Fan Report by Simon Gambling.

What a great show. I’ve seen Elton many, many times before but never seen him so talkative as at Birmingham. His mixed moods recently had me worried it would be an on and off performance, but I was happy to be proved wrong.

The show started at around 8.25pm with "Bennie and the Jets" – it was clear Elton was in a “piano” mood – lots of winks and smiles between the band at each other as they watched Elton’s fingers fly up and down the keyboard – and the new ending was a pleasant change. He said how much he liked playing Birmingham and that he was going to be keeping a low profile next year while a few new projects were on the go.

Next into "Philadelphia Freedom" followed by a fantastic version of "Believe". I haven’t seen that live since the orchestra shows a few years ago. "Daniel" followed without any introduction – I think this has seen it’s day in the set list. He won’t stop playing it that’s for sure, but it just seems the most dated out of them all. Maybe it’s the electric piano sound, but somehow it doesn’t quite do anything for me any more.

"Rocket Man" was superb, a jazzier version than sometimes, and a cool little intro by Elton solo on the piano. We got the spelling of R-O-C-K-E-T-M-A-N during it and the classic yodel at the end. His voice was truly amazing.

"I Guess That’s Why They Call it The Blues" was very bluesy this time, with the end of the song being drawn out with some bluesy playing on the piano.

After this the lights dimmed while Davey swaped guitars and Elton said “We have a new album coming out in September which is a follow on from Captain Fantastic, this is called Captain and the Kid”. The atmosphere was static as we thought he may be playing something from it, but alas he then went on to say “here’s a couple of songs from our last ablum” and went into "Turn The Lights Out When You Leave" followed a rocking "They Call Her The Cat".

"The One" was up next which was nice to hear. Some nice guitar from Davey and Guy was very prominent on the keyboards.

Next – "Take Me To The Pilot". All I can say is “wow”. This was the longest version I’ve seen him play. The intro was a classic mix of the old 90’s solo tour and the past few tours he’s played. The intro must have been 10 / 15 minutes – watching Elton’s talented hands massage endless riffs and chords out of the piano was fascinating and my eyes were fixed on the big screen above the stage.

"Funneral For A Friend" rocked as normal with Nigel really showing his talent here, Love Lies Bleeding finished with a frenzy of intense flashing lights and heavy rock from Davey and Elton.

A short break came next with Elton asking us who we thought would win the World Cup and telling us what teams the band had picked. After this "Tiny Dancer" and "I Want Love" were played followed by "Sorry Seems to Be The Hardest Word" and "Sacrifice" which sounds great with the band again. Bob was truly great getting just the right amount of bass into this song without being too overpowering. Going back to "I Want Love", it’s nice to see it back and it was played with such emotion that gave it an extra special feeling.

Now the fun starts. "Are You Ready For Love" had us all up on our feet, at the end Elton shouted “Are you ready?” and flew into "Crocodile Rock" and "I’m Still Standing". Immediately after that song Elton was standing on top of the piano clapping during the intro the "The Bitch is Back" – this song seemed to be drawn out for a few more bars than normal during the instrumental section towards the end with some fantastic piano playing from Elton..

"Saturday Night’s" was played how I’ve never seen before. Half way through the band played a lot quieter and Elton whispered to the crowd “we’re gonna get a bit of low down now” and got the crowd chanting “Saturday” after him for a few times….. then the band blasted back into action with the piano chiming out those heavy chords for the final instrumental of the song. The large screen at the back of the stage really added style to it.

We sat down as the lights dimmed, Elton signed loads of autographs before playing "Don’t Let The Sun go Down on Me" and finally "Your Song".

It was a great show, the best I’ve seen and I don’t think he will be beat it next time I see him in Nottingham. It lasted for two and a half hours, he got many standing ovations and I’m sure he’ll be back in another year or so – at least, I hope so.

Following is the complete set list of the Birmingham show on June 21, 2006.

• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Believe
  
• Daniel
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• Turn The Lights Out When You Leave
  
• They Call Her The Cat
  
• The One
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• Funeral For A Friend
  
• Love Lies Bleeding
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• I Want Love
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Sacrifice
  
• Are You Ready For Love
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• The Bitch Is Back
  
• Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
  
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• Your Song

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