77 was another dissapointment.

After the Indianapolis matinee Elvis mentioned backstage: “This was the worst show in my entire career”.
(He probably didn’t remember being in College Park anymore!) The evening performance was just fine!

I found myself listening to this 1974 afternoon gig and the bad audio tape reveals the following….

Duke Bardwells bass is pretty much upfront..
But unfortunately, Elvis sounds more in the back.
Part of the problem could be the sound in the building.. but the main problem is Elvis.
Just as one of the newspaper reviewers mentioned, a lot of times he is just drown out by all the backing vocals.
In fact I got slightly irritated during several songs.. (including it’s midnight & if you love me)
Elvis just sings along and that’s it.
Unfortunately we’re unable to understand the dialogues in between songs, because of the poor sound quality of this tape.

The setlist is fine, although too many oldies but goodies are sung.
We know most 50’s songs were poorly treated in the 70’s: same here.
1 minute throw-away versions of Blue suede, Hound dog, Love me tender.
Heartbreak Hotel is a nice, bluesy version though.. and it’s also nice to hear part of the audience clapping along during Don’t be cruel…

The Hawaiian wedding song is a highlight, as is Polk salad annie (as always) just before closing.

There are 2 newspaper reviews of this show, one negative and one positive.. The truth lies in between.
This is by far no worse than College park. Just compare this show with the Dayton matinee.. and Dayton is the better one!
I would call it an “uninspired” show with little highlights, and if the soundboard will ever be released, we have the ultimate proof.

Cheers, RJ

2001 Theme
See See Rider
I Got A Woman
Love Me
Blue Suede Shoes
Its Midnight
Big Boss Man
Fever
If You Love Me
Hound Dog
Introductions and Solos
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
All Shook Up
Teddy Bear/Dont Be Cruel
Heartbreak Hotel
Killing Me Softly ( featuring Voice )
Johnny B Goode
Why Me Lord ?
Let Me Be There
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Love Me Tender
Polk Salad Annie
Cant Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp

[Rob]

While your input on the Indy '74 shows is appreciated, I can tell you that many tend to see things differently while watching Elvis perform on stage right in front of you. I know four people who saw both of the shows in 1974 and they thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Listening to the shows 32 years later, we can hear things that we missed before because we were so fascinated with his very presence at the time.

Good show or not, the man certainly had charisma.

[Joe Car]

That's why I'm not crazy about poor recordings, they don't capture a true feeling of being there.

[dl]

It's true, that seeing Elvis live must be different. I guess I would be amazed about his greatness, his voice and his stage presence even in College Park. But none of us could really judge what's happening, because we wouldn't look at Elvis in a objective way. The most things can only be seen clearly when some time has passed and you see those things more from an outside way (you can't really see the storm when you are in the absolute eye of it, so to speak). I'd say I would have been thrilled in College Park in 1974 or even in Omaha in 1977. But without the exitement of seeing your big hero live and in colour right in front of you, you are able to judge what was really going on.

[elvispresleyfan1935]

Good show or not, the man certainly had charisma.

I agree Rob, there is no question about that. I recently bought a copy of the Indianapolis '74 afternoon show and listened to it all the way through. People say its a horrible concert but to me it is hard to tell because the sound is so bad.

But from what I can hear it doesen't sound like Elvis is putting much effort into the songs at all, you can definitley tell that when he sings "Its Midnight".

[Rob]

But....no matter what he does, you can clearly hear (even with bad sound) that the crowd loves it.

However, that isn't necessarily a good thing.

[elvispresleyfan1935]

But....no matter what he does, you can clearly hear (even with bad sound) that the crowd loves it.

However, that isn't necessarily a good thing.

I agree Rob it wasn't a good thing. Maybe had the fans showed they didn't like it Elvis would have cleaned up who knows

[YDKM]

would love to hear the E/S this day on soundboard!~

[karlos]

tyvm Robert for the review . Its a good read to see the difference between the shows . I know the piece of footage that you referred to on EOT . wish they release more footage from this show for all to enjoy .
theres a cdr out entitled "On The Prowl At Indianapolis " that has the October 5th '74 show . On the cover Elvis wears the Tiger suit .
best wishes sent

[rlj4ep]

Thanks Robert for your post and comments.

rlj