It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
While the Oklahoma City concert will rank as one of the greatest moments in my life, I feel compelled to vent a little regarding casual Elton fans. The first 20 minutes of the concert I was simply not happy. Our seats were about 20 rows up from the floor and about 3/4 back from the stage. When the first song started, everyone obviously yelled and carried on. However, by the end of the first sung line, I was being tapped on the shoulder and asked to sit down. I looked behind me and not a single person was standing. Give me a break folks. THIS IS AN ELTON JOHN CONCERT! I was appalled that people weren't at least standing for the first song. And to make it worse, by the time he played Grey Seal (the 3rd song), the aisles were filled with people going to get drinks.
Okay, that's the end of my venting. Now for the good stuff. WOW! How does he maintain the energy level. His opening remarks were that the band had had a few days off and were ready to put on a good show. An did they ever. Elton's voice is in prime form and he went nonstop for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Who else does that? He wore the same ensemble, this time in royal blue with a black t-shirt and bright red frames. VERY CLASSY! The song list was the same as the Knoxville concert. Sorry, he seems content not to go back to WAFILS/C or Levon. :(
My high points of the evening were Honky Cat, Take Me to the Pilot, DLTSGDOM, Philadelphia Freedom, Bennie, Sand & Water, and Your Song.
Honky Cat is just a great live number and he wailed on the piano. There is this great dueling instruments with him and Davey on the Banjo.
Take Me to the Pilot was incredible. Someone previously wrote that they liked the intro but could have passed on the song. I disagree. He sang the first verse in a slow bluesy style that was absolutely perfect. Then when the band joined in, it was all the better.
DLTSGDOM lost alot of its magic for me after it was overplayed as the George Michael version. Last night it came back for me. I just can't believe the power of the song, and the choreography of the lights for this song was especially strong.
Philadelphia Freedom has never really been a favorite of mine, but it was so fresh last night. I think in terms of the overall sound mix of piano, band, and vocals, it was the best sounding song of the evening.
BENNIE! It's just the ultimate concert song with wonderful audience participation. What made it even more special was the fact that a friend and I were able to manuever behind the stage for this one and got to see it up close with a great view of the under the piano keyboarding.
Sand & Water is a great song and I would love to hear it recorded. Maybe it will be on the next box set. What made it especially wonderful, was his dedication. As in the other venues, he dedicated it to Versace and Di, but he added a dedication to the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. One might think he was just playing to the audience, but I believe he was sincere in light of the fact that he arrived early in order to tour the bombing site. There was very little audience movement during this one and people were pretty reverential.
Elton contends that he never tires of singing Your Song, but as a fan, I've often had the opinion, "Oh well I guess he has to always play that one." But last night, the song was fresh, much like Philadelphia Freedom. It too had great sound mixing.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO SEE ELTON ON THIS TOUR, PLEASE READ THIS: During the show, I walked around the entire arena on the aisle separating the upper and lower sections. If you can't get up close floor seats, then get the seats behind the stage. I know that sounds rediculous, but it's true. The make-up of the stage allows for great viewing from all sides. The only exception would be if you were near the top of the arena behind the stage. Then the light scaffolding might be in the way. From the back, you are close and get to see all of Elton's keyboarding. Also, the sound was the best behind the stage. It has fewer speakers and they are closer to you. The worst sound is directly right and left of the stage. I felt sorry for the people sitting there. Anyway, in OKC they didn't sell behind the stage until the end. Also, you may be able to trade tickets with people who think that behind the stage is bad. I couldn't believe it, but by the end of the show, the area behind the stage was the most crowded. The aisle between the upper and lower sections was wall to wall people.
He signed a ton of programs last night. Most of them he did when he came out for the first encore. So if your timing your move, that would be the time. I enjoyed the fact that someone brought a Blue Moves LP to be signed. They were waving it around all night, but it was the very last thing he signed.
The only other negative I experienced was on SATWYLT. It was over produced. John Mahon was playing some type of sampling instrument and just ruined the song. It sounded like samples of high pitched radio garble and was so loud that Elton's vocal got lost. The song would have been better with Elton alone with a few touches by Guy & Billy.
LIGHT SHOW SPOILER: DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE LIGHTING. I can't recall anyone mentioning the lighting for previous shows. I was not prepared for the superb lighting choreography. Every song had lighting that enhanced the song without detracting from it. On The One, It started with a mix of blue lights running across the crowd on the floor that gave a wonderful effect of water running up on a beach. Philadelphia Freedom had a real patriotic look. DLTSGDOM was perfect. Sun figures made of light were cast around all over the arena and the stage itself alternated between the look of a rising and setting sun. VERY COOL! Pat Brannnon, Tom Horton, and Joe Gonzales have put together the most complementary light show I've ever seen.
Well I'm sorry for the length of this, but it is certainly a moment of catharsis for me.
God Bless, Jim Smith -------------------------------------------------------------------- Organizational Leadership - Associate Director Southern Nazarene University Bethany, OK 73008 Phone: (405) 491-6664 e-mail: jsmith@snu.edu WEB: http://www.telepath.com/jdsmith
Return to the concert details.