I just got back into town (Atlanta) from my weekend in Winston-Salem. Sorry for the late posting. The others who have posted spoilers for the WS show gave the song list, so I won't repeat that. I'll just give some observations and some of Elton's comments.
First of all, it was an EXCELLENT show. Given all that has happened to Elton lately, he was very upbeat and, as always, gave his all to his audience. The band was rocking and the new stuff sounded great. Like last tour, he pulled a few old gems out of the catalog (Grey Seal, We All Fall In Love Sometimes / Curtains) to go along with the usual parade of hits.
My wife and I had great seats -- we were in section 104, about ten rows up from the front of the lower level, directly in front of the stage. The show began in a very similar fashion as the Made In England tour. There were 3 large sails hanging in front of the stage. The sails had classic art images/icons on them. I think there was an angel on one, a sun-god medallion-like emblem on another, and I forget the third. When the lights went down, Elton and the boys came out and began to play the rhythms of Simple Life. The varilights were moving and making patterns on the sails. Then as the song really kicks in, the sails are whisked up, and there they are. Elton was wearing a lime-green lightweight suit, with a black shirt, black boots, blue glasses, and that trademark grin.
Elton was in great spirits and seemed to be happy to be touring again. I'm sure he's glad to be moving on with things. I'd have to say that while he did seem to be enjoying himself, you didn't sense the unbridled joy that we all sensed and commented on during the MIE tour. But hey, we certainly understand that. His voice was in great shape. His confidence in his voice is apparent by his inclusion of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in the set. He hit the high notes just fine, except that he let Billy Trudel do the very highest ones in the ah-ah-ahs. He played for nearly 3 hours straight.
As noted by others, the stage was adorned here and there with aluminum panels, the tops of which were curved, perhaps suggesting the curves of a grand piano. Overhead hung three large flourishes (large ribbon-like curves) at the end of which were medallions with the head on them that appeared on one of the sails. Again, they were something like a sun-god emblem. Interestingly, I thought the hair on the figure made it look like Beethoven!
The band was great. Bob Birch was moving about well and seems to have fully recovered from his injuries. Davey was Davey; fantastic showman and musician as always -- 'nuff said. John Jorgenson and Guy Babylon were also great -- John now seems to be fully incorporated into the band, joking about with Davey and Bob like on the MIE tour. He's got his hair a bit shorter now.
Let's discuss Charlie Morgan. There has been discussion here about drum machines and loops. This guy IS a machine. His rhythm is perfect and flawless, and his footwork KICKS BUTT. Charlie is incredible to hear live. During some of the Nigel-era oldies, like GYBR, I found myself watching Charlie. Not only does he duplicate Nigel's steady chops, but he even emulates Nigel's characteristic deliberate arm movements (lifting his arms higher than most drummers). I have always been a fan of Nigel's contributions to Elton's work, but I have to say that I think Charlie brings a tremendous amount of the energy to Elton's current sound.
Rounding off the band were Billy Trudel on backup vocals (mainly high parts) and John Mahon on percussion. That's right, Ray's not along this time. Now I'm not just saying this to mourn Ray Cooper's absence, and Ray is one of a kind -- there are simply no substitutions, but I really didn't think John Mahon was very impressive on percussion. I'm certainly no authority on percussion, but it seemed as if his main role was to be another backup singer alongside (literally) Billy Trudel. His percussion had very little emotion other than twirling his mallets, which on a couple of occasions caused him to be late on a beat. In fact, at times it seemed like the percussion instruments were an afterthought. He would be singing a backup vocal, then sort of look over at the bongos or the tambourine and think to himself, oh, maybe I'll hit this now. Sorry to be negative on the guy -- again, maybe I'm just spoiled on Ray.
I think it was the arena, but I thought the sound was much "muddier" than the MIE tour. I saw the MIE show at an outdoor venue (Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta), and the sound was much crisper. Again, probably the acoustics of the building. During Simple Life, you could barely hear Elton's voice in the mix, but make no mistake, the beat was heart-pounding.
Elton's comments were pretty standard -- just introducing the songs. I don't believe he ever introduced the band. He made the same comments as posted from his Roxy show about Candle In The Wind and his cover of Sand and Water. Elton did say that nowadays, one can easily think that people are bad, but that all of us reaching out to him and sending sympathy, good wishes, thoughts, prayers, etc, has really made him realize how much good there is in the world. He called If The River Can Bend a "gospelly" song, and said that he wrote The Last Song when he was "feeling down about the death of a friend".
When he mentioned his new album, he pronounced it "The Big PicCHURR", emphasizing the last syllable in an almost country accent, a la "Don't disCARD me". He described Something About The Way You Look Tonight as what you want to say when you look at the one you love.
I thought that The River Can Bend was one of the best songs of the show. They really rocked through this song. I know some people commented that there were no kick-butt rockers on the new CD, and I have to admit that before the show, River wasn't one of my favorites. Charlie and Bob were really thumping the rhythm down on this song, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head for two days now!
Ron Byram's experience with the drunk girls behind him and the comments that have been posted about people walking around and talking during the new material are not isolated observations. My wife and I were at the other end of the arena, and had similar experiences.
During the MIE show, I marvelled at the age spread of the concert-goers. People who were into their 20's back in the seventies when Elton first hit superstardom, are now in their late forties and maybe even fifties. Many of us bring our kids along to share in our love of the music. The whole Lion King thing draws even more kids. But this show, and perhaps its the whole frenzy over the Diana events, has drawn an even broader spread of people.
My friends, there were quite a few people there who had to be in their late fifties and early sixties! This is great, except that they are only there to hear one or two songs. I lost count of how many times I had to get up and down to let these old farts out of the row to go get sodas, snacks, beer, and to go to the john. I'm not just being a grouch here; it was really happening so much that it was distracting. There were two older ladies behind us who were browsing my program over my shoulder before the show. They saw the picture of Bernie and said, oh, I think that's his "boyfriend". Of course my wife very quickly and very sweetly corrected them and set them straight.
But the biggest insult was when Elton played any of the new material. It was almost as if he had declared intermission. The aisles immediately filled with people, and those that did stay seated began to talk and ignore the music. Elton even commented apologetically that he HAD to play things off the new album or he'd never have new material. I realize that the average concertgoer is only a casual fan at best, but I thought their behavior was rude. I have been to many EJ concerts and I have NEVER seen it this bad before. The die-hard Billy Joel fans didn't act this way during Elton's parts at the Face To Face tour! I'm amazed this behavior didn't send him into a tantrum -- credit it to his professionalism.
Sorry this was so long and sorry to be negative at points. It was a great show. All of you who were lucky enough to get tickets won't be disappointed. The new material is great -- hearing it live makes you love each new song more.
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