It just doesn't get any better than this! Although my seat was in the balcony, I was on the left side, so I had a great view. The Fox Theatre is beautiful -- moorish design, like the Alhambra Palace. The ceiling had little twinkling stars that blinked on and off all night. And as it was a smaller theater, there was no seating behind the stage -- this enhanced the sound and the lighting, so they were considerably better here than the first two shows.
Elton came out -- black suit again. Looks like the same he had in Roanoke, only he seemed to sparkle more. There were no changes in the setlist from Chattanooga.
The crowd here was the best, although like the other shows, the crowd remained seated most of the time. But the enthusiasm overwhelmed Elton on several occasions.
The best songs were still the best songs -- Ticking; Carla / Etude; Tonight. The piano improvisation is improving. Tonight's version of Take Me To The Pilot was likely the best I've ever heard.
After Friends, Elton introduced Bernie again (as he did in Chattanooga). It wasn't a surprise for me this time, but it was still very cool. I like seeing the two of them together. Bernie actually said something to the crowd ? something about Atlanta ? but I couldn't make it out because the cheers were so loud.
When Elton came out for the first encore, I could see he was very moved by the amazing reaction he got from the crowd. It was apparent he was crying. He then dedicated Circle of Life to Andres Galarraga -- the Atlanta Braves player who is out for the season because he's recently been diagnosed with cancer.
During the dedication for The Last Song, Elton recommended an article in the current Esquire magazine about the spread of AIDS, and mentioned the statistic of 30 million sufferers worldwide.
This was my last show for this tour, so I'm a little sad now. I wish I could go to them all. I wish he only did shows this way. They have the greatest artistic merit and the greatest entertainment value of any shows I've seen. The only thing I would change is more people should be able to approach the stage to stand and dance. Also, I would encourage more gifts for Elton.
And now that it's all over . . .
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