POP MUSIC REVIEW : The Wonder of Elvis: Endearing Birthday Benefit

On one level, the second annual Elvis Presley birthday benefit at the Music Machine on Sunday night was just a good excuse to have a party.

And the evening worked just fine on that basis.

Eighteen local musicians--from country star Dwight Yoakam to rock hero Dave Alvin--took turns singing nearly four dozen Presley-related songs (including two novelties about him) during a wonderfully engaging 3 1/2-hour concert.

The benefit--which raised about $3,000 for the Los Angeles Free Clinic--was a remarkably tender and tasteful tribute to rock’s greatest star, who would have been 54 Sunday.

It was an informal and upbeat event with no traces of the tacky or maudlin extremism sometimes generated by Presley’s most obsessed fans. In just two years, the affair has established itself as one of the most endearing nights on the L.A. music calendar.

But there was something more than just music going on in the club. On a deeper and more subtle level, the musicians were celebrating their own musical dreams--dreams that in many cases were ignited by Presley: the idea that it is possible to rise from the humblest of beginnings and to fulfill your greatest goal.

As the musicians stepped to the microphone for two to three numbers each, they represented various levels of success. Some (notably Yoakam) have become the star they dreamed about, while others (the Stray Cats, represented by drummer Slim Jim Phantom and bassist Lee Rocker) have achieved stardom only to see it fade and now are on the comeback trail.

There were others (especially Dave Alvin, formerly of the Blasters) who have done outstanding work, yet have not achieved equivalent commercial acceptance. And there were many others on the stage who must have realized their chances of fulfilling their dreams are pretty much past, but who continue to make music simply for the love of it.

No matter how tattered the dream, there must have been a moment on stage Sunday when the dream was reborn, when the celebration of the Presley music and the warmth of the applause made everything seem possible once more.

No scene better summarized that tone than when singer and benefit co-host James Intveld was joined on stage by his father, Fred, who sang two Elvis songs himself.

Fred Intveld, who wore a Presley T-shirt, is a retired machine operator who so loved Elvis as a teen-ager in Holland that he sang in a weekend rock band, though he never was able to pursue it professionally.

After finishing the songs, Intveld gave his son a hug and sat at a table where, later, he watched with pride as James Intveld went through some Presley material himself.

Like his brother, Rick (a musician who was killed in a 1986 plane crash with Rick Nelson, after whom he was named), James Intveld, 29, was virtually raised on rock.

One of the most appealing singers on the local scene for years, James Intveld, ironically, sings the jingle on the Oldsmobile commercial that features Presley’s widow, Priscilla, and daughter Lisa Marie.

“It’s like seeing myself (40 years ago),” the elder Intveld said, watching his son. “It’s what I wanted to do, but I just never had the opportunity . . . things just never worked out.”

James Intveld, who co-produced the benefit with Art Fein (host of the public-access cable-TV show, “Li’l Art’s Poker Party”), said he thought a live show would be a good way to celebrate Presley’s birthday.

“Art used to play Elvis records at Club Lingerie on Elvis’ birthday and I thought it made sense for us to get together and do a real show,” he said. “Everyone I called (among musicians) seemed up for it.

“There was something about Elvis and his music that touched so many people. He was certainly my biggest influence, after my dad. You say the name Elvis to anyone and they know who he was. . . . He was someone who made so many people happy.”

After raising $1,500 last year, Intveld and Fein moved it to the larger Music Machine, where a near-capacity crowd was already on hand when the music began shortly before 9 p.m.

Backed by a six-piece band led by Intveld, the performers delved into all areas of Presley’s catalogue, from the early Sun Records tunes to the big hits to a few obscurities. The artists ranged from rockabilly advocates Ray Campi and Ronnie Mack to blues-minded showmen King Cotten and Jimmy Woods, from county singers Rosie Flores and Chris Gaffney to art-conscious pop stylist Syd Straw.

The performances were as distinctive as the musicians involved, though it was Dave Alvin’s set--which opened with a moody treatment of “Feel So Bad” and ended with an equally dark, solo rendition of “In the Ghetto”--that was the most artfully framed.

But this wasn’t a night that invited critical comparisons. There was a generous, sharing mood among musicians who had come together to toast a hero and to renew acquaintences with their own dreams. In the words of the colorful King Cotton, whose hair is as white and puffy as cotton balls, “Happy birthday, Big E.”