I showed up for the concert in Cleveland at Gund Arena plenty early, so I had lots of time to kill before the show was to start. I checked out my seat, which was on the floor in the very back -- not bad, but not great.. I wouldn't be able to see EJ much at all from there.
I went out to the concourse and walked around a bit and decided to have an ice cream cone. As I stood there, enjoying the ice cream, a man approached me.
"Excuse me, how many people are in your party?"
"Er, just me."
"Oh, so you must be a pretty big fan to come here all by yourself!"
[I guess it's pretty unusual to see a 19-year-old male there by himself..]
"Yep, I'm a pretty big fan.."
"So you'd be pretty enthusiastic if we put you in the first or second row? You'd stand up, cheer, and be really into it?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, then, here you go. Enjoy the show."
AAH!!
I stood there, dazed, for a bit. Then I got rid of my old ticket, then I checked out my new seat -- I was *right in front of Elton*! I was closer to him than anyone in the whole arena! Unbelievable! He looked directly at me a number of times. I had to use the restroom at one point, so I left during a longish solo (I hope he wasn't offended!) and got a tourbook while I was out. He signed it for me between songs (Is it obnoxious to have him do that? Everyone else did..) He opened it up and signed the photo of him on the inside, then he thanked *me*! Absolutely unbelievable.. I still wouldn't believe it if I didn't have the autograph and ticket stub. :)
The show was, of course, great. The set list was much like the others that have been posted. I'll post a more detailed spoiler review if no one else does.
By the way, if anyone else was up front and got pictures, I'd be *really* interested in arranging to get a copy!
Anyway, I'm sorry for rambling on, but I had to share this! My perserverance through years of being the only EJ fan I know finally paid off, and so will yours!
:) Jacob Huebert huebertjh1@gcc.edu
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