When do you really get some quality time with your colleagues outside of work? I might be one of the rare people that can happily say “pretty much every week”, whether it’s a post New Year cheers with a colleague’s extended family on a Friday night or my spouse and I enjoying dinner with my close colleague, her husband and their children last Saturday. It has been like this since I joined Phoenix Truck & Crane, not even two years ago and last night was no different! The ‘Elvis Elvis Elvis‘ show at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver was another Phoenix family affair!
Three weeks ago when I was invited to attend the show, I was thrilled to see that my schedule was clear as I knew it would be another great team building experience while enjoying a performance that I would never have chosen to go to. Elvis Presley wasn’t as big when I was growing up in France and although I am pretty sure everyone appreciated his talent, sexiness and creativity, he didn’t really make it to the day-to-day French music radio playlists.
I was curious about this representation, so I called my friend at the Casino to inquire about the show. What is it like? Where is the show coming from? How is the artist? Is it one or several artists? The title of the show being Elvis Elvis Elvis, one could wonder, no?!?
Without hesitation, she got me hooked, “The show is absolutely amazing, you won’t regret it, Sabrina and let me tell you that Shawn Klush is not your average Elvis Tribute Artist”, she said.
And she was right. The show had two different artists, Cody Ray Slaughter who interpreted the young and mid-career Elvis and Shawn Klush portraying Elvis in his Vegas years. From the hair, the dance moves, the swiveling hips, the snarling lips all the way to the voice, these two got it right and paid a beautiful tribute to the star.
I had never been to an impersonator performance and after seeing the fans’ reaction to the imitators, the way they played with the artists, the heat in the room etc. I’d like to think and hope that my idols will be emulated when they are no longer able to get up on stage.
It always amazes me the power of new experiences and how they either allow us to think differently or to think of something that never occurred to you before. I guess now I have to agree with Charles Caleb Colton saying of “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” and will try to keep this in mind next time someone tries to put on a French accent on when talking to me 😉
