4 minute read
Elvana
ELVANA UNPLUGGED
THE GLEE CLUB, BIRMINGHAM
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Emerging from Disgraceland, rock n roll grungers Elvana blew the roof off of Birmingham’s Glee Club in September with a modern reformation of a total classic. If you’ve not discovered this tribute act before, they are an Elvis Fronted Nirvana tribute band who play Nirvana tracks in an Elvis-styled way. This is the combination no one ever knew they needed and before you say it, yes – they know. The King does not look like Elvis.
Their support was non-other than twins Talk Like Tigers, who also sing backing vocals for Elvana‘s main sets. Strutting on to the stage in their Gala-esque ensembles and their infectious smiles, the duo performed a number of tracks off their recent double EP Passion Fruit and Feminine Power, with the opening number even featuring on an episode of Made in Chelsea – which they were “really happy about!”. Just before their closing song, Charlotte and Stephanie did a stripped-back cover of The Cranberries‘ original track Linger which could be heard sung back amongst the crowd. A set filled with hypnotic, electronic, indie-pop goodness!
Returning to ‘Birminghamshire’ and recreating Nirvana’s legendary MTV Unplugged set from New York in 1993, Elvana took to the stage that mimicked the lillies and candlelight ambience we all associate with this landmark performance. But adding their own twist to the stage was The King’s velvet topped toilet which later revealed his secret stash of Skol to fuel the latter half of the set.
Starting on a high note with the same opening track as the original recording, the crowd cheered to the sound of About a Girl, but this was surprisingly twisted into It’s Now or Never which took everyone by surprise as a wave of laughter rippled throughout the venue! Something that made this so unique and ultimately epic, was the one-liners that were originally expressed by Kurt Cobain back in 1993 used within the fills. For example, before the first song began, The King quoted “This is off our first record, most people don’t know it” which certainly got smirks perked across the audience. This was continued throughout the set replicating classic lines such as “What are they tuning a harp?”, “I guarantee you will screw this next one up” and even adding their own twist to a few, including the introduction for Jesus Don’t Want Me For a Sunbeam, stating “we do it the Nirvana way, doing it the Vaselines’ way“. Many stories were told during the night, which broke down the barrier between the band and the audience, as well as The King dancing and thrusting in the aisles. One particular story that stood out was the tale of Boston Bowie. The King reminisced about a time the band travelled to America and joined a line-up with a David Bowie tribute band. He asked Elvana if they were going to perform Man Who Sold The World and if he could join them on stage. So the time comes when they invite Boston Bowie to the stage to sing and just as the lyrics kick in, he forgot every word. Later on, whilst still in America, Elvana played a Hard Rock Cafe and to their surprise, Boston Bowie was set to make an appearance at the same event. He asked again if the band were playing the Bowie hit to which they explained they hadn’t planned it into the set. Well, they closed their set at Hard Rock Cafe with Man Who Sold The World and absolutely nailed it! It’s these stories and the openness of the band that people absorb and adore. The topic of internet trolls was even discussed, saying they receive comments like “but you don’t even look like Elvis” to which they responded with “we know. It’s just a bit of fun“.
When ‘Paul The King‘ went for a costume change, Stephanie and Charlotte teased the audience with a snippet of their next musical project Unholey, a music set that explores covers of Courtney Love‘s grunge group, Hole, by performing a gorgeously unique version of Malibu.
Overall, this performance demonstrated seamless transitions between the Nirvana ageless set list and Elvis anthems. From combining Dumb and Always On My Mind to In The Ghetto and Something in The Way – each song was incredibly well thought through and displayed a genius composition.
To conclude the night, The King got everyone up on their feet and singing along to Elvis’ Suspicious Minds. I glanced around the room and saw people of all ages, all backgrounds, in Slayer tops, Taylor Hawkins Tops, Motorhead, Black Sabbath and other rock attire, and I saw every single person was singing their hearts out. And THAT was a moment that I definitely, will never forget.
