Viva El Vez!

I've seen El Vez a handful of times over the past decade, but it had been a few years since my last show, so I was looking forward to the Los Angeles-based, satirical Elvis impersonator's performance on Saturday night at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern as part of his El Vez For Prez tour.

El Vez is the "Mexican Elvis" persona of Robert Lopez, who was a member of L.A. punk band the Zeros and was later in Catholic Discipline with Phranc before embarking on his new career. With his multinational Spiders From Memphis band and the sexy El Vettes on backing vocals and dancing duties, the man puts on flamboyantly funny shows with frequent costume changes, props and lyrics that promote Latino culture and tackle important social issues while still maintaining a sense of humour. While his U.S. presidential campaign isn't for real, I'll take his platform over that of the current administration's any day.

It's not just Presley songs that El Vez alters, however. Saturday's show featured his spin on songs originally recorded by Velvet Underground, Marshall Tucker Band and Cheap Trick, among others. He also writes his own original songs.

Different tours have different themes. I've been treated to his Christmas and gospel shows in the past and, while some songs overlap between them, El Vez's humour and originality makes each one unique.

As a side note, Kid In The Hall and former News Radio star Dave Foley married a (now former) El Vette named Crissy Guerrero in 2002. She was featured in a stage show called Dave Foley Presents "The Tribute" a couple of years ago, and was also in his The True Meaning Of Christmas Specials Christmas special. I've heard that they've now split up, and Foley wasn't behaving like a well-mannered married man when he was making the rounds at various Toronto clubs during North By Northeast in June. I thought he might come by the Shoe looking for new recruits on Saturday night, but I didn't spot him.

Viva El Vez!