ELTON JOHN + band
Huntsville (USA) - Von Braun Center 12 settembre 2012
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Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Bennie and the Jets
Grey Seal
Levon
Holiday Inn
Tiny Dancer
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Philadelphia Freedom
Candle in the Wind
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Rocket Man
Hey Ahab
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Honky Cat
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Daniel
"Nikita" (solo)
Sorry seems to be the hardest word (solo)
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
I'm Still Standing
The Bitch Is Back
Crocodile Rock
Your Song
© The Huntsville Times/Bob Gathany
da Huntsville Times
Elton John delivers impressive set to packed Von Braun Center crowd in Huntsville
di Matt Wake
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The 12-foot screen behind Elton John and his
dapper, deft band flashed the word "BITCH" in white LED lights.
And
then, after singing the first verse of his strutting classic, "The
Bitch Is Back," John hopped onto the lid of his black grand piano, like a
mountaineer who'd just scaled a peak.
By this point Wednesday
night, it was the Von Braun Center audience that was atop a sierra...of
John's hits. Hits from the '70s ("Rocket Man"). Hits from MTV ("I'm
Still Standing"). Hits with banjos in them ("Honky Cat"). Hits from
movie soundtracks (the "Almost Famous" sing-along "Tiny Dancer").
But
the flamboyant English singer brought more than his back catalog with
him. He brought his molasses-rich voice and impressive piano chops - the
latter's gospel, soul, R&B and blues leanings were more evident in a
live setting, particularly on John's '80s material that was stripped of
its studio sheen, like "Sad Songs."
Opening with "Saturday
Night's Alright For Fighting," John was in command of his midrange and
honky-tonk piano licks from the get go. That said, he did miss a few
upper-register notes in the first couple of tunes, but eventually owned
those as well. By the time John and his band dug into the joyous groove
of "Philadelphia Freedom," the 65-year-old star was completely feeling
it, hooting after hitting high-notes like he was 25.
John was
clad in purple pants, shirt and a knee-length coat that was spangled-out
like Vegas-era Elvis. The outlandish eyeglasses that were his visual
trademark for decades were replaced by shiny Malcolm-X-type spectacles
with amber lenses. In between virtually every song, Sir Elton strutted
around the stage like the most fabulous preacher ever, pointing at the
audience with both hands, his mouth agape with attitude like Mick
Jagger's.
The energy did slow down a click though during
the last third of the two-hour-and-a-half concert, due to a few too many
slow numbers, such as "Nikita."
The VBC crowd was a mix of aunts
in animal prints, polo-shirted dads, teenage daughters,
skinny-jeans-wearing skinny guys, thirty-something gals in feather boas
and novelty specs, and even the occasional Nixon-era acid burnout. A
group of young-professional chicks seated next to me somehow managed to
sneak an entire bottle of white wine into the show.
John's core
five-piece, black-suited male band was anchored by two musicians that
have been with him for decades: drummer Nigel Olsson swung all night,
particularly on "Bennie and the Jets," which John goosed with a
bordello-jazz solo. Exceptionally tan guitarist Davey Johnstone added
vital texture to the material all night, whether it was using a slide
and double-neck guitar to mimic pedal steel on "Tiny Dancer," busting
out a mandolin on the deep-cut "Holiday Inn" or doing some prog-rock
shredding on his Led Paul during "Madman Across the Water."
The
Huntsville show was Birmingham fan Lynn Kurtts' 53rd time to see Elton
John, so I was eager to hear what stood out to her about tonight.
"The
energy that he continues to put out," says Kurtts, who attended the
show with husband Rob. "Elton's probably played "Rocket Man" 3,000
times, but he still plays it so furiously."
This brings out a good point.
You
may never encounter a performer that absolutely bathes in applause like
Elton – or who seems so determined to give that energy back. Near the
end of the night, John and his band - augmented by four female singers
and two Croatians cellist (who opened the show playing instrumental
covers of Michael Jackson, U2 and Nirvana) – left the stage following a
rollicking "Crocodile Rock."
After the near-capacity arena clapped, whooped and stomped for a few minutes, John returned.
He then did something I've never seen a major artist do: He proceeded to
walk from the front of stage-left to stage-right, signing everything
fans in the pit handed him. He signed album covers. Ticket stubs. What
appeared to be a CD-R. Hoodies.
John thanked the crowd for paying for a ticket to see him in tough financial times.
Then,
he serenaded the VBC faithful with his very first smash: the 1970
ballad "Your Song," which started out with just John's vocals and piano,
before the band helped him nudge the tune to its gentle apex.
He sang this finale like he was reciting its lyrics from a love letter. To his fans.
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