The small seating area for the Silver Aces concert at Casino Niagara was made even smaller because seats were removed to make room for the "win me" promotional car. The lack of seats, however, didn't discourage a horde of fans from gathering and standing to watch ETA Matt Cage dazzle during his first set wearing a gold jacket. Matt, the ultimate performer, put his innate charm to good use yesterday when he left the stage more than once during the afternoon to mingle with his appreciative audience. For his 6 p.m. performance, Matt wore the peacock jumpsuit suit with a blue scarf. I was the lucky recipient of the blue scarf, and when I offered it back to him to wipe his brow, he humorously used it on other areas as well as his forehead before handing it back. If you read my blog, "Elvis, ETAs, and Humour", you will know that Matt, in word or deed, always adds humour to his performance, and he does it so effortlessly.
Those who had not seen Matt before were blown away by his vocals and performance. Tony, who waited patiently to speak to Matt during his break, told us that he had seen Elvis in concert, and wanted to shake Matt's hand for doing such a fantastic tribute. Tony, a dedicated Elvis fan, even has "TCB" tattooed on his arm. A new fan, Natasha, gave Matt the "I'm not worthy" bow and got one knee. Matt followed suit, and serenaded Natasha one knee. Wearing her Elvis t-shirt that she bought in Memphis, Natasha turned to the audience and gave a fist pump to show her approval upon hearing Matt sing "Words", a song made famous by her favourite group, the Bee Gees.
It was nice to see all the familiar faces at Silver Aces: Joanne, Arlene, Dale and his wife, Oni and Maria, and Lindsey. It was nice to see Lynn and her husband, ETA Gordon McNeil at the show. I met some new friends yesterday: Rhonda, Wendy, Annie, and Natasha. It was a great afternoon of entertainment, dancing, and friendship. If you missed yesterday's show at Casino Niagara, Matt will be appearing tomorrow night at Brantford Casino, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Hope to see you there! C.M.
Fans who waited around after the second concert to see Matt were rewarded when Matt good naturedly posed for several photos.