Auburn man gives fans a night with the King

LEWISTON – Heather Greene is too young to remember the era of Elvis Presley and is not familiar with a lot of his music. And yet, behold the power of the King.

Elvis impersonator Robert Washington took the stage at Fast Breaks on Wednesday night and within seconds, Greene was dancing in the aisles.

“It’s good music,” she said, as Washington belted out “Good Rocking Tonight.” “It gets you going. I’m into it.”

So were dozens of others at the Lisbon Street bar. By the third song, most of them were bobbing up and down, singing along or some combination thereof.

Clad in a pink blazer, sideburns sculpted just right, Washington meant to put on a good show, the kind of Elvis tribute he’s been delivering for 25 years.

“It’s New Year’s Eve,” Washington said, 10 minutes before his set began. “It’s more of a party. I don’t expect everyone to be watching my show.”

Wrong. Though the crowd consisted mostly of 20-somethings, born long after Elvis died, the room became electrified as Washington stroked his first chord.

“It’s Elvis time!” one man hollered.

“Wahoo, it’s Elvis!” a woman hooted.

It was a lively venue, though a smaller one than Washington is accustomed to. He first performed on stage in 1983 and since then, he’s been everywhere. He plays in Memphis, of course. That’s what Elvis would do. He plays in Vegas, naturally. The King was beloved there.

Those tend to be big shows and they’ve won Washington awards. In 2003, he took the top spot in the Images of Elvis International Competition.

In the world of Elvis impersonation, Washington is the big time. But so what? It was New Year’s Eve in a small club across the river from his Auburn home. He planned to play as hard as he would before screaming Elvis fans on the Vegas strip.

“I try to read the crowd,” he said, getting his pompadour just right before the show. “I try to see what kind of mood the audience is in. I’ll just go out there and do the best show I can do.”

Promise delivered. By the time he began “Treat Me Nice,” Greene was shaking it up good at the back of the room and hollering a little bit, too. “I came through the door and said, ‘who’s that cat?'” Greene said. “My husband said, ‘It’s Elvis.'”

Exactly right. The world renowned performer planned to move through Presley’s early stuff and then start banging out the hits popularized by the Elvis movies. It was to be the kind of show that would last all night and into midnight.

And then, like 2008 itself, Elvis would leave the building.