Fan reports by Daniel Gunnarsson and Martin Aamand.

It was with great excitement my parents and I took the car to Atletions Stadium, where Elton John with band should perform a two-and-a-half-hour long concert. Wonderful weather with a beautiful sunset. Elton and the band were in a real good shape; Elton's voice was stronger than ever.

I've seen Elton John live twice before, but this was the first time with band. Nice to see Davey Johnstone, Nigel Olsson, Bob Birch. They really work hard for these hours!

Elton decided a show with a mix of old and new. Among the new songs were a couple from his latest CD, Peachtree Road: "Turn The Lights Out When You Leave", "All That I'm Allowed" and "They Call Her The Cat". The latter is one of my favourites, and Elton & Co really got it swinging!

Among other songs were classic hits, like "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", "Daniel", "Take Me To The Pilot", and of course, the final number, "Your Song".

Elton's voice was in good shape; it only gets better with the years. The only sad thing is that he barely talks to the audience between the songs. Otherwise it was a nice concert; I'm looking forward to see Elton & band in Gothenburg, December. -- Daniel Gunnarsson

Saturday night an Englishman came to town and graced our country. As soon as the sun rose in the East, it was clear to all Danes that this was going to be a special day, indeed. Not only did it not look like rain; Elton John was coming here to perform in Aarhus before a crowd of a crowd of 28,000 roaring people.

I was there two hours before the show started, at around 6 pm, and by that time the band had already arrived. Guy was doing some last-minute adjustment to his army of keyboards and synthesizers, while Nigel and John made a few brief appearances onstage – just to make sure that their gear was setup properly. As we all know, Mr Mahon sure does have a lot of things to hit when he's behind that wall of sound of his.

Meanwhile people were gathering in front of the stage -- to the sound of John Legend, Ray LaMontagne, and John Mayer whose latest albums filled the warm air -- and the abundance of seats was being filled. Many had come from abroad, I realised, as people were speaking English, German and Dutch. (Apologies to those nationalities that my keen ear might not have recognised.)

At 8 pm the band entered the stage from the right side and before long Elton joined them from the left. The mere sight of the Rocket Man himself sent a rush through the entire audience, and from the word go everyone was mesmerised by this rock'n'roll icon.

As with most of Elton's latest performances, 'Pinball Wizard' was the first song and then followed the usual set list – more or less. The only exception was that Elton decided not to play 'Electricity' and performed 'Candle in the Wind' solo instead. Personally, I didn't mind the exclusion of 'Electricity' – both because it's not a well-known song yet and because I simply love 'Candle in the Wind'. It was, however, obvious by the look of Elton's face that they would have played 'Electricity' had he not changed his mind. He shook his head several times at Nigel, you could almost hear him saying, 'No 'Electricity,' not tonight'. And so the band left the stage for a short while, leaving Elton to handle the crowd on his own. But, of course, that was no problem at all.

When the time came for 'Sacrifice,' Elton spoke the words that I had been waiting to hear: he told us that the last time he and the band were here was back in 1988 when they wrote and recorded 'Sleeping with the Past' in Randers, a nearby city. As far as I know, 'Sacrifice' was actually written in the studio in Randers, and Elton didn't think it was going to be a hit. Well, I guess he was wrong.

With 'Are You Ready for Love' came the Voice of Atlanta who brought a fantastic gospel feel to the song. In addition, Elton sang the song in a slightly different version than the 'old' one. I'm not sure what he did, but it sure sounded great!

'Sad Songs (Say So Much)' has been completely re-arranged for the live shows, and if it sounded good before (and it did), then it's sounding truly astonishing now. Nigel's drums were amazing on this song, also.

The highlight of the night was probably 'I'm Still Standing' – the best-known Elton song in Denmark, by far. The crowd was on their feet from the first few notes, and singing-along to the words, loudly. It was an incredible experience to see people pounding their hands into the air with the rhythm while Elton was reassuring everyone that he is, indeed, still standing. I find it hard to believe that anyone thought twice about this proclamation.

Throughout the evening, Davey threw several plectrums out into the crowd who then frantically searched the grounds below to find the valuable piece of music. During 'Crocodile Rock' – the first encore -- John Mahon also found his way to the front of the stage and offered the eager audience a drumstick.

After a few minutes of vigorous cheering, Elton entered stage again to play the last song, 'Your Song'. He was dressed in a black Adidas tracksuit and looked perfectly relaxed and satisfied with the evening. He thanked the Danish people for always being very supportive of him, and told us how much he enjoyed being here. The evening came to an end with an extraordinarily energy-filled rendition of this incredibly famous song.

I secretly hoped that he would never stop playing and cancel the rest of his tour to spend his life onstage in Aarhus. Alas, four minutes after the final note sounded through the loudspeakers in Atletion in Aarhus, Elton was in an Audi A6 on his way to the airport where his private jet was waiting. Yet another finished gig in the calendar of the world's biggest superstar. I enjoyed every last second. -- Martin Aamand

Following is the complete set list of the Aarhus show on July 9, 2005:

• Pinball Wizard
  
• Bennie and the Jets
  
• Daniel
  
• Turn the Lights Out When You Leave
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• Sacrifice
  
• Candle In The Wind
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Funeral For a Friend
  
• Love Lies Bleeding
  
• Are You Ready For Love
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• All That I'm Allowed
  
• They Call Her The Cat
  
• Sad Songs (Say So Much)
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• The Bitch is Back
  
• Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
• Your Song

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