Austin, 8/7

by Brian Martinez

Because you don't care about what I wore, or who I saw at the show, or anything like that, I'll get to the nitty gritty. Elton come to the Home of the Longhorns Friday night at Austin's Frank Erwin Center for a sellout crowd of 15,000 or so. The result was incredible.

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

• This was the rocking-est concert I have ever been to in my entire *life*...l was floored. The band can JAM.
• This was the first night of the next leg of the tour. Elton said that we were a test audience of sorts, that he would be trying out a new set list, and that we were in for a long ride. We were. He was on stage for about 3 hours, 15 minutes.
• This was also the first show for the new drummer. Mr. Bruno was excellent. While I liked Charlie, it was easy to see why Elton went for the new drummer. Very strong drum presence. Forceful.
• Large concentration of 70s songs, with a few rarities ("I'm Going To Be A Teenage Idol," for example). Great set list. Only two songs from TBP. None from MIE.
• Great light show/screen show. Same set as before, but this time, lighting is geared to each song. Circle of Life, for example, had orange and green lights on the stage, to reinforce the African effect. DLTSGDOM had yellow change to orange change to red and then extinguish. GYBR had yellow, etc. Great dramatic effect.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Roy Rogers -- I've never heard this live. Sounded exactly like the album, but with a huskier voice. Wonderful. Sung as a tribute to "a childhood hero of mine."
• Texan Love Song -- Again, never heard this live. Done as a tribute to us, I think -- but not many people seemed to know it. I sang along with every word and loved every note.
• Rocket Man -- After years of hearing the super-super-extended funky Rocket Man mix, it was pleasant to hear a new treatment. The ending was very mellow, and for a lack of a better word, spacey. Ethereal. Lots of sound effects made this a song that everyone was transfixed by. I can't explain how it sounded, but it was just surreal with the new ending. Kudos.
• All the rockers -- Great Balls of Fire, Grey Seal, Crocodile Rock (which got everyone dancing), Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting), The Bitch Is Back, IDWGOWYLT, et. al.
• "Recover Your Soul" -- Done solo with piano. Whole new feel to the song. Loved it.
• Levon -- Elton turned it into a double-time rock song at the end. YEAH!
• The strange guy in front of me who insisted on freak-dancing alone during the whole show, bumping and grinding his way through even the slow numbers. Ever watched someone try to get nasty during "Circle Of Life?" Amusing.
• The guy about 5 people down to his right, with the pierced lip and goatee, who was jamming to Elton. Not all youth is lost :-)

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

• John Mohon wore these glasses that made him look like Sarah McLachlan.
• John Jorgenson wore these horn-rimmed things with yellow lenses that prompted the people in the row behind me to yell "Wayne's World! Wayne's World! Party ON, Garth!" every time they showed him on the screen.
• Great mix of people in the crowd. From 7 to 70.
• Sound got almost too loud at the end.
• Bring back "I'm Still Standing." Switch it out for Daniel.
• The man can play. He is still standing, better than he ever did.

All the best,
Brian in Houston

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