El Vez, the Lovely Elvettes and Los Straitjackets

Last night, my brother and I saw a show that has finally put me in the Christmas spirit. El Vez decided to go back on the road this year with his "Viva Christmas!" tour. If you do not know who El Vez. is, well, you should. For he is the "Mexican Elvis". He brought the lovely Elvettes with him, Lisa Maria and Priscilita. And for this go-round, he jettisoned his backup band, the Memphis Mariachis, in favor of long-time favorite, Los Straitjackets (with their lucha libre masks). And since both outfits had plenty of Christmas material to choose from, it was, indeed, the most wonderful time of the year.

The Venue: The venerable Beachland Ballroom. Obviously, one of the best concert settings in town. They had some tables and chairs set up for this one, along the left side of the ballroom. We grabbed one for the opening act, but you had to get up for the main attraction.

Stage Banter:: El Vez is pretty damn funny. Easily more laughs than any Dane Cook concert. He is from East LA, "...where we have gangs, we have crime, and really high prices for Chevy parts." He is also running for President in 2012 under the "El Vez for Prez" banner, under which he ran in 2008. This time, he is tying in the fact the Mayan calendar says the world will end in 2012. He said, "El Vez for Prez in 2012. What have you got to lose?"

The Tickets: Got the tickets ahead of time for this General Admission show. As we were walking in, there was a little kid going to his first show. Now that is quite the introduction to the concert scene.

The Crowd: Outside of a couple kids that El Vez had to be careful with, because he was putting the "X" back into "Merry Me-X-Mas", it was definitely an adult crowd. When he asked if we were having a good time, I yelled, "Jes!".

The Sound: The sound was really good. Very clear when Los Straitjackets were playing holiday favorites or their own standards. And they had plenty of time to do this, because just like Elvis, El Vez and the Elvettes have many costume changes.

The opening act was a decent band that did a mix of country, cowpunk, and in general, performed quite nicely. Sadly, I have already forgotten their name. I think it was the House of something or other. They played for about 30 minutes.

The Stage: Obviously, El Vez was front and center, flanked by the lovely Elvettes. From left to right, Los Straitjackets (or the "Four Horsemen of Acapulco" per El Vez) were bass, lead guitar, drums, rhythm guitar.

The Music: El Vez was doing mashups before the word was even invented. So, on many of the tunes, he throws in his own personal touch. My favorite had to be when he channeled "White Lines" from Grandmaster Flash during "Jingle Bell Rock". All of a sudden, the Elvettes shouted "Freebase!" and I could not stop smiling. Of course, they also went through with "...Sugar!...Cane!...Sugar!".

"Jingle Bell Rock"/El Vez, the Lovely Elvettes and Los Straitjackets



Setlist: (I think)

"Here Comes Santa Claus" by Los Straitjackets
"Holiday Twist"
"Huaraches Azules" (the Spanish "Blue Suede Shoes" with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer")
"Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" (with "Boney Maroney", "Devil With a Blue Dress" and "Land of 1,000 Dances" with "FA-la-la-la-la" instead of NA-na-na-na-na")
"Mamacita, Donde Esta Santa Claus?" (with Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again")
"Deck the Halls" by Los Straitjackets (with "I Fought The Law")
"Jingle Bell Rock" (with Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines")
"Silver Bells" by Los Straitjackets
"En El Barrio" (ahem..."In the Ghetto" with "Silent Night" and "Souped Up Chevy Nova" to the Oasis song, "Champagne Supernova")
"Sleigh Ride" by Los Straitjackets
"A Marshmallow World" by Los Straitjackets
"Little Drummer Boy" (with Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll (Part One)")
"Merry Christmas Pretty Baby"
"Let It Snow" by Los Straitjackets
"Joy to the World" (with "Polk Salad Annie" and Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World")
"White (Brown) Christmas" (with Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)")

Encore:

"Holiday Chicken" by Los Straitjackets
2 more Los Straitjackets tunes
"Feliz Navidad" (with El Vez fighting a blowup Santa and Snowman)

Meal of Links

Matt Taibbi explores the relationship between President Obama and Wall Street. Needless to say, he's still not happy. Also, Rolling Stone puts out their Best of the Decade Lists.

The Top 100 band names. I insist I would buy a record from a group called the Sisters Fibrosis, if that ever existed.

It was pretty obvious, but now official. No more "Flight of the Conchords".

Top 25 albums of 2009. Phoenix takes No. 1 and probably deserves it.

Exercise Yard

Every once in awhile, 3rd Bass pops into the conversation. Usually with a "Pop Goes the Weasel" reference. Here's what happened to Prime Minister Pete Nice.

3rd Bass/"Pop Goes the Weasel"



Visitor

6 Across: Pierce portrayer (4 letters) Answer: Alda