Elton John concert review
Published: Sept. 29, 2006 on calgaryherald.com
Here’s a quick look at Elton John’s incredible setlist from his Saddledome concert Friday
night. For a full review, please see Heath McCoy's review in Saturday's print edition of The Calgary Herald.
1) Funeral for a Friend — Sir Elton opens with this instrumental classic that
opens up 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Just as on record, it slowly
transitions into Love Lies Bleeding.
2) Love Lies Bleeding — The audience of 17,500 cheer madly as the stage is
awash in red spotlights. Elton sits at his Yamaha piano punching away at the
keys like an accountant at taxtime, and when he starts singing for the first
time, his voice sounds rock solid, as good as ever. What a relief. Especially
for the people who paid $149.50 to be here.
3) Bennie and the Jets — Fantastic! As soon as he plunks down on the opening
chord, people cheer with recognition. The jazzy piano solo in the middle is
tight, and I’m giving myself mental high-fives. On a side note, the Jets are
gonna get killed by the Colts this weekend.
4) Philadelphia Freedom — “Good evening everybody,” Elton stands up and says to
the crowd, “it’s really good to be back at the Saddledome. Tonight you’re going
to hear some old songs, some new ones, some favourites. So we’re just gonna get
on with it.”
5) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — “We’re going to do a song that we haven’t done
in our set in about six, seven years,” Elton says. He hits the falsetto chorus
so much better than I would have anticipated, making this the highlight of the
night for me. The audience loves it too.
6) Believe — So here’s the thing; I had an eye exam today and the doc dilated
my pupils, so everything has this misty, cataract haze around it. I know it
sounds mean, but from the back of the Saddledome, Elton looks like Vicki
Gabereau. Apologies to both parties. Send hate mail to. . .
7) Tiny Dancer — This song took off again after inclusion on Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. A friend of mine always thought it went, “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.” Life was simpler when he was the boss. . .
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues — He’s got this thing, this Elton
John, that makes you want to sing out as loud as the person next to you can
stand. Though it’s not the greatest version, there’s an infectious energy about
it.
9) Take Me To The Pilot — By the way, an Elton John hat is $35 at the
merchandise stands. A red tank top with the word “Bitch” in glitter — $50. A
blue hockey jersey — $110. A black leather jacket with “Saturday Night’s
Alright For Fighting” embroidered on the back — $425. Watching William Shatner
perform Rocket Man on YouTube — priceless.
10) I Want Love — This little-known song is from his Songs From The West Coast
album, which most of us didn’t purchase. I was washing my hair that day. Yeah,
that’s the ticket. . .
11) Someone Saved My Life Tonight — So here’s my theory on why Elton won’t
perform Candle In The Wind tonight, only the best-selling single of all time
with 35 million copies sold — it’s because he’s not sure whether to do the
original Marilyn Monroe version or the ‘90s Princess Diana one. Some advice for
your future shows, Sir Elton — the Monroe version is always the right answer.
Yes, even in England.
12) Postcards from Richard Nixon — The leadoff track from his latest album, The
Captain & The Kid, Elton introduces this by saying it’s his best reviewed album
in years. The polite applause from the crowd means 17,000 of them don’t own it.
13) Tinderbox — Also from the new album, Elton introduces this as a song about
touring in the ‘70s with his songwriter Bernie Taupin as the fifth member of
the band.
14) Blues Never Fade Away — Another track from the new album, Elton introduces
it as a song about loss, about losing someone. It’s a slower ballad, just like
the last one.
15) The Bridge — Fellow Herald reviewer Heath McCoy turns to me and says, “How
come he’s only doing the wussy stuff off his new album?” ‘Coz he hates you,
Heath. He hates you.
16) Captain and The Kid — So this is the fifth song in a row from the new
album, which Elton is starting to sound apologetic about playing selections
off. With a slide guitar playing rhythm, it has a sweet, country flavour to it.
17) Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters — Okay, so we’re finally out of that “new
album” vortex and back into classic material. This is from 1972’s Honky
Chateau, and it sounds as pretty as ever. Anyone with a date snuggles a little
closer to them.
18) Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word — Those “date” people are cuddling even
closer, making me jealous. Lucky I have you, Macintosh G4 laptop. I love you.
Let’s go to Vegas. Let’s get married. . . for a while.
19) Rocket Man — “And all this science, I don’t understand/ It’s just my job
five days a week.” Brilliant, Bernie Taupin, brilliant. This extended version
with a long piano solo isn’t as good as on record, but it’s good enough to sing
along to.
20) Daniel — Elton’s discography is longer than your arm, so it’s always nice
when he pulls out a favourite. He introduces his band before playing this.
21) Levon — I’ve never liked this song, but Elton does an excellent version of
it live, enough to make me want to go home and give the studio version another
chance. The scores of people singing along and bobbing their heads are proof
that it’s going over well with this audience.
22) Crocodile Rock — A great way to pick up on the momentum of Levon and build
on it. This is the material people came to hear, and you can hear it as they
sing the “la-la-la-la-la” part.
23) The Bitch Is Back — To start this off, Elton stands with one foot on his
seat and one on the piano, clapping with his arms in the air. He hammers away
at the piano beautifully, and his guitarist adds a great rock flourish to it.
24) Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) — Sure it’s Friday, but with a
version this good, who cares? The crowd goes bananas as Elton stands on his
stool at the end of the song, bowing.
ENCORE
25) Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me — Someone near me screams, “This is my
song! I’ve been waiting all night for him to play it!” It’s a great version,
although I wish George Michael would walk out from backstage to join him. I
know it’s unrealistic. But still. . .
26) Your Song — Dude, I’m telling everyone that this is my song. I hope you
don’t mind.
© Creative Commons image.
