Thursday, August 20, 2015

Viva Las Vegas

Elvis performed in Las Vegas from July 31, 1969 to 1976. He started performing at the Las Vegas International Hotel. It is now the Westgate located off the strip. He would perform two shows at night. One being at dinner time and the other a midnight show. The arena held 2,200 seats and was sold out. He set attendance and profit records. He had the highest attended show in Las Vegas. They say that 1 out of every 2 people who visited Las Vegas saw his show. This stage is where he built that even bigger legend status.
Elvis rehearsing in his showroom in Las Vegas
 
Elvis is now back in the building at the Westgate formerly the International Hotel. They have an entire exhibit. They also have a Graceland Wedding Chapel on site.








Las Vegas is where the jumpsuit started. This is where fans could interact with him and he would joke and talk to the audience between songs. It's where he got his fans back and started his live performances again. The 1968 Comeback special launched his Vegas career. If you get to the Westgate you can relive some of his Vegas days. On display is artifacts from Graceland. It features, jewelry, his daily clothing, cancelled checks, home furnishings, jumpsuits and his Las Vegas attendance gold belt. It gives you a little glimpse into Elvis' Vegas days.

You can also watch a performance by an Elvis Tribute Artist on the very stage that Elvis performed on. The concert is a recreation from the July 31, 1969 concert. The band is in character of the original members. I watched it and it was very good!

1 comments:

Susannah said...

What a cool exhibit! How fun that you got to go see it! <3