On Friday, Feb. 16 we rolled into Harrow, Ontario for a church fundraiser. Yes, you heard that right, a church fundraiser. What made this church function so unique is that for the second time since December, local Elvis Presley tribute artist James Gibb had sold out the Harrow United Church for an evening of music from music's King of Rock and Roll.
Gibb is a unique Elvis artist. He mostly concentrates on recreating the look, sound and vibe of Elvis up to about the 1968 Comeback television special, but he’s willing to play music from any era – and fans got a taste of that with a powerful two-set performance of hits and rarities, complete with stories about the songs and recordings.
Dressed in a pink jacket, black shirt with the collar raised and black pants with white shoes, Gibb set the tone of the first set with hits like "That’s All Right," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Blue Suede Shoes," "King Creole," and "Hound Dog." But what made the first set extraordinary was a short Elvis country set inside the first act, featuring songs like "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Anything That's a Part of You." He also threw in nuggets like "Young Dreams," an Elvis cover of "Blueberry Hill," and gospel tunes "Stand By Me" and "Peace in the Valley."
The second set was themed to the ’68 Comeback show, complete with tight black leather outfit and boots. The set featured rockers "Trouble" and "Jailhouse Rock," but really shined with rare cuts like "Love Letters," "Green, Green Grass of Home," "She Thinks I Still Care," and "Let It Be Me."
Gibb is a unique Elvis artist... he’s willing to play music from any era – and fans got a taste of that with a powerful two-set performance of hits and rarities...
Throughout the show, Gibb gave a strong set of music that you rarely get to hear at tribute shows. The intimacy of Harrow United may have made it the prime venue for such a setlist, but it was clear by the time Gibb played "I Was The One" as his fourth song in, the audience was in for a lengthy and thorough treat.
Gibb is a charming performer who looks, moves and sounds enough like Elvis that there are actual moments when you feel like it’s a concert by the real deal. The church shows were performed with pre-recorded backing music, unlike his live show in Windsor last year when he performed with a full band (Windsor act The Silvertones). Gibb works extremely well with a live band behind him and the Elvis twitches, shakes and shimmies seem more real when he has band members interacting with him, especially an authentic sounding act like The Silvertones. Hopefully we’ll see them together again in the future.
The two shows were part of fundraising efforts to build a new roof for the church, so in a way, James Gibb was actually raising the roof at the ol’ Harrow United Church. And the music of Elvis never sounded so good, especially those golden gospel tracks – but maybe those songs had a little help from the big guy upstairs for this performance (wink, wink).
For a little fun we decided to keep the photos black and white to suit the classic Elvis TV look.
