Sir Elton John performed before a sold-out crowd of more than 11,000 fans at the Spokane Arena, Friday night; I was lucky enough to be one of these fans.
Elton is a force to be reckoned with; vocals, piano performance, and an incredible amount of energy for a man who just turned 64, make him one of the highest quality acts still touring. Regardless of the excellent performance, the concert could have used more explosions, I wasn’t sure what to expect since this was one of the biggest name concerts I’ve ever taken part in. I was however; hoping for more extravagance…at least bust out a few pairs of goofy-ass glasses, Elton. He did have a rather interesting jacket on that had a design that incorporated the words “Music Magic” on it, which was an accurate description of the concert we experienced.
Highlights of the concert were a twenty-plus minute rendition of Rocket Man that was borderline mind-blowing, especially considering there isn’t really room to expand such a tight and concise song as Rocket Man, Elton managed to pull it off and that’s why he is the star that he is today. Another great performance was the classic, Benny and the Jets, Elton got the audience involved and we were all part of the show. He also confirmed my theory that the lyric is, “She’s got electric boobs, Mohawk shoes, you know I read it in a magazine,” or perhaps the sound in the arena was a little muffled; one of the two, I prefer to believe the former.
One thing that I could have lived with out was the middle part of the concert where he played some songs from the newer album, “the Union” which on the album is Elton John and Leon Russell, the concert it did not feature Leon Russell though. Since it was a “greatest hits” concert, it was bit of a bore (although I quite enjoyed the song “Gone to Shiloh”). I almost fell asleep a few times (granted I did wake up excessively early that day). There were times I felt that Elton was a little full of himself, and rightfully so. After every song he would get up and point at the audience, then try to roar the crowd up as if to say, “get up everybody…I’m f**king Elton John!!” It was just good showmanship and appreciation of the crowd, although it was a little goofy. He is a living legend though, so he is allowed.
I have always appreciated the music of Elton John, however I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore fan, having only listened to a greatest hits album; needless to say I couldn’t sing along with this crowd for ¾ of the songs. My brother in-law and myself were disappointed by the lack of songs from the Lion King soundtrack, I suppose if I were Elton I would have left the cheesy Lion King songs out too, but c’mon Elton, you have fans to please over here!
He didn’t have much audience involvement, and didn’t really take time to talk to the audience either; I think he got about two sentences out the entire time, “this time we are going to rock out.” However, a 2 hour 45 minute show wouldn’t leave much time for talk.
Summary: To borrow a phrase from Barney on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, “Elton John is Legend-…wait for it, because here is the setlist:
“Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.”
“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.”
“Levon.”
“Madman Across the Water.”
“Tiny Dancer”
“Philadelphia Freedom.”
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”
“Daniel.”
“Rocket Man.”
“I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues.”
Several new songs from “The Union,” including “Hey Ahab,” “Gone to Shiloh” and “Monkey Suit.”
“Take Me to the Pilot.”
“Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.”
“Candle in the Wind.”
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”
“Burn Down the Mission.”
“Bennie and the Jets.”
“The Bitch is Back.”
“Crocodile Rock.”
Encore: “Your Song.”
-Dary”!
Check out this other great stuff from Enter the Shell:
—————————
Album Review: Elton John & Leon Russell
Artist of the Week(Legend series)-Elton John
Cover Review-“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Enter the Shell Show: Keri Kimmel
You hit it on the head, Uncle Mac. Elton was solid all night and probably the best piano player I’ve ever heard in person. No Lion King stuff was highly disappointing though. I probably would have made out with the old ladies (yes, both of them) next to me if he started up “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.