Grand Opera House York Friday 2nd August 2019
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
3***
A Vision of Elvis starring former soldier Rob Kinsley, celebrates the legend that was Elvis Presley, the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. This year sees Rob celebrating 10 years touring as an Elvis tribute act. On Friday he returned once again to the Grand Opera House in York as part of this current tour.
Rob certainly has a following, you could tell by some of the eager audience, there was a wide variety of ages, both male and female. Once the curtain went up we got to see the band, on this occasion a drummer, keyboard player, lead and bass guitarists and two female singers. The anticipation was palatable, and then Elvis appeared on stage, in all his black leather look finery. I did comment that he must have been extremely hot in that outfit, but you couldn’t tell, at that stage anyway.
Along with four outfit changes we got to listen to such great Elvis songs as Heartbreak Hotel, Love Me Tender, Suspicious Minds and many more. I must admit the first half I was not convinced with the whole act, but the second half pulled it back, much to my relief, I so wanted to be blown away by this show. Rob interacted with the audience by chatting, but I could barely understand anything he was saying in the first half. His southern American accent certainly needs a lot of work. Once he returned after the interval it was like listening to a completely different person, I could understand him, he did not appear to be trying so hard, and it was a 1000% improvement. I just so wish it had been that way throughout the show as it would have totally changed my experience.
During the costume changes the two female vocalists, the Sweet Sensations performed solo numbers, and then later on in the show treated us to Proud Mary, where Rob joined in. That was a brilliant rendition and showed how good they really were. Their costumes were very sparkly, blue in the first half before changing to red, nothing wrong with a bit of bling. The band, which I believe was streamlined for this show, did a fabulous job recreating the sound of Elvis, in their black gear for the first half and the obligatory white for the second.
The staging was very simple with just a simple back drop. After the interval it depicted Las Vegas, with its bright lit up signage. This did not really matter, after all who goes to a concert to look at that? Rob and his choreography, not that there was a lot, was a big hit and miss, sometimes he smashed it, but other times it fell a bit wide of the mark and not that polished.
The costumes were all pretty fantastic, and Rob certainly wore the white jumpsuit, well, both the tiger and jewel encrusted one. You could tell he was extremely hot and at one stage commented that this was the hottest stage he had ever performed on, but carry on he did.
What really made the show was his interaction with the audience, and the second half was so much better. He was witty with a great sense of humour, down to earth and seemed to really care about the audience who had paid to see him, that was lovely and refreshing to see. He even grabbed a fan, Sue, up on stage to sing with him, she absolutely loved it and it got a huge cheer from the audience. He even has a supply of silk scarves that he drapes around his neck before tossing into the baying crowd, very Elvis. Some lucky audience members even got some cute teddy bears, which were thrown out whilst playing Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear. Needless to say, our seats were too far away.
One thing I did notice was the too white teeth and far too much make up, he looked far to plasticly. I have since looked online at other photos and he did look so much better before. I have also found out that the performance before this was postponed due to ill health, perhaps that were the reason for any negatives I have mentioned.
I can understand why he has amassed such a loyal following, especially after the performance in the second half. Overall it was an enjoyable night, full of that Elvis bling, that had the audience up dancing on their feet.