Las Vegas Weekly

April 29, 2009 · 12:26 PM

Photo Gallery: Trent Carlini, the man who would be the King

By Robin Leach

Trent Carlini as Elvis Presley.

Photo: Preferred Public Relations

The resemblance is uncanny! The incredible vocal ability is phenomenal! Trent Carlini is a living, breathing Elvis Presley right down to the sexy hip-swiveling, pelvis-shaking, knee-bending movements that wowed millions.

With his new Elvolution at the Wyrick Theater in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile, Trent’s performance assures that the legend’s life is still alive on the Strip. In the show, Trent performs 20 of the Kings’ hits, and with eight separate stage sequences, traces the multiple years of his extraordinary career, from the movie and Army years to the 1968 comeback and into the final successes of the ’70s.

Trent is more than just a world-renowned Elvis tribute artist who won ABC’s Next Best Thing. He puts the stamp of approval on the three decades that Elvis ruled the world of pop. Trent over the years has performed more than 6,500 shows worldwide and began in 1992 at Legends in Concert with a four-year run as one of a dozen different look-alikes before headlining his own shows. He even performed on the same stage as Elvis at the Hilton here!

Originally born in Chicago seven years after his parents emigrated from Italy to the U.S., Trent returned to his homeland for schooling, and music became a major part of his life when he began playing guitar at age 10. With Elvis’ death in 1977, he decided to devote himself to re-creating the style of the man that had influenced his life. He even performed with the King’s own backup vocalists the Jordanaires, his drummer D.J. Fontana and guitar player Charlie Hodge.

I’m not a critic, but I see shows through the eye of a TV lens in case I ever want to return to that producing career. As such, here are my notes from his opening night when X Burlesque and The Men of X walked his red carpet:

“Bravo! Trent Carlini is probably the best ever Elvis tribute artist, and even with Cirque du Soleil’s Elvis show winter opening at CityCenter, he will still be No. 1 on the Strip. Clever idea to stage Elvis’ history with his different eras through the songs and costume changes. With some added production values and better staging transitions, Trent could own the Elvis franchise on the Strip. But it can’t look as if the show ends at the 50-minute mark! Awkward curtain moment with many audience members confused as if the show had finished. It looked like all the money went to rent instead of boosting stage appeal.

“Trent is warm and naturally engaging and needs to play that up more. He’s got humor, too, especially when he worked his way through the audience and deliberately tripped over my feet to go down on one knee to propose to the beautiful blonde seated beside me! Unfortunately, the video screen transitions are weak, and the stage needs production values added, but that’s easily fixed with more money!

“I loved the roaring motorcycle, but the entire show needs more of that daredevil spirit. Trent is Elvis. The perfect look-alike and sound-alike. It’s uncanny how brilliant he is, but bring the backup band out on the stage instead of hiding them.”

You won’t find a better Elvis double performing on the Strip, so if you want to step back in history to feel and experience the King one more time, this is the show.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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