Hi all. I haven't posted anything about the 11/5 Amherst show yet because I wanted to see what others had to say and didn't want to be repetitive. So I just want to add some extra details.
I was seated in the 17th row on the right side of the stage and I also "upgraded" myself. I agree that the stage was too low to the ground and I'm not tall at all. I had gone up to the front during Gray Seal and stayed there for the entirety of the song but as soon as it ended I saw Security Guards moving folks away so I went back to my seat because of this and also because I didn't want to leave my friend alone. However, when 2 previously empty seats in front of us were occupied and a woman with the largest hair in Massachusetts (which is saying a lot for this part of the country!) sat directly in my view of Elton and blocked what little of him I could see, I turned to my friend and said "This is bull. Let's go". By this point I noticed that people were, once again, gathering up by the stage - the truth is that we had no idea who Elton had yelled at; I was just hoping it wasn't at a fan - I just knew that there was no way that I was going to stay in that seat.
So up we went during I Guess that's why... and remained for the rest of the show. We had a great view of the band and there were quite a few girls who made of point of yelling to Davey. He was very responsive; smiling and waving often and he handed out quite a few picks to the fans. As for the girl that jumped on stage, I had been watching her make her way through the crowd but never thought she'd actually get on the stage. What I found most entertaining about this was that after she was placed back in the audience I looked at Bob Birch, who throughout most of the show just played without showing a lot of emotion, and he was absolutely cracking up!
I also want to add that I was lucky to enough to be able to reach out and actually touch Elton's hand while he was signing an autographs, etc., before his first encore. That truly was the highlight of the entire show even though I wasn't able to see his hands on the piano keys from where I stood and the sound system really wasn't good. I thought the piano was getting drowned out because of the fact that I was standing in front of his two guitarists, but it's good to know that others agree. As far as Elton's performance is concerned, I also disagree that he went through motions. I thought it was an extremely emotional and heart-felt performance. I really admire him for blasting those guards who were keeping his fans away from him.
By the way, I spoke to the girl who jumped on the stage. She told me that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that she just couldn't resist. She then showed me a guitar pick with the letters "DJ" on it and said "Whatever THAT stands for!" I informed her that DJ stands for Davey Johnstone, his guitarist of 20-something years. So much for being a true fan, huh?
-Joann in Boston
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