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Elton John and band performed in Columbia, MO on October 5, 2007
Monday, October 8 2007 |
Fan reports by Chris Akins and James. Photos by Chris Akins.
 Elton John and his band took the stage at approximately 8 p.m. in the Mizzou Arena. From my fourth row Rocket Tickets, directly in front of Elton, I was absolutely exstatic. When the legend walked out on stage, I knew Columbia was in for an amazing performance.
Elton wore a black jacket with “Love” written on the sleeve, with a western gun on the back, embraced by colorful flowers. Elton began smiling when he walked out, and he seemed to be in a very pleasant mood. This was a relief to me, because the last show I attended was Birmingham, Alabama, where he was not in the best of spirits.
Elton’s great mood continued to shine through. He said he was very happy to perform for the first time in Columbia on the eve of a big Mizzou football game. He informed the crowd that he was heading for Nebraska the next day, and everyone booed. Mizzou was playing Nebraska the next day. He also gave the crowd a score update for the Cleveland and New York baseball game. He asked the crowd which team they preferred and the entire crowd cheered for Cleveland. He then said that he was glad we wanted Cleveland, because “I f*cking hate the Yankees,” he instantly responded.
 When introducing the band, he told the audience that unlike some artists and bands, their sound was the real deal, no recordings. The crowd responded very well to this. The band seemed to be in great spirits as well. Bob Birch and Davey were laughing throughout the evening.
Elton’s voice and sound was in flawless form. His voice really shone through on "The Bridge". It was such a beautiful rendition. "Rocket Man" was brilliant as always. Elton’s air guitar was priceless at the beginning of "Saturday Night’s Alright". He also added a new intro into "Crocodile Rock". The long piano intro into "Take Me To the Pilot" was simply breathtaking. Elton really worked the keys on that number. "Levon" was a great song to be included in the set list. "Believe" was awesome as usual, when he does perform this song live. It was great to realize that Elton did a song from each decade of his career: 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s.
 It was definitely a greatest hits collection, with a few rarities added: "Burn Down the Mission" and "Madman Across the Water". The Columbia crowd was very receptive to every song performed. Our section stood for the entire concert, never once taking a seat, even on the slower ballads. During "Candle in the Wind", cell phones were up in the air throughout the arena, while thousands of other voices helped Elton sing the song. When Elton came back for his encore, he took awhile to sign a lot of autographs for the first three rows. He then put on a Mizzou Tiger headband, with tiger ears. It was very neat the way he showed such appreciation for Columbia.
All in all, it was a great two hour and forty-five minute performance. Elton’s endurance always seems to amaze me. He looked very healthy and very happy in Columbia. His voice, looks, and energy made it very hard to believe that the man is actually sixty years of age. Hopefully he will have the same enthusiasm throughout this brief U.S. tour.
Following is the complete set list od the Columbia, MO show on October 5, 2007:
 Funeral For a Friend
- Love Lies Bleeding
- The Bitch is Back
- Madman Across the Water
- Tiny Dancer
- Levon
- Believe
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- Take Me to the Pilot
- Daniel
- Rocket Man
- Honky Cat
- Someone Saved My Life Tonight
- I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues
- Burn Down the Mission
- The Bridge
- Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
- Candle in the Wind
- Bennie and the Jets
- Philadelphia Freedom
- Sad Songs Say So Much
- I’m Still Standing
- Crocodile Rock
- Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
- Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me
- Your Song
Fan report by James.
On October 5, 2007, I had the ultimate Elton John experience. It still has not sunk in.
The night started with me finding out that my Rocket Tickets were in the 4th row. My jaw hit the ground. I was sitting close enough to Elton's piano that I could have thrown something and hit it!
After sitting in and getting comfortable, Elton started just a few minutes late. He came out in great spirits. One early highlight for me was hearing Elton take the original high notes on the WHOA WHOA WHOA that are at the end of "Love Lies Bleeding". He nailed them!
This article would be too long to talk about every song, so I will talk about the highlights. First off, the crowd went nuts when he played the opening notes to "Levon". I loved hearing "Believe" again. I heard it at the Red Piano, but it sounded awesome this night. Elton also put "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" back into the show. It was great hearing that again. One of my personal highlights was hearing "Honky Cat". They did some awesome things with the percussion to change the song a bit. At the very beginning, there was a whole line of words that Elton did not sing. He made a silly face and looked right at Davey. Davey's banjo was out of tune. So, he ran off, got it tuned up, and returned to the stage. The band got a kick out of it.
Later when he introduced the band, Elton said that Davey could play "out-of-tune banjo AND in-tune-banjo". It was pretty funny. "The Bridge" never sounded better. From Elton's vocals, to his piano, to the background vocals, it was perfect.
After "Candle in the Wind", people ran up to the stage. I debated going up, but decided to give it a try. I had a CD sleeve in my hand to hopefully get an autograph. One of the event staff stepped right in my way and said I could not go. Just as I was about to turn back, one of Elton's staff grabbed the event staff person's shoulder, pushed him out of the way, and let me and my friend through. It was awesome! We were the last two they let go to the stage. This is when Elton really picked it up with "Crocodile Rock" (crowd favorite), "Philadelphia Freedom", and, he put "I'm Still Standing back" in the show. I have not seen it on recent set list. As that is one of my top three Elton songs, I felt fortunate to hear it.
When Elton came back for the encore, he walked over to me. I was holding up my "The Captain and the Kid" CD sleeve. I was a little nervous because I did not have a pen for Elton to sign with. Just then, one of his crew members through up a marker, and guess who Elton came to very first! That's right, he grabbed my CD sleeve, took his time, and gave me a great signature. I yelled "Thank You" to him and he said "You're Welcome" back. I tried to give him a high five, but it didn't quite work and I ended up nailing him right in the arm. I think he knew I was just pretty pumped and wrapped up in the moment. The second signature he signed was the picture my friend was holding up! It truly was an incredible moment.
Finally, for "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", Elton acknowledged that there was a huge college football game coming up the next day. Since we were at the home of the Mizzou Tigers in Columbia, MO, Elton put on a headband that had two tiger ears on it. He wore it for the whole song. The night wrapped up with "Your Song" which is obviously, always a treat.
I don't know if that is the last time I will get to see Elton John perform, but if it is, what better way to wrap up? It truly was an amazing night full of great music and unforgettable moments. Thank you Sir Elton...this time I won't crack you in the arm.
MU gives Sir Elton documentary photos
Monday, October 8 2007 at 09:38:25
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