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Continue ShoppingOn The Road Again - Part 2
January 10 - Louisiana Hayride
by Lenny Hughes
We pulled into Shreveport this afternoon for the final show of the weekend-at the historic Municipal Auditorium, where Elvis himself got his start with the Louisiana Hayride.
 Municipal Auditorium |
 Elvis |
 Louisiana Hayride |
The city of Shreveport looked like a ghost town when we rolled in. We saw one pedestrian and no traffic. Older brick building dominated the architectural style, including the ancient edifice of the Lewis Furniture Company.
 Lewis Furniture Company |
From the outside, the theater looked ominously aged, but the interior was recently renovated and carefully preserved to maintain the art deco appearance from its beginnings in the 1920s.
 Theater Interior |
 Joan Jett |
And it's filled with displays of memorabilia from performances by Elvis, Gene Autry, Willie Nelson and scores of other iconic stars. They even have a copy of one of Presley's early contracts.
 Elvis Memorabilia |
 Elvis' Contract |
Right now, though, things aren't so cheery. Lew, John and I are in the Bus watching the Redskins lead fall apart. Once again, we have no Merch, so I get to watch the game. Not such a good thing at the moment. The theater had a nice area set up for me, but it'll stay empty tonight.
 No merch at the merch table :-( |
Yesterday, we landed in Baton Rouge-also Merch-less. I watched the venue rep take my tables apart, then took a stroll around the capital. The Mississippi crouches behind the levee, which partly obscures the USS Kidd battleship and some old-style riverboats. Up the river is the towering capitol building where Huey Long was assassinated back in the '30s.
 New Bus |
 Lenny by the River |
 Capitol Building |
The crowd for the show was happily raucous, and Lew and John gave them their money's worth, even though I was unable to relieve them of some cash myself.
 Backstage |
This morning we drove the entire length of the state, and the swamps and cypresses gave way to hills and pine trees.
 Baton Rouge |
Well, I have to pay attention to the game. Bad calls by the refs are handing it to the Packers.
==Lenny