Presley realized that the crowd came out for her melodic pop-rock and didn't come to the show to catch Elvis Presley's daughter, Michael Jackson's ex-wife or another act that shared the bill with her.

"I realized that I actually have my own fans," Presley said about her first headline gig. "I looked out at all these people and they were singing my songs right along with me. They knew the words. It's a lot more fun to play for people who are interested in your music, so I don't have to try to win over people who are sort of just in a spectator type of way sitting there just staring at me."

Three years after the release of her debut disc, "To Whom It May Concern," Presley, 38, who returns tonight to the Pony, is more than a curiosity. The most celebrated progeny in rock history has honed her skills as a singer/songwriter. "Now What," her 2005 sophomore effort, proves that Presley has some potential. She followed the lead of Pink and co-wrote with Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes fame.

Most of the provocative tracks from her most recent disc require Presley to play the cool, bad girl, which is perfect for the sensual performer with the sexy growl.

The well-written and over-produced tunes might have yielded hits for Presley many years ago, but there isn't much of a market for such alt-rock numbers these days — and she is aware of the scenario.

"So many girls, especially if they're over 30 and they're not doing rap or serious pop, it's real tough," Presley said. "If you're a female singer/songwriter in the rock realm or alternative, you're not getting a lot of love right now."

It also didn't help that Capitol Records didn't give "Now What" much support.

"I took it kind of personally just because it's not doing as good as the first one, nor did it get marketed worth a crap," Presley said.

She is going to make a third Capitol album, but don't expect her to play new songs tonight.

"I'm going to finish this year out and tour, and then we're doing the third record," said Presley. "I just want to make sure that it's done properly. I'm writing, but it's nice to get some inspiration going out live."

Presley isn't sure what the future holds, but she promises that she'll never exploit her family name or become a novelty act.

"What this has always been about and what it will always be about is making my own way," Presley said. "I'm not capitalizing on anything. I'm doing my own thing. That's what I'll always do."

A tabloid princess since birth, Presley steadily fueled the "freak show factor" with some admittedly wild years, filled with a series of bizarre marriages and erratic behavior.

"Everybody does some stupid things in their life that they look back on with regret," said Presley, referring to among other things, the infamous Michael Jackson kiss on MTV.

"I have done my share. We all have things we'd go back and change, but we can't, so we just put it behind us and move on."

And move on, she has. With a musical career that has been an uphill climb since the beginning. "At first they tried to have me doing this pop thing, but that just wasn't me," noted Presley of when she first threw her hat in to the music ring.

To her credit, the tough-talking Lisa Marie is like her famous father in that she has never taken the easy route when it comes to her music, nor has she ever failed to stand her ground.

"It would have been really easy for me to go out and make a pop record, or do R&B, or hook up with some well known rap producer," she said.

"That's what's selling today and that's what everyone's doing today. But that is not who I am and that is not what I want to do."

Presley also has staunchly refused the idea of covering famous Elvis tunes, as many people in the music biz world has suggested and encouraged her to do.

"Sure, we'd probably sell a lot of records if I did that, but it's not about just selling records for me," she stated. "I love those (Elvis) songs, but that's not what I want to do, and I really don't think that is what he (Elvis) would want me to do. I believe that he would want me to do just what I'm doing right now, finding my own sound and my own way."

Even though she began her musical career late in life, at age 34, with the release of her soul-baring 2003 debut album, "To Whom It May Concern," Presley still had concerns about the public at large.

Did that album get certified gold because people actually loved the music she made, or did they buy it because they viewed her as some kind of novelty act, because she was Elvis Presley's kid.

After months of touring as a support act behind that album and it's hit single, "Lights Out," Presley stepped up to give her first real headline show at the famed Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. It was there she suddenly had an epiphany.

"Up until that point, I didn't know that I really had fans, to be honest," she said.

"But there I was and the place was sold out. I looked out at all these people and they were singing my songs right along with me. They knew the words!!!"

That Jersey audience convinced Presley that finally giving in to the temptation she'd had her whole life -- to play rock ‘n' roll -- had been the right choice to make.

"I've since had people tell me one of my songs helped them through tough times in their lives and that is what it's all about for me," she said.

"When I started doing this, I just wanted to put out music that I hoped people would hear and that maybe it would help someone somewhere, like music has helped me through life. "

The "sense of awakening" that followed her Stone Pony concert comes through in "I'll Figure It Out," the opening number of Presley's 2005 sophomore album, "Now What" .

Like the first album, Presley's second disc is quite dark, personal and powerful.

Presley's songs are rife with harsh and scathing lyrics, from her own compositions like "Idiot" and the title track, right down to her fiery treatment of the 23-year-old Don Henley song, "Dirty Laundry," which was adopted by ABC-TV in broadcast promos for it's 2005 season of "Desperate Housewives."

"It's not just a personal thing," said Presley, dismissing thoughts that it addressed the media for their past coverage of her personal life. "It applies to the general state of affairs, moreso now than ever. Look at all these Reality shows! We get our entertainment watching the demise and the darkest hours of others. The words of this song are more appropriate now than when Don Henley wrote it."

Taking nothing away from Presley's fine first effort, over all "Now What" is a much better album in terms of the songwriting (some tunes co-authored with Linda Perry), slicker production, and Presley's own spitfire vocal performances.

Yet, "Now What" has not come close to the level of success that "To Whom It May Concern" enjoyed.

Presley blames in no small part her label, Capitol Records.

"They didn't drop the ball, they never picked the ball up," she fumed. "I took it kind of personally because it didn't get marketed worth a crap."

To be fair, Presley knows that all the fault lies not with her label, but with the musical climate of today and the still prevailing penchant of the business at large for pushing disposable pop.

"I'm still trying to figure out where I fit in, because I'm not a pop act and I don't do certain things to sell myself out. I'm not anything in particular. I'm a singer/songwriter that's female and not in my twenties.

There's not a whole lot of places for someone like me to fit out there right now," she explained.

"There are some really good female singer/songwriters in the rock realm out there doing sort of the same thing that I'm doing and they are having a real tough time too," she continued. "There's just not a lot of love right now for what we are doing musically. I'm hoping someone is going to break through and make it okay again to do what we do. But right now, it's an R&B and rap dominated market."

Presley plans to ride out the rest of this year touring, before eventually turning her attention towards making her third record in the first quarter of 2007.

When asked if her disenchantment with the major label scene and Capitol Records in particular might prompt her to go the indie rock route as so many major artists are doing these days, Presley sidesteps.

"I've got to watch what I say," she laughed.

But given the mood of the interview and her clear-cut disappointment with how "Now What" was marketed and the lack of label support (Presley had to self-finance her tour) behind the album, leaves room to speculate that her third album might just be a DIY project.

"I'm doing the songs off both albums at this time," she said of the current live show. "I'm not doing any brand new material, although I have been doing a lot of writing. I really just want people to hear the songs that I've got out now."