Okay. Alex, Lisa, Paul, and fellow rowers, I was extremely fortunate to be part of the Tour Opener Show at the Roxy in Atlanta. So here's a review.
From the Thursday (Oct.9) edition of the AJC:
ROXY ROCKS WITH JOHN AT TOUR OPENER.
"Barely a month after pouring his heart out at the funeral for Princess Diana, Elton John performed a heartfelt show Wednesday night before an intimate crowd of hard-core fans..."
"The part-time Atlantan performed a 27-song set that lasted two hours and 40 minutes and entertained more than 1,100 fans who were giddy at being lucky enough to hold one of the hottest concert tickets in ages..." (Mike Morris, staff)
The Roxy is a small theater, probably half the size of the Fox on Peachtree street. The floor slopes downs slightly towards the stage which is no higher than waist. This was my first time there, and I thought, "What a place to see your favourite performer!". We got to the Roxy a little before seven, and they were already allowing people in. The very front was already taken up, but there really wasn't a bad place to stand. There were no seats. We stood almost centre and about fifteen feet from the stage. The balcony was reserved for his friends and associates,and for a time they were a subdued bunch. I felt like I was at a private party Elton was throwing for 1,100+ close friends. What a feeling.
Elton and the Band took to the stage about 8:20. He wore a royal blue jacket with a white t-shirt. Elton came straight to the edge of the stage, shook some hands and sat down at the piano. The cheers and applauses were deafning, and it would be like this for the entire show. It is a miracle that I still have a voice and can still hear. Elton opened the show with Simple Life and suddenly the house was rocking. The One was next. At this point I do not remember the order of the songs, but I do remember all of the songs (I will list them below). The crowd appeared to be young, in the 20s, 30s, and 40s range. Quite a few seemed like genuine fans, but I could tell a lot were having a good time and enjoying the show (you don't have to be a fan to enjoy Elton Live!). Elton said he had always wanted to play at the Roxy, and was happy to be able to finally do so. You could tell he was having a good time, and he would occasionally look up to the balcony. He dedicated a song to his friends but I do not remember which one.
About halfway through the show the band took a break and left Elton alone with his piano to play two songs. They were Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Daniel. Awesome. A surprising moment was when Elton took a break from singing to chat a little about his great loss. He actually said that it would not be fitting to be there on stage and not mention a word about the friends he lost. He said it was an awful summer for him. I hope he felt the compassion we all felt for him. We were all silent, except for a few interjections in agreement and support from the fans. He said he just could not find one of his songs that truly expresses his grief, and then spoke about the CD by Beth Nielsen Chapman, and how close it comes to his true feelings and all that he wants to express. He listens to the CD alot and cries alot. He said we all experience loss in our lives and crying is good. I interjected here with a loud (but not aggressive) Yes!. Some others followed. With the band on stage and a light illuminating only Elton, he then sang Sand and Water by Chapman, after which he publicly thank her for adding a special verse for him. The moment was very reflective. Then the show rocked on. A wonderful aspect of the show was hearing everyone singing to all of the familiar classics. It was like one big sing-a-long. A unique experience.
Included in the encore was Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting. This song finally got the balcony off their butts and dancing. We were all like a bunch of teenages. The energy was intense. Now, here is what blew me away. Elton said, "now for a song from Captain Fantastic that sums up my relationship and many others", and began to play We All Fall in Love Sometimes. Very cool, but he didn't stop there. He and the band kept playing right on into Curtains. I had never heard Curtains live. I was in heaven. Very awesome.
I have seen Elton several times before. This show was by far the best, maybe the best I will ever see. You just can't top the intimacy of the Roxy. You can't. I've been on cloud 10 all day. People, those of you with tickets (I have for Knoxville) are in for one hell of a treat. Elton looks great, his voice still incredible and the band is awesome. This was no 'washed-up hasbeen' show. This was a high energy, rock'n'roll show. I was exuberated, exhausted, and aching after the show, and I wished it went on longer than two hours and forty minutes.
After the show we went to the back of the Roxy where, along with about fifty other people, we waited for Elton to emerge. Elton finally came out some thirtyfive minutes later all dressed in black except for a thin white band around the neck. We all cheered and applauded. He gave us the thumbs up, jumped into a 4x4 and headed home. I know he went home because we drove by his highrise, which is quite close to the Roxy, and the 4x4 was parked in front of the lobby entrance. We then headed home ourselves.
ROXY SONG LIST (not in order) Simple Life (open The One Grey Seal Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Tiny Dancer Levon Honkey Cat Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me Benny and the Jets Believe Made in England Someone Saved My Life Tonight Your Song Daniel Take Me to the Pilot Long Way From Happiness Love's Got A Lot To Answer For If The River Could Bend Something About The Way You Look Tonight Sand and Water I Don't Want To Go On With You Like That Can You Feel The Love Tonight The Last Song Philadelphia Freedom Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting We All Fall In Love Sometimes/Curtains (close) _Anthony in Atlanta -" I'll show you where the best of me has been..."-1997
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