Ain't Nothin' but a Cane...

Last night I decided to abandon my usual plans of eating a huge plate of pasta and falling asleep reading to go out with some friends. We went to Scholar's, one of my favorite places since my earliest days in Rome, where you can usually have a drink AND a conversation.

No such luck last night, however, because the owner had invited a band to play (very VERY loud) live music. Although Scholar's is an Irish bar, this particular band had no affiliation with the Emerald Isle. In fact, I am amazed that such a group even exists. As you may have guessed from the title of this post, the talent was nothing less than an Italian Elvis impersonator. Il Elvis, as I will call him from now on, spoke not a word of English, and between songs attempted to engage the predominantly American crowd by shouting rapid Italian into the microphone. His band were equally excitable; the drummer in particular kept breaking into random solos. Thus, we were treated to a very upbeat version of "Love Me Tender" with lyrics that I am fairly sure Il Elvis improvised.

All plans of conversation went out the window as we watched Il Elvis shake his hips across the tiny stage, dressed in full costume. It was white, had huge lapels, and was covered in rhinestones. He might have pulled it off, except it was a bit too large for poor Il Elvis, who was also a bit balder than il Re del Rock. There was a continuous slide show playing behind the band, showing pictures of the King, and pictures of Il Elvis at Graceland. Though the whole setup was ridiculous, I had to admire his dedication, and after a while, even I had to sing along...