Well, the Birmingham show was absolutely amazing. I have no complaints, whatsoever. I came in expecting an amazing show, and Elton actually delivered more.
The set list was the same as it's been for awhile, except Levon has been dropped -- I believe this is the 4th or 5th concert that it's been absent from his set.
Our seats were on the floor, at the back of the second section the two corner seats on the very right. We had a very good view of Elton from a little below the shoulders and up.
For those of you who say that Elton was just going through the motions -- I don't doubt that this could have been the case at your show, but I don't know if those that attended the Birmingham show just got lucky or you folks just got unlucky or both. Elton seemed to be utterly enthusiastic about every single aspect of every song from start to finish. He never stopped pouring his heart out at any point throughout the whole night. I was in awe of how much energy he displayed.
Also, I thought the sound was surprisingly sharp. A whole bunch of Rowers commented about muddy sound, particularly about the piano getting drowned out. Well, folks, Elton's piano at the Civic Center had no problem at all. In fact, the high notes were almost piercing. His vocals may have been a bit off in terms of sound. I'm guessing, however, that this was do to his bout with a cold, as opposed to the sound system. Although Elton never apologized for a cold, as he has at other shows, his voice, to me, sounded slightly breathy. When he would sing a louder note, though, he had no problem filling out the sound, but it looked as if he had to try a little harder for some of those. He also seemed a little raspy, but that did not serve as a deterrant from the excellence of his performance in any way.
The highlight, in my opinion, was Sand and Water. A few people on the 22nd Row have said the same thing, and many of others have commented that's it's a very beautiful song. However, all of those that reviewed a concert for the Row left me completely unprepared for how moving the song actually is. After hearing him perform it for myself, I'm extremely surprised that there wasn't the typical "gloating" over it that usually accompanies stand-out numbers such as Sand and Water. I sensed, from other's reactions at the concert, that the rest of the Civic Center felt similarly. All over the building, couples began holding each other closer, and the whole place seemed genuinely mesmerized by the song's beauty. For those that haven't heard it, it's in line with the slow folk/country/rock mixture that is reminiscent of something that Nanci Griffith or Keb' Mo would sing (if you've heard of either of those artists).
The song that came in a close second was I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, complete with "Play the piano, boy!!" ala "Storytellers." The live rendition of this song (in his "Storytellers" performance, as well) carries so much more depth than the studio one. His funky piano fills, lively vocals, and energetic, detailed solo make the song, as opposed to the studio version, in which the strong presence of the beat and the simplicity of the melody are dominant. The solo at the end was very similar to the solo he did at the House of Blues, except it's become much more elaborate and fine-tuned. The presence of a band probably allows him to do more, too.
**A couple suggestions for next year's boxset**: the live versions of I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That and Sand and Water from this year's tour. Or, possibly, a studio version of Sand and Water would suffice.
Other random thoughts on particular songs:
Simple Life -- makes a great opener to the concert. It really gets you pumped and geared up. He plays it quite a bit faster than he did on the studio take. I love the piano fill he adds in the middle of the song, when Guy Babylon is doing his harmonica sound on the keyboard -- Elton adds a real good bluesy, rhythmic three chords in the spaces in between. He does the same thing on the Barcelona 1992 video.
Grey Seal -- when Elton announced that the next song is one from the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, the crowd went nuts, thinking that it was Candle in the Wind. Then he mentioned the name of the song, and there was a simultaneous disappointment-filled sigh from the audience. The way he performs it is very similar to the version from the Classic Years edition of Here and There, with him using very staccato vocals (Ex --> when singing "All my life is drawings from the eye," "eye" is held for one second and on note, instead of having it cover three notes, as it does on the studio versions.) This is just one of those songs that naturally does well live.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road -- he sings this very well. He can hit most of the formerly falsetto notes in his normal range, which surprised me. I think he drifts into a falsetto once or twice during the song, and just sings lower harmony on the high "ahhh"s. I don't really agree that Billy Trudel sings as much of the song as Elton does. His notes are just higher, so he does a lot of harmony.
Honky Cat -- in my opinion, the studio version contains one of the best vocal performances ever. I wasn't sure whether I would like it without the same vocal performance. However, Elton can still give his voice that lazy ambience that makes the studio cut so great. For the person that mentioned that it felt as if Elton was "rocking, but not rolling": maybe what you were hearing was just the nature of the song. For example, both Honky Cat and Grey Seal have a very staccato nature. I felt as if his performances ran very smoothly, myself.
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues -- just wanted to say that my brother, who is not too much of an Elton John fan, thought that his performance of this song, along with IDWGOWYLT, constituted the highlights of the night.
Love's Got A Lot To Answer For -- I feel this is the worst song Elton has recorded in the 1990s. However, the live version had a few extra kicks in it. The chord changes seemed to be accented much more strongly. Also, the backing vocals were done very well. I was scared that this song would be a bathroom break song for many people, but it kept the audience's attention. The fact that I really loved the live performance of this came as quite a shock to me. Maybe I'll be able to look at it in a new light next time I listen to The Big Picture.
Take Me to the Pilot -- amazing opening solo. Throughout the whole show, Elton's piano performance was simply on target. Even though I am fully aware of the extent of Elton's talent, I was still blown away by what he did. He really hasn't lost any speed. I wonder how much of his solos are improvised, and how much previously arranged. Anyway, TMTTP is just one example of his brilliant piano work that never ceases. As mentioned by others, he reworked the piano to pretty much every song in some shape, some getting more treatment than others. I think that most of the crowd was concentrating on just trying to figure out what that song could be.
Philadelphia Freedom -- this song goes over really well live. I think that this has something to do with the fact that it fits his current range perfectly. I basically just soaked myself into his crisp vocals throughout this song.
Bennie and the Jets -- a real crowd pleaser. The whole Civic Center seemed to be shouting "Bennie" along with Elton. His under-the-piano solo had the whole crowd standing on their seats and murmuring amazement to those next to them. I even stood on my seat excitedly, and it came as no surprise to me.
A couple other things about the band: It's true about Mahon. He doesn't have a whole lot to do throughout the whole concert. In fairness, I'm sure he's doing whatever Davey and Elton direct him to do. Ray is probably given alot more freedom to go nuts behind his instruments. Mahon does his job, adding important sounds to many songs, but I'm not so sure that he is *supposed* to do anything more. As for Jorgenson, he impressed the heck out of me. He's one of those do-everything guys, much like Mark Rivera is for Billy Joel. One moment, he's going nuts with the sax, the next he's getting down on one of the two guitars he seemed to have strapped to him throughout the whole show. I think he did some percussionary things to. Also, I understand that he used to play the flute for We All Fall in Love Sometimes/Curtains. He's a great addition to the band -- a renaissance man, if you will. Seems extremely important and talented.
I would go through every song, but I'm sure I've lost most everybody's attention by now.
This show represents one of the absolute highlights of my entire life, so far. It was, indeed my first Elton John concert, and I sit here at my computer *starving* for another opportunity. I'm looking forward to hearing from others who attended the Birmingham show. Thanks for reading!!
-David "I Don't Like This Nickname" Rosen
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