October 20th 1976
By Janice Rowe
When we received the news here in Grand Rapids that Elvis would be in South Bend, our home town, on Oct. 20, my husband and I knew we had to be there. So at 10:00 P.M. on Sept. 22 (as early an hour as we could manage) we headed for the Notre Dame campus where we spent the night with several hundred other fans in front of the Activities Convocation Center waiting for the box office to open at 9 o'clock the next morning. There were 240 people already signed in ahead of us when we arrived at 11:00 P.M. South Bend time, and, although We were disappointed to be so far back in the line, we had a fantastic night. Wrapped in sleeping bags and finding it impossible to sleep, we concentrated on the people around us. We passed out some Strictly Elvis newsletters that Al and Dee had supplied us with, (an ice breaker if there ever was one) and made some wonderful new friends. By dawn we had talked ourselves nearly hoarse, so we took the time out to check on the new arrivals.
Sean Shaver ©
South Bend, IN. Oct. 20th 1976
It
was unbelievable what had happened during the night! The parking lot was full
and a steady stream of cars was still continuing!
At
7:00 A.M. we formed three lines according to our registration numbers, and at
8:15 the box office opened 45 minutes early to accomodate the seeminqly endless
lines. The well organized handling of ticket sales made an extremely pleasant
time of what could have been a long, tedious wait, and by noon we were happily
on our way home with 6 treasured tickets, 2 weary bodies and hearts filled with
anticipation for the concert, still an agonizing 4 weeks away.
I
am still amazed at how quickly the time passed, but suddenly there it was,
October 20: Al and Dee were at the front door, and within five minutes we were
on our way.
We
arrived at the ACC shortly after 7:00 P.M. and spent the next hour and a half
searching out familiar faces and meeting the people around us. Before we knew it,
the houselights were dimming and people were rushing to their seats .... The
show was beginning !
J.D.
Sumner and the Stamps were good, as usual, Jack Kahane was in rare form and the
Sweet Inspirations were super--An extremely entertaining first half.
By intermission the butterflies I had been attempting to suppress in my stomach had become grasshoppers on holiday, and when the lights went out and the "Theme from 2001" burst forth, those grasshoppers began an all out free-for-all in there. As the theme crescendoed, breathing became impossible, and when Elvis stepped in view, he was greeted by a deafening explosion of emotional applause which accompanied his every move for the next 65 minutes.
Sean Shaver ©
South Bend, IN. Oct. 20th 1976
The
new jumpsuit he wore was white with dark orange and yellow spangled flames
licking up the side of each flaired leg, becoming a blazing sun on both his back
and chest; a crowd-pleaser to say the least, and he proceeded to show us how he
intended to "break it in tonight."
The
first scarf of the evening went to the little daughter of one of our Strictly
Elvis Generation members. Her sign proclaiming " Kami Loves You,"
seemed to touch Elvis and he thanked her with a gentle kiss.
He
had opened with "C.C. Rider" and as he continued with such familiar
songs as " Mountain," and " Steamroller Blues," the crowd
followed his every note, every movement, every smile. Later, his presentation of
"Hurt" was just what we had been told to expect--Dynamic! --It's the
only word to describe it !
So it continued, an exciting show from beginning to end, with the highlights depending on individual preference. For some it was the medley of "All Shook Up," " Teddy Bear " and " Don't Be Cruel." For others it was the more romantic ballads like " And I Love You So. " There was something to please everybody. The audience response was incredible, and before we realized it the show was over. Elvis was gone--- Gone until tomorrow night, at least, when we would see his next show in Kalamazoo. But that's another story .....
Sean Shaver ©
South Bend, IN. Oct. 20th 1976
Originally published in the magazine Strictly Elvis Generation No. 10