Fan report by Tony Centofante.

Some may recall that it was just three weeks ago when I wrote a review of the Captain Fantastic show in Atlanta. The decision to attend that show was made on short notice but I was so happy I decided to do it.

One reason I hesitated was because I had already purchased tickets months ago to see The Red Piano show. The reason the third weekend in October was selected was because that was the only time everyone I wanted to see were there at the same time: Don Rickles at the Stardust, Barry Manilow at the Hilton and Elton John at Caesars Palace.

Thanks to frequent flyer miles from Delta and some restraints on gambling the costs for the trip were kept low.

We arrived at Caesars Palace in the late afternoon and after dinner went to the Elton John store. I finally found my dream job! If only they had a location nearer to my home in Tennessee then I would be all set. What a feeling to be in a place where the career of EJ could be celebrated. CDs, books, clothes and trinkets and all with the name Elton John on it.

The most expensive item was the numbered and autographed platinum discs for Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002 in a frame with the album cover picture surrounded by the cover picture of every other album. At $850 it was only about $800 out of my price range!

If this were a regular Elton John show, then my review would be all positive. Elton was in a good mood and his piano and vocals flourished on all but a couple of songs.

But, this is "The Red Piano" so the show part of the show by David LaChapelle also has to be judged. And that is where this review will be negative. First, the stage layout before the show looked cheap with areas of unlit neon signs scattered about. The stage hands are dressed like painters in all white jump suits and they not so inconspicuously walk around the stage when it is time to plug something in or inflate something.

"Bennie And The Jets" started the show at 7:40 p.m. and the only effects for this song are giant letters that spell E L T O N in neon colors flickering throughout the song.

Elton then greeted the crowd and said this was his 79th Red Piano show. You would be amazed how many times Elton said the exact same thing at this show. For example: "Welcome to the Colosseum...home of Celine Dion...but not tonight." How stale is that?

"Philadelphia Freedom" was next and the first video was played. Inexplicably, the video starts with the Empire State Building. I thought the name of the song was "Philadelphia Freedom"? Anyway, after that it was a decent video with a collage of images from the 70s with a few pictures of EJ thrown in the mix.

"Believe" was next and was welcome to hear since he does not usually play this song on tour. But, the video was crap. A shirtless man dancing was the added dimension given to this song.

Then, another scripted intro for "Daniel" (BTW, if you like Elton saying the word f*** then this is the show for you). I usually hate this overplayed song but I wanted to hear it tonight to see the video that explains the song. The video was so clear that after the song was over I had to explain the meaning to the person I went with.

"Rocket Man" was next and the video for this was from "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" with Justin Timberlake played in slow motion to last 12 minutes. Can anyone explain to me what this video has to do with "Rocket Man"?

After "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" was a surprising change to the setlist. "Sorry Seems To Be Hardest Word" was next. Elton gave a good intro to this song telling the story of his recording session with Ray Charles who triumphed in the studio despite declining health. Question: How can you tell when there is a setlist change at the Red Piano? Answer: no video at all. That was also a shame since images of Ray Charles would have made this song all the more powerful.

I was disappointed that Elton has given up on playing "Answer In The Sky" at these shows. In what has to be termed marketing mismanagement, Elton is playing no songs at these shows from his two latest releases: Captain Fantastic and Peachtree Road.

"Candle In The Wind" was played without an intro and only Marilyn Monroe in the video. This video was successful in portraying some of the pain the woman must have gone through. However, there was also a nude shot of her. I thought this was in very poor taste and a disgrace to her memory.

It took until "Pinball Wizard" for a video to be played that enhanced the song. Quick flash images of the city of Las Vegas and the Captain Fantastic pinball game were shown.

"The Bitch Is Back" featured the Pamela Anderson pole dancing video. It had nothing to do with the song but at least it was easy on the eyes.

By now the stage was starting to be filled to excess. Some of the items on stage were an inflatable ice cream cone and cigarette butt. From the roof of the Colosseum a giant inflatable nipple.

Ironically, the best video of the night, "I'm Still Standing", was shown featuring pictures of Elton from all stages of his career. But, my view of it was partially obstructed by the giant inflatable nipple. Yes, I never thought I would write a review that said my view of the stage was blocked by a giant inflatable nipple!

"Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" featured the rush to the stage by those in the front rows and balloons and confetti falling from the ceiling. It was funny to watch the two security people right behind Elton point people back when they got too close.

The two people next to me were drunk the whole show but even they sobered up enough to mention all the crap that was going on that detracted from Elton's performance.

Before the encore some audio played that was hard to make out and then Elton returned for "Your Song" with inflatable letters spelling L O V E to end the show at 9:25 p.m.

As you can tell, I have some problems with this show. The night before I saw the Barry Manilow. His show is called "Music And Passion" show and it was much better than the Red Piano. I had never seen him before and like so many others wanted to hear one time the songs you hate to admit you liked when growing up.

It is obvious Manilow has seen The Red Piano and uses some elements from it but at the same time has created something completly different.

There are some videos but they better relate to the song he is playing. For example, half of the video of "Mandy" from 1975 is played and then Barry finished the second half of the song live.

In between songs long stories were told about his life. At one point in the show he walked to one corner of the stage where a little piano bar was set up to recreate his earlier years. Later in the show he walked to the other corner of the stage where a little comedy club called Rock Bottom was set up to show a low point on his road to stardom.

At the end of the show a glass stage falls from the top and Barry sings standing above those in the front rows. All of a sudden the Balcony seats were the best in the house. Unlike Elton, Barry changes his show nightly. His mostly black band and backup singers gave the show a real soul feel. They even did the Stevie Wonder song (and EJ 1970 soundalike favorite) "Signed Sealed Delivered".

With Barry you get a man who has been to the top, suffered through a backlash but has no hard feelings and is genuinely happy to have his career reborn with this new show at the Hilton. Barry's show is reestablishing his legacy.

On the other hand, Elton's show is camp and detracting from his legacy. I always thought an Elton show that featured music and movies would be so special but this show is not it. This show would be fine if he did it a few times a year but he is committed to doing this at least 150 times. While it is convenient for Elton because it cuts down on his travel and the show is shorter, he is doing a disservice to his fans in places like Fargo that will not see him anytime soon because he is in Las Vegas.

I know this review sounds negative but keep in mind my last four concerts were with orchestra at Radio City Music Hall, the debut of Peachtree Road at the Tabernacle, the Captain Fantastic show at Philips Arena and now The Red Piano at the Colosseum. Do you see now why this show does not stack up to the others?

For that reason, I would recommend that people avoid paying more money to see this shorter and stranger show and instead see Elton someplace else in the world nearer to your town.

Following is the complete setlist of Elton John "The Red Piano" in Las Vegas on October 22, 2005:

• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Believe
  
• Daniel
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• Candle In The Wind
  
• Pinball Wizard
  
• The Bitch Is Back
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
  
• Your Song

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