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Absolutely GLOWING review!!!
* Walk-in Music; "The Diving Board" CD - (*First time I've ever heard an Artist's entire current album played as walk-in music. The album's cover was also pictured on the screens)
* 2 Cellos took to the stage at 8:05pm and perform "Smooth Criminal" & "Just Like Teen Spirit" before EJ & Band came on
1) Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding - (*First time since 1982 that the stage is covered in dry ice fog and spotlights do not come on until Elton plays the first chord)
2) Bennie And The Jets - (*With call and response at the close, audience screaming "Bennie" back at Elton)
3) Candle In The Wind
---Elton speaks for the first time, after singing the entire first side of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album---
4) Grey Seal
5) Levon
6) Tiny Dancer - (*Chandelier lighting lowers for first time in the evening)
7) Holiday Inn
8) Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
9) Believe
10) Philadelphia Freedom
11) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
12) Rocket Man - (*Chandelier rises back up during the song)
13) Hey Ahab - (*This song from "The Union" continues to be a crowd favorite and rocks the house)
14) I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
---Elton takes a porkpie hat from an audience member and wears it so he can take Elton's picture in it. When the security guard tries to stop the guy from coming forward, Elton yells at the guard to sit his ass down and allow the guy to come forward, to the audiences delight!---
15) The One - (Solo)
16) Oceans Away - (Solo with Nigel, John Mahon & back-up singers singing harmonies) - (*This song went down extremely well. You could hear a pin drop and there was no rush to the concession stands. Elton dedicated it to all the men & women who fought for our freedom in the first two great wars)
17) Voyeur - (*After apologizing for singing new unfamiliar songs, he began by saying "This ones about my sex life"!) - (Live, this song is much funkier than on the album)
18) Someone Saved My Life Tonight
19) Sad Songs (Say So Much) - (*Elton played a phenomenal right-handed only piano solo during the instrumental break)
20) All The Girls Love Alice
--- Band Introductions ---
21) Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
---Audience rushes stage---
22) I'm Still Standing
23) The Bitch Is Back
24) Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll) - (*Davey has been trying for over 20 years to get this song in the setlist and it works like a charm!)
25) Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - (*Again, for the first time in years, Elton did a call-and-response like the old days, having the audience sing "Saturday, Saturday, Saturday Nights Alright" back to him)
--- Encores ---
26) Your Song
27) Crocodile Rock
Notes:
Elton was in exceptional voice (A concern as he announced he was having trouble early on during Friday night's opening show of the tour). He was also in a great mood, improvising throughout, reworking songs and interacting one-on-one with those in the first two rows throughout the entire show. (Pausing for photos, speaking directly to fans, etc.)
He was also wearing a beautiful new suit that had "The Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album made of sequins on the back of the jacket with yellow brick roads going up and down each sleeve. (I have not seen this outfit before and as they are beginning the 40th anniversary celebrations of this albums release, I'm assuming it's new)
For the first time in years there is new staging. While not as elaborate as some from the 1980's and early 90's it's impressive all the same with some new twists. The stage floor is a shiny mostly black plexiglass type flooring, parts of of which is translucent, allowing the higher-up seats to see right through it. There is subtle gold touches throughout, (Band risers are trimmed as are Davey's baffles on his amps along with a suggested "Yellow Brick Road") The light curtain that has been used for the past ten years is gone and replaced with an elevated floor at the back of the stage. This is outlined in a gold circle which follows through on the main stage floor ("The Yellow Brick Road") The entire structure is surrounded by Intelligent Lighting and the elevated floor doubles as a video screen. It is here that videos are shown (Several from "The Million Dollar Piano" as well as new graphics and the occasional live shots of Elton's hands playing the keyboard)
The lighting grid is all new, comprised of a large circular grid and at its center an enormous chandelier, made up of a couple thousand individual teardrop led lights that change colors and patterns throughout. It also lowers and raises throughout the show, changing shapes and providing different effects.
My only complaints regard the new album tracks. First of all, Elton cut "Home Again" on Saturday! How do you not play your current single especially since it went down so well on opening night? (I have a feeling that he planned to do it as the final encore number on this night as the backup singers came on stage during the encore numbers which they do not sing on, and remained sitting on their chairs throughout. When he left the stage following "Crocodile Rock" they looked rather confused before exiting.)
The other complaint is that he didn't do any of the up-tempo songs (Like "Oscar Wilde Gets Out," "Mexican Vacation," "Ballad Of Blind Tom," etc.) choosing instead to do only ballads. That said, the ballads that he did play ("Oceans Away" & "Voyeur") went down extremely well and Davey and the Bands treatment of these songs is better in my opinion than they are on the album itself. (I felt the same with their approach to "The Union" tracks a few years back as well. Apart from "Hey Ahab" which is fantastic live, I liked how they performed the ballads live better, so maybe they felt the same with these?) I have no idea, I just wish they had done more from "The Diving Board" and chosen to include more uptempo tracks.
I took many photos which I'll post separately tomorrow. Here is on
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