Greetings fellow rowers,
I can't stop smiling from last night. I feel like I won the lottery. Actually, I really did in a way. Don't worry, this is NOT a spoiler. I'll do a seperate message for that. Instead I want to tell you about one very lucky evening for me.
I left Washington DC yesterday afternoon and headed for Virginia Beach (about 3.5 hours away). I had no ticket. I've been trying for a month to get a ticket to no avail. Brokers were charging $300+ for pavilion seating. I've always believed that there is no such thing as a truly sold out concert, so I went. I arrived there and searched for someone with an extra seat. Another guy was there who had driven from Miami with no ticket and was also looking. Tickets were VERY scarce. I've never seen anything like it. Usually at shows there are people standing near the box office either trying to get rid of extras or hoping to make a quick buck. There was nothing.
But finally I found a guy who gave me a lawn seat for $25. I was really hoping to buy a pavilion seat and would have paid above face value for one, but there weren't any (except one guy who wanted $300 for one).
Bear with me, here's where it gets interesting. I proceeded to the lawn section and was trying to situate myself near the front within view of a video screen. I was pretty much invading the already claimed space of someone who waited in line for a while. But I was alone and figured they could tolerate me. I could barely see the piano even when squinting.
Two men approached me about a half hour before the show was scheduled to begin. One of them said, "Excuse me, how many people are in your party."
"Just one" I replied.
He then said "Are you a loyal Elton John fan?"
I said "Yeah I drove here all the way from DC by myself without a ticket."
"How would you like to sit in the front row?".
"Oh my God" I gasped.
Yep. It's true. I've read about this happening to people, but never thought it would happen to me. The guy was from Elton's staff and had a handful of tickets - front row, right in front of the piano. I felt like I had just won the lottery.
He kept telling me "keep it quiet." because he didn't want others to see what was going on. So I proceeded to the front row, right by the piano where I watched a most incredible performance. I made eye contact with him many times. Twice during the show I got to shake Elton's hand and during the final encore, he signed my program. I said to him "Thanks for the ticket!" and he smiled back immediately.
Needless to say, it was one of the most fun evenings of my life. I can't believe I went down there with no ticket and ended up in the front row shaking hands with Elton, all for $25 dollars. By the way, that guy I met out front from Miami... he was up on the lawn and was given a front row ticket as well. We sat right next to each other. His situation was different though, he looked for EJ's staff people, found them and then pleaded with them for a ticket. It worked.
I think it is so nice that Elton does this for us. His staff is really good at picking out the die-hard fans. I am only 23 years old, so I really didn't think I would stand out as a longtime, loyal fan. But for some reason, I was picked. The front row was filled mostly with longtime fans, with a few shocked and energetic casual fans mixed in. It was quite an experience, one I will never, ever forget.
-Rick
Here is my spoiler report from the front row of the Virginia Beach show. I didn't read any spoilers before the show so the whole thing was a surprise to me.
The concert was incredible. This was my sixth show and by far the best in every respect. Elton was in a great mood. His voice sounded great, the band was awesome, and the set list was almost perfect!
I won't give a song-by-song set list because I didn't keep track and because I'm sure someone else will post it. But the highlights for me were the songs from the new album and the songs he hasn't performed in a while.
If The River Can Bend was probably the most powerful performance of the night. It's amazing how well they perform that considering it's such a new song. He also played Something About the Way You Look Tonight which sounded great, Love's Got A Lot to Answer For and Long Way from Happiness both of which I enjoyed tremendously.
The other big surprises for me were Grey Seal and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road !!!! They've really done some great re-arranging of Grey Seal. It was one of the biggest rockers of the night. Throughout the long set he played many gems including Tiny Dancer, Levon, Honky Cat, and Believe.
He also did what he described as a "mini-unplugged set" which featured just him and the piano. He played The Last Song followed by a great version of Daniel and then Long Way From Happiness. I especially enjoyed Daniel this time because it was performed much more slowly and only with the piano (and perhaps Guy Babylon helped out).
He ended the main segment of the show with a bunch of rockers which included: Philadephia Freedom, Bennie and the Jets, and Saturday Night's Alright. During Bennie he did an amazing under-the-piano solo that drove the crowd to a frenzy.
The encore included Sand and Water which was SO beautiful and The Bitch Is Back (with a new piano-pounding ending). He then returned AGAIN to perform one of my favorites, and one I never thought I'd see live. We All Fall In Love Sometimes followed, of course, by an extended version of Curtains which was so powerful. After playing Curtains Elton came down to the front of the stage, signed three programs (including mine!) and then finished off with Your Song.
I only have a few criticisms about the show.
First, the absence of Ray Cooper. He really adds so much energy to the stage performance and the crowd. He was missed.
Second, the crowd was dead. My god what does Elton have to do to get people going? He was going crazy up there, being so energetic.You would think people were at a piano recital. Even the people in the front row who were GIVEN tickets by Elton's staff sat there silently for much of the show. A small group of us in the front insisted on standing and were constantly being asked to sit back down.
Finally, the security is ridiculous. Twice during the encore Elton motioned for us to fill in the area in front of the stage. The second time he had a puzzled look in his face like "Why aren't you people moving up?" The problem was the over-zealous security who screamed in our faces and pushed us back if we took a step forward. I realize they are employed by the facility, but Elton's staff should calm them down beforehand.
Oh by the way, one hilarious aside. For the first couple hours or so of the concert Elton would look behind him at a staff person (sitting at a computer) between every song. The person at first held up two fists and Elton nodded. A few songs later he held up two fingers on one hand and a fist. Elton ran over to the guy and asked him something and returned smiling. After EVERY song he looked at this guy who eventually kept putting up four fingers and his fist. I couldn't figure out what these signals were. About two thirds of the way through the show, between songs, Elton looked over at him and the guy wasn't paying attention. Through all the crowd noise, I could barely make out Elton yelling (not into the microphone) "Hey! Hey! Score?". He held up four fingers and fist and said "final". It was the Atlanta Braves playoff game! Elton was keeping track of the score even while performing! Now that's a die hard Braves fan if I've ever seen one!
In sum, Elton put on one hell of performance - one that nobody who was there will ever forget. I've never heard of a peformer improving with age, but this guy is full of more energy and enthusiasm every time I see him. Thanks Elton, for a wonderful time...
-Rick
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